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Dominic dragged a hand down his face. He suddenly felt exhausted beyond measure. Saddened and chastened. He covered his daughter’s hand with his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “I’m not angry with you, Celeste. Not after everything that’s happened.” He offered her a small smile. “After the near-miss that I’ve just had, it rather puts things into perspective. About what’s important in life and what isn’t. I hate to think that you see me as some sort of terrible ogre or tyrant. A man to fear. And I’m beginning to wonder if my fiancée sees me in the same way.”
“Oh, Papa, you’re not an ogre, or any kind of monster for that matter, and I’m sure Artemis doesn’t think that either. I swear she loves you very much. She rarely left your side. Aunt Horatia told me that she was so worried about you, she barely ate or slept for days.”
Dominic’s gaze wandered to the window. The curtains had been pulled back and a wash of pale morning light spilled over his desk, over Artemis’s books, illuminating the embossed gold lettering of the titles. If he closed his eyes, he knew he would be able to hear Artemis whispering how much she loved him. That he had to live. That he couldn’t die. That she wouldn’t let him…
But she’d kept a secret from him.A significant secret.
One that could be used against her.
He caught Celeste’s eye. “You said that hardly anyone knows about Artemis’s clandestine writing career. But could someone else have found out? Someone like Miss Sharp?”
“Perhaps…” Celeste worried at her lower lip. “If she overheard our conversations… The first time, Artemis and I were in my bedroom at Ashburn and Miss Sharp was next door in the sitting room, so she might have listened in. Our second conversation, as I mentioned before, took place in the hall outside your rooms. But I didn’t think there was anyone else around. Well, I did notice a pair of footmen lighting the lamps, but then they left.”
“Via the jib door to the servants’ stairs near my suite?”
“Yes.” Celeste’s eyes widened. “You don’t really think that Miss Sharp eavesdropped on us, do you? And then threatened Artemis in some way?”
“I’m not sure, but I’d certainly like to find out,” said Dominic. “Your governess would know that a secret like that could do irreparable damage to Artemis’s reputation if it got out.”
“And we both know she disapproves of Lydia Lovelace’s books,” added Celeste. She made a moue of displeasure. “I’ve always had the feeling she doesn’t particularly like Artemis either. That she sees her as some sort of rival. Perhaps it’s because they’re both teachers. Miss Sharp seemed quite put out when you first asked Artemis to talk to me about my academic interests.”
Guilt sparked in Dominic’s chest at the thought that he might have inadvertently put Artemis in an awkward situation that had somehow spiraled into something much worse. “Perhaps,” he agreed. He’d certainly noticed Miss Sharp’s not-so-subtle digs at his fiancée this morning. “But I think there’s only one way to find out for sure. My dearest daughter, when you see Miss Sharp, would you mind sending her to the library? I think it’s about time we had a frank conversation about what she may or may not know about Lydia Lovelace.”
***
After Celeste quit the library, Dominic repaired to his desk and picked upLady Violetta and the Vengeful Vampyre. To think that all this time, Artemis had been hiding the fact she was a Gothic romance author from him.
She must have feared that he would think less of her, perhaps even be angry with her. Or worse, that he’d refuse to provide the funding for her academic college because she wrote books containing salacious content. While Celeste’s disclosure had certainly been a surprise, he couldn’t say he was overly shocked. It would explain why Artemis had a penchant for using phrases peculiar to her own books as curses. And why she was such a staunch defender of the genre she loved so much.
Once upon a time, he would have been unhappy with Artemis for keeping such a secret from him, but now…now he was just ashamed that she hadn’t felt he was on her side. That she couldn’t see that he cared about her enough or could confide in him.
It wouldn’t be long before he remedied that situation. It was about time Artemis knew exactly how he felt about her.
But first things first. He opened Lady Violetta’s story and began to read, properly, as Celeste had asked him to. By the end of the first chapter, he was thoroughly engrossed and barely noticed when the coffee he’d rung for earlier arrived. He was just beginning the third intriguing chapter when there was another interruption. A timid rap on the library door heralded the arrival of Miss Sharp.
With a reluctant sigh, he closed Artemis’s book and eyed his fiancée’s apparent rival as she entered the room. “Miss Sharp,” he said, beckoning her closer to the desk. “There’s a matter of some import that I’d like to discuss with you.”
