“I did not go anywhere,” Winsome said.
“That is what I said. But then Thorpe just shrugged it off and said Lord St. John told Lord Manderbey but he must have been mistaken.”
St. John. There he was, making trouble again.
“How would Lord St. John make such a mistake though?” Verity asked.
“Perhaps he confused Winny with some other lady?” Patience said.
“No, I am afraid not,” Winsome said. “I believe Lord St. John has been at the bottom of it all. He wished to turn me from Lord Manderbey so I suppose that is why he would tell him that I’d left Town. That is why Lord Manderbey did not come to the house, and I frettedterribly about it.”
“Is Lord St. John so violently in love with you that he would stoop to such ungentlemanly behavior?” Serenity asked, dabbing at her eyes.
“Would that be a usual thing?” Verity asked.
“That is not it,” Winsome said, lest Serenity turn on her eye faucets or Verity wildly speculate on it. “I believe it is all about the money. He was dependent on Lord Manderbey to fix up his gambling debts but that source of funds has dried up. Lord St. John is being considered for the ambassadorship to Portugal, the court currently residing in Rio de Janeiro. He had some notion of making his fortune mining precious gems there.”
“Which would take money to get started,” Verity said.
“My dowry, to be exact,” Winsome said. “He made some very bold hints about how an ambassador ought to be married and how I might like Brazil.”
“That devil,” Patience said.
Winsome nodded, as indeed it did seem true. What sort of man was Lord St. John that he thought he could lie and connive his way into a dowry? Perhaps he might have got away with it, but Lady Winsome Nicolet had read a few too many novels to have the wool pulled over her eyes in such a manner. She was beginning to think any lady agreeing to set off for Brazil with Lord St. John would be lucky to even come back again. Maybe it would be more convenient to tip her off the side of the ship on the way back. He might stoop to anything that seemed convenient.
“As a general thing,” Serenity said, “I do not like to be cruel, but in this case…”
“The point, though,” Patience said in her usual toe-tapping manner, “is that it has not worked. Winny will go to the masque and see Lord Manderbey and they will talk and everything will be all right.”
Winsome nodded. She had every hope it would be so.
“Well now,” the duke called from the other side of the drawingroom, “I suppose we’d better get this circus going.”
Valor stood at the duke’s side, nodding graciously. “Thank you all for coming,” she said, holding up her untouched champagne.
Winsome smiled. It was time to go. It was time, finally, to see Lord Manderbey.
