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Benedict growled. “It does matter, yes.”
He leaned forward in his seat. “Why don’t you ask your dear grandmother about Lord Allan Turner, hm? See what she tells you.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m afraid he’s not.”
All four of them flinched at the sound of the Dowager’s voice.
She stood in the doorway, still dressed for walking. Lord Nicholas’ expression hardened when he saw her.
“You promised to keep the boy in line.” Lord Nicholas grated. “You need to work harder. He’s not going along with the plan. You owe me.”
“Ido owe you.” The Dowager shrugged. “But he’s not a boy, he’s a man.”
Lord Nicholas bared his teeth. “Then perhaps I’ll just tell him the truth.”
She drew in a breath, turning to face Benedict.
“Go on, Benedict. Ask me. I know you want to.”
“Who… who is Lord Allan Turner?” Benedict whispered.
“He was a suitor of mine. Well, that isn’t entirely true. Hewantedto be a suitor of mine. The thing is – and this may not surprise you, Benedict – but I was rather a wild thing when I was young. My friends and I would sneak out and go to inappropriate parts of town. We’d dance and drink and sing. Oh, it was wonderful. I loved my freedom.
“But the thing about some men is that they covet women’s freedom. They long to possess strong, independent women, not for their strength, but for the opportunity to break them. How many of your friends, Benedict, boast about marrying feisty, spirited ladies and turning them into perfect, meek wives? Breaking them, rather.”
“They are not my friends.” Benedict shot back.
The Dowager moved over to a seat, well away from Lord Nicholas, and sat down. “You have always had better instincts than me. I allowed myself to be led into another inappropriate part of town and found myself face to face with Lord Allan. His attentions had become rather – pointed of late. I had just met your grandfather, who would one day be the Duke of Keswick, and I was already falling in love. Lord Allan knew he could not compete, but I would never have considered him in any case. On this particular evening, I was separated from my friends, and came face to face with Lord Allan Turner.”
Lord Nicholas leapt to his feet. “Shut up, you old crone!” he roared. “If you tell him the truth, he’ll never love you again.”
Benedict half-lunged towards Lord Nicholas, his fists clenched. Rosaline hung onto his arm, preventing him.
“Don’t you dare speak to my grandmother like that!” Benedict hissed. “If you don’t quiet down, I’ll knock your teeth down your throat.”
For the first time since they’d made him, Lord Nicholas looked truly afraid. He paled, shrinking back.
The Dowager waved a dismissive hand.
“Ignore him, Benedict. He’s just angry that I’m about to destroy his hold over me, even if it does change how you feel about me.”
“Grandmother, you could never…”
“Wait until I’ve finished my story.” The Dowager interrupted softly. She sighed. “Lord Allan accosted me. I tried to slip away, but he pulled me into an alleyway. He was going to… he tried to… well, I’m sure your imaginations can fill in the blanks. I was terrified. I knew that whether he succeeded or not, he would spread enough rumors about me – backed up by his odious friends, who had no doubt seen me in that inappropriate area – which would have destroyed my reputation forever. My life would have been over.”
“But you were attacked.” Rosaline interrupted. “It’s not your fault.”
The Dowager smiled sadly at her. “In the eyes of the world, it is always the woman’s fault. But he didn’t get his way. I got away from him and tried to run. He grabbed me, tried to pull me back, and I pushed him, hard.” She let her eyes flutter closed. “He fell back, hard. He lay still. I turned to run, but I could see that something was wrong. He wasn’t moving.”
“Oh, Grandmother.” Benedict breathed.
She smiled weakly. “You know where this is going, don’t you? When I came closer, I saw that Lord Allan had fallen on a pile of rubbish. Among the rubbish was a large pile of bricks. He had smashed in the back of his head on those bricks. He was quite clearly dead. As you can imagine, I was terrified and horrified. It was too late to get help for him, so I simply ran away. I never came back to that area. News soon circulated that Lord Allan had been found dead. It was quickly written off as an accident, and I believed I was in the clear.”
The Dowager’s voice hardened, and she turned to look at Lord Nicholas.
“That is, until Lord Allan’s slimy, weaselly friend approached me. He’d been watching from an upper window, no doubt to enjoy seeing a lady like myself being humbled. He saw his friend die. He threatened to expose me, but I was able to pay him off with some money and jewels. I thought it was over, and I suppose that was my own fault, really. As though a man likeyoucould ever let go of the chance to make others suffer.”
