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She tried to be placating. “Dearest, if you’re so upset, perhaps you might try to persuade Lord Debenham to give it to you. I can tell you exactly where to find him.”
She was amused when her sister actually stamped her foot.
“You can take me to him and demand the letter back because you had no right to give it to him in the first place.”
“I’ll do no such thing, however if you’re brave enough to confront Sir Aubrey, you’re brave enough to find Lord Debenham.” She gave Hetty a condescending pat on the shoulder. “I promise I won’t tell.”
“Hetty, come and sit with us! Where have you been?” Their cousins had them in their sights and were signaling.
With a disgusted look at Araminta, Hetty turned on her heel, her breath coming in gulping sobs.
“My goodness but you are upset, my dear,” Araminta soothed. “Perhaps it’s not such a good idea, facing Lord Debenham in such a state. In fact, I can’t imagine what possessed me to suggest something so ruinous.” Araminta felt a stab of doubt. Hetty looked mutinous and if word got back to Mama and Papa that Araminta had induced her to seek out a gentleman alone, there would be the devil to pay.
In a quick reversal, she reconsidered. She must do whatever necessary to occupy Hetty for the next few minutes. Araminta was about to make her own sacrifice to save the family and she couldn’t risk Hetty threatening a glorious outcome. Calling to her cousins that she would accompany her sister, Araminta took Hetty’s arm and led her toward the darkened lane behind the orchestra.
“He is waiting in the third supper box,” she said, pointing. “Here, sit down a moment to cool your anger. The cousins are just a short walk away if you change your mind and Cousin Stephen was too involved in the music to even notice us, so you just decide what you want to do.” She hesitated. “I’m sorry about the letter but I did what I thought best.”
She really was about to do what was best. Best for the entire family, Araminta thought some minutes later as she sauntered briskly along the dimly lit path from which her sister had emerged. This was a mission no lady ought to embark upon but she was confident of her ultimate success.
It was the only way they’d all find happiness. It would be the answer to her father’s problems. Sir Aubrey’s good name would soon be cleared and in consequence he’d be even richer.
She couldn’t think of a better catch, for the idea of being allied to Lord Debenham was again losing its luster. He had a cold menace about him. Initially it had intrigued her when she’d felt certain of twisting him ‘round her little finger. Now she was uncertain of her power to enslave him, which meant marriage to him would not be worth the compensations provided by multiple estates and fine clothes. He was too much a wild card. Even Araminta, so confident of her charms, was not entirely confident she could hold him sufficiently in thrall.
Sir Aubrey was a different matter altogether. He was deeply honorable. The kind of man who would ne
ver dishonor a woman without proper atonement. The trouble was, she wasn’t as confident of his affections as she’d like to be. Certainly, he’d made up to her in a very pretty fashion during the past few entertainments. The roiling passion in the depths of his eyes had thrilled her but the more she reflected on the way he looked at her little sister, the more unsettled she became.
Well, now she had the letter. All she need do was present it to him and he’d be hers. She might have to work for her reward but that would hardly be a chore.
The sight of his distinctive silver-topped cane by the door to the supper box was confirmation that her mission was on the way toward being successful.
Approaching stealthily, she was surprised at the roar of blood to her head and the rapid beating of her heart. She was not used to such sensations and she liked them. She felt exhilarated and alive.
The dismaying thought intruded that perhaps he wasn’t alone. Her fears were soon put to rest. When she carefully opened the door a lazy, laconic voice drifted through the darkness.
“Come to me, my darling.”
Araminta nearly fainted on the spot. He was expecting her?
Then another, even more shocking thought ripped through her. He was expecting someone else?
Hetty?
No, it was not possible.
A woman of the night?
It didn’t make sense. Sir Aubrey would never have planned an assignation with her unprepossessing and far less worthy sister.
The possibility that he had was enough to galvanize the most gently reared beauty into action. Sir Aubrey was not going to offer for Hetty, leaving Araminta, the beautiful, worthy eldest sister, to cool her heels for another season. No, he would not.
And when Araminta’s work was done with him there would be no way he could!
Her heart rate had rapidly accelerated and her breathing rasped in her throat. How would she carry this off, knowing the hopes of the entire Partington family rested on her success?
Faint strains of Mozart hung in the air. The room was in almost complete darkness, lit only by the light from the hanging lamp outside the door.
Quietly she entered, and it seemed like divine inspiration to snatch an end of the gauze drapery that divided the room in two and drape it over her head and around her body.
