Page 73 of A Scandal at Stonecliffe

Nathan seemed the forgiving sort, but he was also an honest man. An honest man that just had his whole life undone and thrown back together by a lie. Verity wasn’t sure how he would respond to her withholding what she had known for so long.

Besides, no one had discovered her in all this time that she’d been playing Mrs. Billingham. What were the chances that she’d be discovered during one more night out? And she desperately wanted one more night with Nathan. Who knew how many we have left together?

“Do you do this sort of surveillance a great deal?” Nathan asked as the afternoon wore on.

Verity let out a little laugh. “Unfortunately, yes. It can be a bit dull.”

“I can see why you wanted to dress up as a crossing sweeper last time.”

“Yes, but this street is really too busy to do much of any activity. We can return tomorrow—or prowl around the area where you found Hill before. We can hardly expect the man to buy lemon drops every day.”

“I suppose not,” Nathan agreed.

It was something of a relief when the shop closed and they could return home. It took Verity some time to get ready for going out—trying this style and that, changing her mind about the evening gown she had chosen and therefore having to come up with an entirely different set of accessories. She even dithered over which fan to carry.

Verity told herself she was being ridiculous, but she wanted everything to be perfect. She wanted to strike just the right tone that would both stir Nathan’s senses and be stylishly elegant.

The way Nathan’s eyes lit up when he saw her was reward enough for her efforts. In that instant, all that mattered was Nathan and the little world that they had created.

When they walked into the theater, however, it was apparent that they would not be in a world of their own. Lady Lockwood stood near the stairs with Marcus Rutherford and Nathan’s mother and aunt.

Nathan came to a halt and turned to retreat, but it was too late. They had been spotted.

“Dunbridge,” Lady Lockwood called, and as they drew nearer she added in an offended tone, “I didn’t know you would be here.”

“Yes, well, here we are,” Nathan replied, forcing a smile.

“I am so happy to see you again,” Rose Dunbridge said to Verity in her sweet way. “We haven’t had a chance to talk since we met at Lady Lockwood’s, oh, that must have been a fortnight ago or more, wasn’t it? Now we can have a nice chat.”

Verity’s stomach sank at the prospect of talking with Nathan’s mother and aunt. Any conversation with them was bound to be full of pitfalls, given what they had learned about Nathan’s father, and she didn’t like the idea of having to lie to Mrs. Dunbridge. She was glad she had decided against wearing any disguise tonight so at least she didn’t have to explain a change in her appearance to the two women.

“Yes, yes, plenty of time for that,” Lady Lockwood said impatiently. “Come along, it’s almost time for the curtain to go up. You’ll sit with us, of course.” She nodded to Nathan and Verity.

“Of course.” Nathan and Verity trailed after the others to Lady Lockwood’s box. He bent his head toward Verity, murmuring, “I’m sorry.”

“Lady Lockwood is a force of nature,” Verity replied. “I can hardly expect you to go against that. Though I do wish we had arrived a bit later.”

Lady Lockwood waited for Nathan and Verity at the door. “We cannot speak about it now, naturally,” she said in a low voice, casting a regretful glance inside the box at Rose. “But I want to hear everything that happened. You must come to the dinner I’m having on Saturday.”

It would have been useless to disagree so Nathan nodded, and they took their seats. Fortunately, the curtain rose before any more conversation could take place. Everyone knew that Lady Lockwood disliked conversation during a performance—except her own comments, of course—so the first act passed in relative silence.

When the curtain fell, there was the usual visiting between boxes; Verity thought it might be this activity that brought the ton to the theater more than the play itself. But she was grateful for the custom when three middle-aged gentlemen almost immediately squeezed into the box, clearly intent on wooing Nathan’s pretty mother, thus precluding any conversation with Rose. It was amusing to watch the suitors jockey for the position closest to Rose while Nathan loomed over them, scowling, but after a time, Verity took pity on the men and slipped her hand into the crook of Nathan’s arm and tugged slightly.

“Shall we take a stroll?”

“Yes, of course.” Nathan abandoned his surveillance of the men and went with her. They strolled along the corridor, and Nathan was stopped twice to talk, only nodding at a few others.

It brought home to Verity quite forcibly just how many people in the ton knew Nathan—and how many of them were now wondering who was the woman on his arm. Coming undisguised tonight had been a mistake. She had been able to ignore the threat of Milsap, the Bow Street Runner, during their trip to Scotland. But it was altogether different here in London; she was being far more unwise than she had even let herself acknowledge. She felt sure there were already several women jealously trying to find out exactly who had caught Nathan’s eye and how his mystery lady could be defeated.

Nathan went to fetch them a glass of champagne, and Verity strolled over to a potted palm against the wall, where she would be less visible. When Nathan started to walk back to where she had been, Verity went to meet him, but stopped as her eyes fell on Lord Arden. He stood only a few feet away from her, deep in conversation with another gentleman. The other man glanced over, as if feeling her gaze.

Jonathan Stanhope. Verity’s heart leapt into her throat.

Stanhope’s dark gaze met hers, and any hope that he might not recognize her vanished when he exclaimed, “You!”

Verity whipped around and took off, running for the stairs.

“No! Wait!” Before she could reach the stairs, he reached her and grabbed her arm. “Verity, stop.”