“Oh… Yes of course, Your Grace,” she said, her manner grave yet as timid as a schoolgirl’s as she approached. “I hope everything is all right…”
“Not really,” he said with an exaggerated sigh. “As you know, I’m more than a bit disgruntled to learn that my fiancée isn’t here. I can’t help dwelling on the fact that she quit Town so suddenly and with barely a word to anyone. It’s disappointing indeed.” He drummed his fingers on the cover ofLady Violetta and the Vengeful Vampyre. “It’s almost as though shehadto leave…” He paused and aimed a narrow-eyed look at the governess. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you, Miss Sharp? Because when you said you didn’t want to make an unwarranted accusation, I did wonder if you had any pertinent intelligence that could shed some light on the matter…”
A flaming-red blush crawled up the governess’s neck to her face, setting her whole countenance ablaze. “I…ah…no. No, I wouldn’t, Your Grace,” she said. “I mean, I was worried that Lady Celeste had been reading your fiancée’s books in secret…which is why I decided to hide them. But other than that, I really haven’t heard a thing. Well, apart from what Nurse Quincey told me about Miss Jones’s pressing need to visit her sister. And of course it was quite wrong of me to speculate that it had something to do with that horrid newspaper article in theLondon Tatler. I really do want to reassure you again that I’m not one to listen to gossip. Or spread it.”
Little liar, thought Dominic. While he was tempted to challenge her outright and ask if she preferred to listen at keyholes so she could glean her gossip firsthand, he decided to try a different, more subtle tack. He’d rather Miss Sharp disclose what she’d done to make Artemis leave instead of forcing an admission from her. It was time to drop a few innuendo-laden bread crumbs himself.
“Hmmm. I suppose it’s all for the best, really,” said Dominic, “that Miss Jones is away at present. Putting aside all questions of taste, I’ll admit I’ve had some doubts for a little while…about certain things…” He sighed heavily and flipped through the pages of Artemis’s book. “You think you know someone, and before too long she shows her true colors, revealing the sad fact that she’s not as honest, trustworthy, and dependable as you thought. When I heard about this Lydia Lovelace business in connection with my fiancée…” He affected another sigh and shook his head, letting the silence extend.
As Dominic expected, Miss Sharp’s expression shifted from the realms of “concerned” into a look that was practically alight with eagerness, perhaps even bordering on bloodthirsty glee. “Oh, Your Grace, I’m so, so relieved to hear that youareaware of the situation after all. It has beensucha weight on my mind, knowing Miss Jones is actually that awful author Lydia Lovelace. I wasn’t sure what to do when I first learned the terrible truth, but when it was clear that Miss Jones was continuing to corrupt Lady Celeste’s mind with her abominable books and outlandish, bordering on outrageous ideas, I simply had to act. And it didn’t take much, you’ll be relieved to hear.” Her mouth curved into a smug, superior smile. “Just the mere hint of exposing her shocking secret to Lady Northam and to the newspapers was enough to send her packing. I’m afraid your assessment of your fiancée’s character is correct. She truly isn’t honest, trustworthy, or dependable.”
Dominic cocked a sardonic brow. “Actually, that particular comment was aboutyou, Miss Sharp. It seems you’ve misread the situation entirely. And it disappoints me—nay, it angers me—to hear you proudly profess that you would stoop so low as to quite blithely threaten the woman that I love. The woman that I’m going to marry.”
“Oh… But…I… That’s not…” the governess began, hands fluttering wildly about her like a pair of mad butterflies, but Dominic cut her off.
“I do not want to hear your attempts to justify your actions, Miss Sharp. Suffice it to say, it is not your place to cast aspersions on my fiancée’s character or to take matters into your own hands. And in a malicious, underhanded manner that does you no credit. What sort of person threatens to blackmail someone else? You know that’s a crime, don’t you, Miss Sharp?”
“But…I thought…” Miss Sharp lifted her chin. Her bottom lip trembled, but only for a moment before she mastered her emotions and said, “I was only trying to protect your daughter, Your Grace. I believed that your opinion was similar to mine when it came to Lydia Lovelace’s books. That you agreed with me that they were harmful and that Lady Celeste shouldn’t read such rubbish. How was I to know that you no longer subscribed to that view? I was motivated to safeguard my charge from harm, nothing more.”
“Well, it seems that my views were wrong, Miss Sharp. My daughter has since convinced me to try Miss Lovelace’s—or should I say Miss Jones’s?—books”—he raisedLady Violetta and the Vengeful Vampyrein the air by way of demonstration—“and so far, what I’ve read is well plotted, beautifully written, and thoroughly captivating. Yes, there are some scenes that describe romantic trysts, but they are not as graphic as I initially thought. I’m certain Chapman and Hall would not deign to publish my fiancée’s novels if they werethatvulgar and offensive.
