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“My Lord,if I might have a private word with you?”
Neville looked up, startled. Stephens looked most serious – which made Neville rather wonder what dreadful thing had happened where.
“Of course, Stephens, do come in and close the door.”
The butler did as asked, stepping into Neville’s study and making sure that the door was firmly closed before turning back to Neville.
“My Lord, I am not quite certain how to say what I must say…”
“Stephens – you’ve been with me for a very long time – I hardly think that you need to worry! Say whatever you need to.”
The butler looked, almost, nervous…
“My Lord, you may remember that my cousin, John, is a Bow Street Runner?” Neville nodded, feeling more and more alarmed. “Well, John came to call on me last night, after you’d gone to the Ball. He… he wanted me to pass on a warning to you, my Lord.”
“A warning? About what?”
Neville’s alarm was escalating – what could a Runner want to warn him about?
“About… about a young lady, my Lord. He was employed by a lady he did not name, to discover the source of some rumours about her. And when he investigated, every path he followed, tracing where the rumours had come from, led back to one person. Lady Henrietta Gale. John was worried, because you’d been seen with Lady Henrietta, and he’s come to the conclusion that she’s not to be trusted, that she may, in fact be the sort of young woman who would try to trap a man into marriage. He asked me to warn you…”
Stephens stopped, waiting, obviously unsure of whether Neville would speak in the young lady’s defence, or believe the warning. In the end, Neville did neither – he shocked Stephens utterly by bursting into near hysterical laughter.
“Oh! Too late… if only…”
“My Lord?”
Neville fought to rein in the laughter, and attempted to explain to his long-suffering butler.
“Stephens, you must thank your cousin for me.”
“I will, my Lord – but… why are you laughing?”
“Because, Stephens, last night at the Page Ball, Lady Henrietta Gale very nearly managed to trap me in a compromise – it was only by the veriest miracle that I escaped her clutches. I must say, I wish that your cousin had come to call just a few hours earlier…”
* * *
Lady Eugenia had takena carriage over from her parents’ townhouse because she wanted to get ready for the St. Valentine’s Day Ball with Susan. Susan, for one, was quite glad to have her newfound best friend’s company as they prepared to attend the Ball which they had all been looking forward to for weeks now.
The two of them, along with their respective ladies’ maids, were fluttering about the rooms which Edward had allotted to Susan, all chattering happily amid the dressing, hair-styling, applying of subtle rouge and other makeup, and the donning of jewellery.
“I heard that the Count D’Asti paid you a rather interesting visit this afternoon.” Lady Eugenia gave Susan a coy look from under her lowered lashes. “What was that about?”
“We were trying to work out the best way to disentangle ourselves from one another, without sustaining any damage to either his reputation or mine.”
“I still think you’re a bit mad for not wanting Lord D’Asti, you know,” Eugenia murmured, her cheeks turning pink. “He’s so handsome and charming and, well, lovely.”
Susan arched a brow at her friend in challenge.
“He did try to use the rumour, which I now believe Lady Henrietta started, to try to trap me into a marriage he knew I didn’t want, Eugenia. He’s also deeply in debt, a problem which I am not at all prepared to handle. Our family only barely escaped financial ruin after our father died and Wadham threw us out. It might be materialistic of me, but I’d rather not bankrupt myself setting the Count’s debts to rights. And I happen to have feelings for someone else, as well. I’m sure you’ve guessed by now that my heart is hopelessly lost to Lord Seabury. The Count needs a far wealthier wife than I, one who has quite a substantial dowry, to solve his problems now, and still have enough left to manage to live well and happily afterward.”
Lady Eugenia went still, then, her eyes going wide and her lips tugging into a broad smile.
“I didn’t know that you had feelings for Lord Seabury! Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was a bit afraid that you might not approve of my being madly in love with your brother’s best friend.”
Susan dropped her friend’s gaze, then, looking away, ashamed of her insecurity.
Eugenia let out a breathy laugh and reached over, patting Susan’s hand reassuringly.
“It makes no difference to me! In fact, I wish you the absolute best of luck with Lord Seabury.”
Feeling mischievous and a little bold, Susan grinned at Eugenia.
“And I wish you the best of luck with the Count D’Asti, Eugenia.”
“I suppose that means you are a more observant woman than I am!” Eugenia laughed, her blush deepening. “I do not care about his debts, those can easily be dealt with, and I actually quite like him.”
“Well, if the dance you shared at the Page Ball was any indication, I think that he likes you, as well. And he mentioned something yesterday during his visit here that also makes me believe that you have a very good chance with Lord D’Asti, indeed.”
Eugenia surprised Susan by wrapping her in a tight hug as she let out a delighted squeal.
“I most certainly hope he decides to court me. I have enjoyed his company, and I look forward to seeing him again tonight.”
“I hope you have the best time, and get to dance to your heart’s content. I should warn you that I may be forced to interrupt your getting to know one another at some point during the course of the night, though. The Count and I plan to beat Lady Henrietta at her own game. So, should the opportunity present itself tonight, I hope we will be able to trick her into revealing that she started the rumour about us, as I believe she did. It would be best for the Count, and me, and you as well, if we manage to find a good way to kill the idea that he and I are betrothed, all without damaging our reputations.”
