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“Mr. Tunley. I know you’re in there.”
Kitty saw Ralph and her sister exchange concerned looks before Ralph went to open the door.
By the time a tall, slender young woman dressed entirely in black had swept in, Kitty had found a hiding place behind the curtain which separated the scullery from the bedchamber on that level. She’d recognized the voice and had no wish to be observed in discussion with Lissa and Ralph. The unexpected newcomer was Araminta, and Araminta was devious. And vengeful. She’d need to know the connection. She also, no doubt, knew Kitty had been in possession of the ruby and diamond necklace that had once belonged to her and had caused so much trouble.
“Mr. Tunley, you must help me!” Araminta now cried, and through a chink in the curtain, Kitty watched her push back her veil.
“Araminta?” Lissa gasped, and her sister swung around, her eyes dark with panic. And then surprise.
“Lissa?” She nodded to Ralph as she clearly tried to compose herself. “I’m sorry to burst in unannounced. I did not expect to see you here at such a late hour.”
Kitty was still getting over her astonishment, when Ralph calmly put his hand beneath Araminta’s elbow and led her to a chair by the dwindling fire which he bent to attend to, tossing on a couple of pieces of kindling before settling himself against the mantelpiece since there were not enough chairs for all of them.
“Something has happened, Lady Debenham? To my employer? Yet surely you would not have ventured out alone, at this hour, to tell me? How can I help?”
“Indeed, I wouldn’t have ventured here alone if you were not my last hope, Mr. Tunley.”
“Your last hope, Araminta?”
Kitty was taken aback by the scorn in Lissa’s voice and the fact she used their sister’s Christian name.
“You think I’m being dramatic?” Araminta drew herself up, offended. “Is it dramatic to seek out the only person who may be able to help, when the alternative is for my husband to exercise his talent for cruelty and cast me onto the streets or worse?”
Kitty wondered at the nature of Araminta’s misdemeanor, though she imagined she’d learn it soon enough through Lissa’s expert line of questioning.
Lissa was not one to beat about the bush. “Cruelty? You surely knew what you were doing when I accompanied you to Vauxhall Gardens that fateful night a year ago. You threw your lot in with his Lordship and left your sister Miss Henrietta somewhat vulnerable to the drunken rage of Lord Debenham. I think she got the better deal when she married Sir Aubrey and you, Debenham. But are we to sympathize with you when you made your choice? It was not so long ago that I saw the two of you together at your birthday at The Grange. I’m surprised your sister was prepared to have him under the same roof, but Lord Debenham appeared mightily pleased with you for producing a son and heir a timely nine months after your nuptials.” Kitty was swamped by memories of the role she’d played the night Araminta had nearly lost her baby. “Isn’t that what every man wishes?”
“Oh yes, I gave him what he wanted because I knew that to do otherwise would put me in the gravest danger.” Araminta closed her eyes upon these enigmatic words and twisted the fabric of her skirts nervously before looking up. “Obviously, I take a grave chance in coming here and even telling you anything of what I’m about to reveal, but…it’s my only chance of salvation. You, Mr. Tunley, are of course my husband’s trusted secretary. I do not know if I can trust you, but I don’t know what else to do.” She glanced at Lissa and said, “You helped me all those months ago to secure the letter that incriminated my husband, but it wasn’t the real letter. Oh, but if it hadn’t been for that terrible, terrible night, none of this would be happening now.”
Kitty had never seen Araminta cry, but her sobs were so wrenching Ralph obviously thought it incumbent to reach for his now dwindling supply of medicinal brandy, while Lissa found one of Mrs. Nipkins’s discarded squares of fabric to use as a handkerchief.
“I’m confused, Lady Debenham, but I gather you have come to demand that I hand over the real letter to you? That poses a number of questions. First, that you believe I am holding it for reasons of my own. But also, why now? Why the urgency that sends you alone into the night, this of all nights?”
Lissa interrupted, saying bluntly, “Unless you’ve strayed and your husband has found out. It is Lord Ludbridge, Ralph’s brother? I don’t know what Ralph can do to help. Yes, he’s your husband’s secretary, but he’s in no position to intervene on your behalf if your husband—”
“No, nothing like that!” Araminta snapped. “Since my marriage, I have been the truest of wives, and no evidence to the contrary could be found to tarnish my good name.” She took a heaving breath, closed her eyes and clenched her fists. “It’s just…what happened before I was married. During that night at Vauxhall.”
“Rather a great deal,” Lissa remarked drily. “And since we’re speaking bluntly, as you’ve just conceded, the reason you were coerced into marriage with Debenham was because of what you did that night.”
“What I attested to have done. There’s a great deal of difference. What Debenham blackmailed me into attesting.” Araminta spoke crisply, and Kitty was surprised at the antagonism between the sisters that suggested a great deal of familiarity of which she’d been unaware. She hoped the truth of her own relationship with Araminta would never be made public. Araminta would not like it one bit.
Araminta fiddled with her veil. “Debenham forced me to say that I’d visited him in his supper box because apparently, there was other evidence to suggest he had spent it in company with the two criminals suspected of involvement in the Castlereagh Affair. But Debenham has many other enemies. If that letter got into the wrong hands, he would be ruined.”
Lissa and Ralph exchanged looks, just as Araminta added, “And if that happened, so would I.”
“You want me to get you the letter? I’m afraid I can’t do that, though it might come as some consolation to know that, on its own, it provides insufficient proof of anything.” He looked truly regretful. “Surely my brother has told you it’s impossible to hand it over to you. I do not have it. A very serious investigation involving your husband is underway.”
“Teddy did not tell me it had gone so far!” Araminta went pale, and her mouth dropped open. “You are his trusted secretary, Mr. Tunley, yet y
ou are plotting against him? Surely you understand that if he’s ruined, so will I be! And if I tell Debenham that you’re a traitor—just like you’re accusing him of being—you will be ruined,” she threatened. “You’ll have no job, Mr. Tunley. Perhaps something even worse will happen to you.”
Kitty stared through a chink in the curtain at the three of them sitting in the cramped parlor—Lissa and Ralph and, between them her beautiful half-sister, Araminta, whose showy presence in this run-down hovel was so utterly unexpected.
She was horrified and fascinated in equal measure. Why had Ralph been so blunt about plotting against Araminta’s husband?
Ralph poured Araminta another brandy and pushed the glass across the table. “Debenham is not known for his kindness toward his minions. Look at his valet, who suffered an unfortunate accident when Debenham suspected he had this particular letter. Nothing could be proved, of course, and his valet continues his uneasy employment. I believe Debenham holds to the adage to keep one’s friends close and one’s enemies—or suspected enemies—closer. He’s certainly never professed to like me.” He leaned back and studied Araminta’s tense, mutinous face. “I sometimes wonder why he keeps employing me other than that he’s too lazy to find someone else to keep his affairs in order. I assure you, though, that with regard to his financial matters, I am entirely honest. But, by all means, tell him about the investigation, if you wish, Lady Debenham.” He raised his hands, palm upward. “My belief, however, is that an outcome more conducive to your future security and happiness can be achieved through you joining your efforts with ours.”
Araminta looked aghast, just as Lissa did, and Kitty felt.
