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“I thank you for your trust in me,” she said softly, looking up at him. “You have become my stalwart, Lord Monteforte. Whatever occurs, I know that you are a good and honest man.”
This brought a sense of peace to his spirits even within this difficult situation, and as she sat, he bent down and lifted her hand to his lips. “It will be at an end soon,” he promised, letting her hand go and turning to face the door, just as Lord Cammish and Lord Dayton strode in, swiftly followed by Lord Watt and Lord Franks. The door remained open for there was no concern that either of them would escape, given that the other gentlemen from the League remained in the library.
“What is the meaning of this?” Lord Cammish demanded brusquely. “You cannot simply force us into this study without any means of explanation!”
Phillip, who had been lingering in the shadows for a moment, stepped closer and saw, much to his amusement, the way the smile fell from Lord Cammish’s face and how his pallor turned a little grey.
“Good evening, Lord Cammish,” he said before looking to Lord Dayton, who was staring at him in confusion. “And Lord Dayton. Good evening to you also. I’d assume, from the look on your face, that you were not expecting me to be present this evening.”
Lord Dayton opened his mouth as though to say something, only to close it tightly again, shaking his head firmly.
“Whether it was by your own hand or not, I know that you knocked me unconscious and then brought me to your townhouse, thrusting me into a tiny, dark room with a locked door, where you hoped I would remain until Prinny was no longer of this Earth,” Phillip continued, taking another step forward. “But it was not so.”
“Who let you out?” Lord Dayton hissed, beginning to stride towards Phillip. “Who found you?”
Phillip shook his head, looking at Lord Dayton with pitying eyes. “You admit your guilt so easily, Dayton?” he asked, seeing the man falter, his eyes flaring for a moment as he realized not only what he had done but also what he had said. “Why did you do such a thing? Why try to hide me away?”
Lord Cammish cleared his throat, lifting his chin as he did so. “I told him that you were not to be trusted,” he said, clearly deciding that there was no need to pretend any longer. “I did not believe you when you said that you wanted to follow through with the plan. I had someone follow you.”
Phillip frowned. “But I did nothing,” he said, a little confused. “I returned home and–”
“I had you followed for a long time before that meeting,” Lord Cammish interrupted, waving his hands as though Phillip was being quite foolish. “I wanted to catch you in your pretense. I knew that if you were meeting with the likes of Lord Watt and Lord Franks, then there was no easy way for you to accept the plan to remove the Prince from his place in the monarchy. In short,” he finished, with a sniff of disdain, “I did not trust you.”
Lord Dayton shook his head, his hands firmly on his hips. “And it seems he was correct not to,” he said angrily, glaring at Phillip as though he were the one in the wrong. “I told him that I believed you to be genuine in all of your promises, I even pushed you towards my daughters, and now…”
“Now you discover that I am not the gentleman you thought,” Phillip finished, with a small shrug. “I have no particular upset at such a remark, Lord Dayton, for if I am loyal to the Crown whilst you would wish me not to be so, I fear that it is you in wrong and not I.” He held Lord Dayton’s gaze, seeing how he struggled to say something in response, his jaw working furiously and his eyes burning with anger.
“What was it you intended for the Prince, Lord Cammish?” Lord Watt asked, tilting his head as though they were merely having a polite conversation and he had found something to intrigue him. “Poison?”
Lord Cammish shrugged and looked away. “I was not the one to procure it,” he muttered. “But I would be the one to administer it, if that is what you wish me to say.”
Phillip frowned. “You are being very honest, Lord Cammish,” he said, seeing how Lord Franks narrowed his eyes. “Your honesty will, most likely have you thrown in jail, if not hung from the gallows.” He did not like Lord Cammish’s manner and felt rather uneasy at the fellow’s ease in speaking. Something was wrong and Phillip could feel it in his spirit.
Lord Cammish sighed and looked at Lord Dayton. “I speak the truth so that I might be spared,” he said, his eyes turning from Lord Watt to Lord Franks and then, finally to Phillip. “I was coerced into this situation. It was not my own initiative, you understand. I was only…”
“That is a lie!” Lord Dayton’s eyes flared wide, his face suddenly paling. “I was led by you! You were the one to first approach me, to suggest ideas that I had never even considered before!”
Lord Cammish shook his head in an almost pitying manner. “Again, you try to throw the guilt at my feet,” he said dispassionately. “But it will do you no good, Lord Dayton. You are the traitor. I was only being led by you.”
Phillip caught Lord Watt’s sharp gaze and felt himself grow confused. Lord Cammish had, to him, always been the one to show greater fervor and initiative when it came to the matter of the Prince, but then again, it had been Lord Dayton who had brought Phillip into the meeting in the first place, who had insisted that he join them. Phillip did not know either gentleman well enough to make the correct decision and, thus, found himself floundering.
“Lord Dayton,” he said slowly, garnering everyone’s attention, “you were the one who spoke of placing something in the Prince’s drink, were you not?”
Lord Dayton’s face paled. “Yes, I was,” he admitted, glancing around the room.
Phillip sighed inwardly and shot a long look towards Lord Watt, trying to explain without speaking, that he had very little suggestion as to who might be telling the truth.
“But that was only because Lord Cammish had suggested it before you attended with us,” Lord Dayton continued hastily, making Phillip’s brows draw together as he recalled precisely what had occurred. “We had come to an agreement long before you appeared, Lord Monteforte. Do you not recall? I was to place the vial in the Prince’s brandy, whilst yourself and Lord Cammish created a distraction of sorts.”
Nodding, Phillip saw Lord Franks’ brow lift. That, at least, was true. Lord Cammish and Lord Dayton had discussed the matter at length long before Phillip had arrived.
Another idea suddenly hit him. “You say that you did not procure this poison, Lord Cammish,” Phillip said swiftly, an idea suddenly coming to him. “Then who was it, might I ask?” He looked to Lord Dayton, who shook his head firmly. “If it was not Lord Dayton, then I must wonder how you came to find it.”
Lord Cammish chuckled darkly. “I did not say it was not Dayton who brought it,” he said, with a small shrug as though he knew he were now placing the guilt firmly on Lord Dayton’s shoulders. “You are incorrect there, Lord Monteforte.”
“I had nothing to do with it!” Lord Dayton shouted, his face suddenly a deathly white. “I was to add a few drops to the Prince’s drink so that he would be overcome, would become ill, and would not recover for some time.”
Phillip’s mouth dropped open. It was not like him to be so caught by surprise, but what Lord Dayton had just said went against everything he thought he knew. Lord Dayton looked from one man to the other, his eyes still wide with fright.
