“Arrange a marriage with Lady Emma?” Richard questioned. “Yesterday, his lordship sent his man of business to Duncan’s house to demand to speak to Davidson’s ‘betrothed,’” Richard explained. “If Lady Emma was already betrothed to Davidson, as Mr. Nelson asserted, why would it be necessary for his lordship to arrange a marriage through you?”
“Such is a most excellent question,” Mrs. Dove-Lyon observed. “Perhaps it should be directed to both Lady Emma and Lord Davidson, for I have no knowledge of the situation other than what I shared with you moments prior.” She paused to look upon him with interest. “Would it be appropriate for me to learn how Lady Emma came to stay with the Duncans? If LordDavidson is spouting his many tales, a word from me could stifle them quickly, but only if I know the truth.”
“The truth cannot be spread afar without ruining the lady,” he warned, “but if it might shift the narrative to something more appropriate, I would be deeply in your debt, ma’am.”
The woman smiled again, though as before the gesture was more of a feeling Richard had rather than a smile he actually viewed. “I enjoy when a man is in my debt,” she remarked, “and the number of secrets I know regarding members of thehaut tonwould fill the Tower of London to the top. I would be honored to listen to your tale of Lady Emma.”
Richard nodded his acceptance. “Again, please do not share this with others, for it would ruin Lady Emma completely.” With a deep sigh of resignation, he began. “I came across Lady Emma a few days ago in Covent Garden. She had been badly beaten by an unknown assailant. I took her to Duncan’s house, for I knew she would be safe there. I did not know whether someone with whom the lady was acquainted was the culprit or not.”
“I pray she was not violated,” Mrs. Dove-Lyon said in sympathetic tones. “Women found thusly often suffer their whole lives for a misstep in judgment.”
“It appears to have been a robbery. Her reticule was missing; however, if one knows anything of Lady Emma Donoghue’s nature, he knows the lady is not one to back down from an authoritative man barking orders at her, whether he be a lord of the realm or a street thief.” Richard could not contain his smile, for he likely knew Lady Emma Donoghue’s nature better than any.
“Though she suffered,” Mrs. Dove-Lyon said, “it does me well to know I turned Lord Davidson’s request away. That pompous pig would have taken a whip to the girl, thinking what occurred to her was Lady Emma’s fault. He would think of her as someone he must tame.”
Richard smiled easily. “And Lady Emma would have done away with Davidson within a week, and all of society would have congratulated her sensibility.”
“All that being said, what I meant to convey was I wished Lady Emma to know something of Davidson’s determination in this matter. I explained to his lordship that, customarily, I only take a matchmaker fee from a lady, not from a man unless said ‘gentleman’ is willing to accept a bet of my definition and choosing and then he wins the wager.”
“What bet had you in mind for Davidson, if I might inquire?” Richard asked.
“I thought the idea of his lordship walking into Parliament stark naked would be a grand idea,” she said with a cackle of laughter. “Everyone would know how crooked and limp his...” She laid a hand upon the desk and rose rather than finish her description. “You understand the gesture without my description, my lord. All would know Davidson for what he truly is, not that the dastard would accept.”
“No, ma’am,” Richard said as he stood. “Davidson would not have understood, but society would have. After all, his lordship has been married three times and has no children to account for his efforts.” He bowed briefly. “I appreciate your candor, ma’am, and your willingness not to speak to Lady Emma’s dilemma; however, I should join Lord Thompson and Mr. Hartley in their investigation.”
“Naturally.” She reached for a sealed letter on the corner of the desk. “If you would not mind being my courier, please present this note to Lord Duncan.”
Richard looked at the sealed letter oddly, but he made no remark. They all had their secrets.
Though he did not ask, Mrs. Dove-Lyon said, “If you recall, the night he was shot, I asked to speak to Lord Duncan as your party was leaving. In many ways, I blame myself for the resultsof his shooting. If Lord Duncan had walked out with you and yours, he may not have suffered his attack. All of you would have been around him. Even if the shooter had carried out his plan, one of you would have been close enough to catch his lordship’s assailant.”
“One of us would have jumped before Duncan to protect him,” Richard declared. “Though as children we often despised his strict rules, though we assuredly required the structure, at least I did, each of us would have put his life on the line to save his lordship. He is the only father many of us ever knew or respected.”
“Then Lord Duncan is a blessed man,” she said as she came around the desk to see Richard out. “As his lordship is progressing for the good, I still hold an obligation to speak to him.”
Richard chuckled. “Has some woman contracted a match with our Lord Duncan? That would be something indeed. Who would wish to take on a man who is often too stubborn for his own good?”
“That I am not permitted to say, but please relay my message,” she said diplomatically as she crossed to the door to open it.
“I will see it done, ma’am,” he assured as he followed her to the exit. “And if you hear anything else of importance regarding Lord Duncan’s attack, you will send word immediately.”
“Naturally.” With that, the door closed behind him. Conversation at an end.
