“They are likely to draw less notice than any of us,” Navan observed.
“My thoughts exactly,” Alexander confirmed. “A true marquis would not appear so comfortable in such a room.”
Duncan instructed, “Marksman, you should be prepared to follow them when they depart. I imagine they will hire a hack.”
“Theirs will be a long ride in a hack,” Alexander observed. “Though the driver will not mind the extra coin.”
“You could have the right of it,” Duncan observed. “Yet, it ispossible Honfleur left his carriage nearby. His driver appears quite capable of handling any situation.”
“However they get on, I will follow,” Marksman declared.
While Honfleur ordered the stew and a mug of ale for all three, like it or not, Navan studied Miss Moreau. She chatted with Lady Caroline until Honfleur snapped his fingers. Then the woman quickly dropped her eyes and sat quietly. The move bothered Navan more than he had a right to know, and he began to understand Marksman’s fear for the girl.
Despite her being a part of whatever Honfleur and his coconspirators planned, Navan would know great sadness to have her arrested along with her relations. If found guilty, she would know a hangman’s noose. As he watched the three together, Navan made a silent promise to attempt to remove the lady from Honfleur’s control before she was beyond redemption. If necessary, he would kidnap the woman and lead her to a new life somewhere where Honfleur could never touch her again.
“Honfleur is joining the others in the private room,” Marksman informed the table.
Beaufort suggested, “It might be best if you and Duncan depart now, Marksman. When you follow them home, you can return to the town house and keep an eye on who comes and goes. We do not want any of the three to recognize either of you. So far, neither Orson nor I have held a conversation with the man or his daughter. I fear this plan by Yates is bigger than any one Frenchman—bigger than any of us expected. I suspect William Booth had already set the wheels in motion before his arrest. Booth and Yates have long been cohorts.”
Duncan nodded sharply before tossing a few coins on the table. “You and I will stand up together, Alexander. In that manner, my backside will block the women’s view of our exit. You will lead.”
Alexander indicated his agreement; yet, before he stood, he leaned towards Navan to say, “Know assurances Honfleur does not abuseMiss Moreau.”
Navan’s eyebrows rose in obvious amusement. “Are you sweet on the woman, Marksman?”
Alexander shook off the idea. “I am not; yet, I cannot resist the notion Miss Moreau does not totally grasp the magnitude of what Honfleur plans.”
Audrey had thoughtit odd her uncle had insisted thefamilyhave an evening out without all the ball gowns and stiff cravats. He had said, “We will dress as we once did.”
Yet, in truth, she could not recall them ever dressing thusly. What she wore this evening was as much a costume as was what she had worn on her one night in London society. Assuredly, neither garb was an indication of how she viewed herself in her mind’s eye. It seemed, of late, she felt the gap between the life she had led up to the present day and the one she had always imagined for herself had grown significantly over the last couple of years, but especially since their arrival in London.
“I have a bit of business to conduct,” Uncle Jacobi had said softly. “You two enjoy the stew and the beer. Pretend you are servant girls.” He looked upon Audrey, and she fought the urge to squirm under his steady gaze. “You do recall being a servant, do you not, my dear. Enjoy this simple meal and say your thanks to God for how this is no longer your existence. Keep in mind, without my graciously accepting you into my family, you would have nothing. You would be scrubbing these floors on your hands and knees.”
Audrey kept the rush of tears from her eyes. “I am truly grateful for your benevolence, Uncle. If I have executed any offense to makeyou think otherwise, I beg your forgiveness.”
“I am confident Audrey’s loyalty rests with you, Father,” Caroline was quick to say. “I have observed nothing of which you should be concerned.”
“Then why did neither of you speak of your recent encounter with Lord Marksman in the park?” her uncle demanded.
Audrey’s heart sank. She had purposely not spoken of walking with Lord Marksman with her uncle. It was not because she wished to deceive her Uncle Jacobi; she simply wished to avoid yet another confrontation.
Caroline continued to offer a defense, but Honfleur’s eyes still watched Audrey’s reaction closely. “It was not as if Audrey and I could provide the earl a direct cut. Such would cause a scandal and bring more attention to our door. Marksman, Lady Theodora, Audrey, and I spent less than ten minutes together. Then Lady Theodora left with her friends and the earl to his business. Since that time, Audrey and I have chosen to walk at a less fashionable hour or in one of the smaller parks to avoid such encounters.”
“And you only spent time with Lord Marksman upon that occasion?” her uncle asked in skepticism.
Audrey’s first thought was to share how she had refused Lord Marksman’s request to call upon her as proof of her loyalty to Honfleur, but it was then she noted his familiar figure exiting the inn. Like her, the man wore a disguise, but she would recognize his smooth gait and his wide shoulders anywhere. He reminded her of a lion she had once viewed pacing in its cage in a traveling carnival in Paris. The lion dared anyone to move too close. In her limited opinion, Lord Marksman had a face he presented to the world, one speaking to his amiability, but he could be as dangerous as a lion if someone dared to cross him unexpectedly.
Instinctively, she quickly dropped her eyes so no one else would take note of Marksman’s presence at the same inn as her uncle. Itmade no sense; yet, Audrey kept Lord Marksman’s secret, for she thought he would do the same for her.
“I have not been in Lord Marksman’s company,” she assured, “other than the one dance at the masquerade and the few minutes Caroline and I spent with him and Lady Theodora in the park. When I leave the house for an errand or for leisure, I am with Caroline or you. I realize my choice to dance with Lord Marksman created a difficult situation for you and your associates; however, at the time, I thought my denial would draw more attention to our presence in Lady Godfrey’s ballroom than did my assent. I did not understand how critical it was for me to retrieve the message from the courier at a specific time. I was under the persuasion that the person would hide the message in the ladies’ retiring room, and I could retrieve it after the dance. I did not know she would also provide me with an oral message to deliver. If I had been told the whole of it, I would not have acted as I did. The fact the messenger handed the note to the first person who came through the door was nothing for which we could have planned. It may all have turned out the same, even if I had gone to the retiring room instead of dancing with Lord Marksman. Another could have preceded me, and the note would have gone into the wrong hands.”
“When I met with the courier later,” Caroline declared in Audrey’s defense, “she explained how she was not admitted to the ball, as she expected to be, and she had paid a member of Lady Godfrey’s staff to take the note to the retiring room at a particular time. According to the courier, the servant did not realize she presented the message to the wrong lady until our contact questioned her later. We must recall the masque was Audrey’s first foray, Father. You have only shared your expectations with her, but not your aspirations for our future. How is Audrey to know what is the best response in such matters?”
Uncle Jacobi turned his attention upon his daughter. “You are always quick to defend your cousin.”
“Audrey is as dear to me as would be a sister,” Caroline countered. “Naturally, I would consider her dedication to our family beyond question.”
Uncle Jacobi’s eyebrow rose in apparent evaluation. “Until proven otherwise, I will trust your judgment, Caroline.”
