It was bad enough being a villain and a thief, but even he drew the line at crushing the souls of others.
Chapter Eighteen
Victoria woke ready to do battle and seek her revenge. But her mother had other ideas. Instead of setting off to hunt down the man who had shamed her last night, she was instructed to go walking in Hyde Park with her brothers and younger sister. Her protests to the duchess fell on unsympathetic ears.
“There were some missteps last night, but a lady does not sit at home and lick her wounds. She gets back into society and makes the best of things. One has to learn to rise above the setbacks in life,” said Lady Anne from the doorway of the breakfast room.
I’m more than happy to rise above everything, but would it be too much to ask to wait until after I’ve had my revenge?
From the expression on her mother’s face, it was clear the Duchess of Mowbray was determined to move forward with the husband hunting campaign. No doubt she would have a list of the eligible males likely to be at one of London’s foremost social spots at this hour of the morning. Lady Anne rarely did anything without a plan.
“And I want you to take your sister with you. Coco needs to start showing her face in public earlier in the day,” added the duchess.
Victoria pinched her tongue between her teeth. She was dreading having to go up to her sister’s room and wake her.
I hope she has made it home, or there will be the devil to pay.
Lady Coco Kembal’s nighttime escapades were an open secret amongst some of her siblings, but Victoria doubted the duke and duchess had the slightest inkling as to what their youngest child got up to when she was meant to be home safely tucked up in her bed.
“I shall go and see if Coco is awake,” replied Victoria.
She rose from her seat at the table and hurried out of the room. Reaching Coco’s door, she tapped quickly on the wood, then tried the handle. To her surprise, the door swung opened.
Her sister’s bedroom was as black as night. The heavy drapes still closed against the bright morning sun. “Coco?” whispered Victoria as she closed and locked the door behind her, making sure not to call out too loudly. If her sister was still out roaming the streets of London, the last thing she wanted to do was to draw attention to that fact.
A body stirred in the bed, and Victoria let out a sigh of relief. After the drama of the previous evening, she didn’t have it in her to go telling lies to Lady Anne.
“What?” hissed Coco.
Victoria’s relief was cut short by the painfully gruff edge in Coco’s voice. That one word sounded like she was talking from the bottom of a stone well. One from which she had drank deeply.
“Are you decent?” asked Victoria. She couldn’t think of anything else to say.
Coco rose slowly from under the blankets. In the dim light she appeared more like an apparition than a real person. “I don’t feel decent, but I am dressed.”
This was going to be painful no matter how she handled things. Victoria made her way over to the window and tugged on the edge of one of the curtains. “I’m sorry but I have to do this.”
“Sweet lord, why?” moaned Coco, as light filled the room.
Victoria turned to face the bed. “Because Mama has asked that you accompany the rest of us to Hyde Park this morning. I can ask for some tea and toast to be brought up if that helps.”
Coco held a hand up to her face, protecting her eyes from the light. “No. Only death will cure me of my ills this morning. Gin is a wicked mistress.”
Victoria bit down on her bottom lip. It wasn’t so much the liquor which was her sister’s problem, but rather the quantity and alacrity that she imbibed it. Coco was running wild. Someday soon, her younger sibling was going to pay for her reckless behavior. She could only hope it wasn’t going to be a heavy price.
“You need to get washed and changed,” said Victoria, reaching for the other curtain. As she drew it fully open, the room was bathed in the warm glow of the morning sun. She ignored the string of foul curses which came from the bed. Lady Coco might well be a duke’s daughter, but she had the sharp tongue of a fishwife.
“Can’t you just tell Mama I am indisposed?” moaned Coco.
It was a tempting proposition, and one they had used to success on previous occasions. But this morning, Victoria wasn’t in the mood for playing games.
If I continue to let her get away with this madness, it’s only going to be worse when I do find a husband and leave this house. There will be no hiding from our mother once that happens.
It was time for Coco to finally face up to her choices. To stop relying upon the goodwill of others. When Victoria was gone, Richard and Matthew wouldn’t be able to help her, and Gideon was only keeping silent because he was still unaware of what was going on.
“I am sorry Coco, but I’m not going to lie to Mama. You might think me cruel, but it’s for your own good. You left the door unlocked this morning, anyone could have walked in and found you in this disgraceful state.”
Coco slumped back in the bed. “Oh, not you as well. I’m so sick of people telling me how I should behave. Viscount Askett nagged me all last night. Told me I would be ruined if anyone ever discovered the truth of what we get up to when we are out.”
