AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“He will understand,” Julius said calmly.
“Understand?” scoffed Richmond. “He would have to be a bloody saint to forgive such an offense.” He stepped forward until their noses nearly met and bared his teeth. “I don’t care what you have to say or do, but you’d better make damned certain that man doesn’t make this farce public. Amelia deserves better than to be made a laughingstock.”
“I can promise you that he will not tell anyone,” Julius told him.
Richmond stared at him with cold eyes. “He’d better not. On the other hand, perhaps he’ll call you out and solve my problems for me.” He turned his back on them.
Julius led Victoria out of the room and closed the door behind them. She immediately broke down in tears. “Shh, now,” he urged. “We have a great deal to accomplish and very little time.”
She looked up at him through her tears. “Accomplish? I should think we’ve done enough. He’ll never speak to me again. Neither of them will.”
“They will. But that is something we must worry about later. Right now I need to speak with your sister.”
“She won’t listen.”
“She will, because I can offer her a way out of this.”
“How?”
“In the beginning, she and I agreed that when she no longer had need of me, she would publicly put me aside. I shall encourage her to do so tonight.”
“How is that to solve anything? The moment it is announced that you and I are married…”
“Not if I play the scoundrel,” he said quietly. “I shall pretend to be angry when she breaks things off, and then I will proceed to take my ‘revenge’ on her by seducing and ruining you. It will have to be done carefully.”
Her eyes widened. “What about Withington? He will look the fool.”
“He agreed to play that part anyway, remember?”
“Yes, but I feel badly about it, now.”
“Don’t,” he said, laughing. “Every unwed female in London will seek to comfort him after his loss.”
“But he loves her.”
He looked into her sad eyes and felt his own heart wrench in sympathy. “I know. And she loves him not. It is unfortunate, and I wish it had worked out otherwise for him, but he will get over it in time. He knew the risk when he agreed to help us.”
Wiping her tears away, she nodded. “I will take you to her.”
HANNAH PUT THE final touches on Victoria’s hastily arranged hair. “I’m sorry it’s so simple, my lady. If I’d had more time…”
“It will do just fine, thank you. Go to my sister’s room and find out if she has gone down yet.”
The girl did as she was told and came back in a moment. “She has, my lady.”
Good. At least they wouldn’t chance to meet on their way down. An argument between them at this point would be disastrous. She hadn’t thought Amelia would agree to Julius’s plan, but she’d been wrong. Apparently her sense of self-preservation was stronger than her desire to get even with her betrayers.
She glanced at the clock. The dancing was set to commence at nine. She need only put in a brief appearance before claiming a headache and leaving to go to her room. As soon as Amelia gave him the cut, Julius would follow and join her. In the morning, Hannah would come into her room and find him there in her bed. And that would be that.
Rising, she smoothed down her skirts. It was time.
She drifted through the ballroom, looking for Julius. Where was he? Dread threatened to rise from her heart and choke her as she saw Withington approach her sister. No! He would ruin everything.
Her sister’s face was stiff and expressionless as she curtseyed.
She was going to dance with him? She watched as they joined with the other couples in the waltz.
“What the devil is he doing?” asked Julius from beside her.
