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“You will think me the worst sort of gentleman,” he stated, making Daisy’s heart shudder with a s
udden fright. “But if it will keep you from Lord Fitzherbert then…” He shook his head, letting out another small groan. “Lord Fitzherbert is not the fop or the fool that he appears. It is a game. A ploy. A mask. He likes to keep his true self hidden.”
Daisy nodded, knowing full well that every gentlemen of the League present in the room would be listening carefully too. “He is calculating.”
“Indeed.” A distant look came into Lord Stevenson’s eyes, as though he were remembering the past in great detail. “I thought him once to be a very amiable fellow. There were the four of us then, you see. Lord Greyson, Lord Mallick, Lord Fitzherbert, and myself. We were all foolish then, Miss Williams. We did as we pleased and thought nothing of it. Your father…well, I still remember the day I was introduced to him. Lord Fitzherbert did not take kindly to him for whatever reason, but the rest of us did not mind in the least. We thought him highly respectable and were glad of his company.”
Daisy swallowed hard, feeling tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. “I see.”
“I do not mean to upset you,” Lord Stevenson said, hastily, looking at her. “I—”
“Please,” Daisy interrupted, waving a hand. “Please, continue, Lord Stevenson.”
He shook his head, running one hand through his hair and making it entirely askew. “One evening, the three of us were to call on Lord Fitzherbert. We arrived and, given that we were such fast friends, felt no need to be announced. We walked into the drawing room to find Lord Fitzherbert with another gentleman.”
“Who was he?” Daisy asked, unable to help herself, but Lord Stevenson merely shrugged.
“I do not know his name,” he said glumly. “I just knew that both he and Lord Fitzherbert were not speaking English when we three arrived.”
Daisy caught her breath, realizing what Lord Stevenson meant. She saw the ashen color in his cheeks, the agony in his eyes.
“He tried to brush it aside,” Lord Stevenson continued, his expression tormented. “But we did not believe him. There was more to this than Lord Fitzherbert wanted to tell us.”
“But you found the truth in the end?”
Lord Stevenson put his head in his hands, looking down at the floor. “He told us everything,” he said sadly, as though he regretted ever having asked Lord Fitzherbert to do so. “He then also stated that should we show him to be a spy for the French, should we tell anyone else of what we had discovered, then it would be all the worse for us.” He looked up at her again, his expression troubled. “We were very good friends, Miss Williams. He knew everything about me, and about Lord Marwick and Lord Greyson. There were things he could use against us, to ensure our silence.”
A stone dropped into Daisy’s stomach. “Goodness,” she whispered, pressing her hands to her mouth.
“My sister,” Lord Stevenson whispered, agony in every word. “My dear, sweet sister had managed to find herself in trouble.” He looked at her, then looked away. “I found the gentleman responsible, of course, but he was already married and could not do the honorable thing. I had confided in Lord Fitzherbert about my difficulties, and he had helped me to find a situation for her.” A glimmer of a smile caught one corner of his mouth. “She is married now – and happily so – and the child growing up as the adopted daughter of a very respectable merchant.” He shook his head. “My sister’s husband does not know of the child. And Lord Fitzherbert—”
“He told you that he would inform everyone of this if you did not keep your word of silence.”
Lord Stevenson looked at her for a moment or two as though trying to work out whether or not she judged him for such a thing before nodding and sinking his head back into his hands.
“He told you to leave England for a time then?”
“Yes,” Lord Stevenson said, his voice muffled. “Lord Greyson and Lord Mallick are dead, you say?”
She swallowed the lump in her throat and fought to keep her voice steady. “They caught an illness on board the ship that was to take them to America.”
Lord Stevenson let out a harsh laugh. “Or they were removed from this earth by Lord Fitzherbert for fear that they might not keep their word,” he stated, quite calmly. “Do not think that he would not be able to do such a thing, Miss Williams, for I am quite certain that he would be able to do so. The spies here are many, and his colleagues are great in number.”
Daisy closed her eyes.
“I argued with Lord Fitzherbert,” Lord Stevenson continued, his words slow as though he were speaking a memory aloud and only to himself. “Lord Greyson and Lord Mallick had gone from the house already, cowed by Lord Fitzherbert’s anger and cruelty, but I remained. Lord Fitzherbert mentioned your father.”
Her hand flew to her mouth, her eyes filling with tears. This was going to be very difficult indeed for her to hear.
“I do not think he meant to,” Lord Stevenson continued, still not looking at her but rather keeping his gaze trained on the floor. “But I began to fear for your father’s life. I did not understand Lord Fitzherbert’s reasons for wishing harm to him, but I left with the singular determination to try and warn your father somehow.”
“And so you spoke to him.”
Lord Stevenson’s head lifted at once, a gasp leaving his throat as Lord Watt came slowly out of the shadows, moving towards Daisy and Lord Stevenson with quick, sure steps. As if they had been waiting for Lord Watt’s command, the other men came out also, coming to stand closer to Lord Stevenson and Daisy.
Daisy felt nothing but pain. Looking up at Lord Watt, she saw the hard, angry expression on his face and felt her heart stab with agony again. Putting her hands over her face, she leaned forward and tried not to weep.
Lord Watt’s hand was on her shoulder in a moment, and she leaned into it, suddenly desperate for his strength.
