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That was strange. He hadn’t done anything, and for some reason, she thought it might be nice if he had. She took a deep breath and forced her mind back on what they’d been discussing.
“Do you really think I can safely show my face in public?” she asked.
His gaze went back to her. “Yes, you don’t have anything to worry about. This isn’t unlike the time you were at the theatre. You’d be surprised by how sympathetic people can be.”
“But some were laughing.”
“Yes, but it was only a few who laughed. Most didn’t.”
That was something, she supposed, and it did help ease some of her anxiety. “Do you think I can still be a part ofLadies of Grace?”
“I don’t see why they would remove you from the group for something that wasn’t your fault.”
She hoped he was right. “Will your sister still talk to me after this?”
He offered her a reassuring smile. “Of course, she will.”
She caught sight of her father as he reached the doorway. The butler stopped him to let him know the Duchess of Ashbourne wanted to talk to her.
Her father shook his head. “Enough has happened tonight. My daughter will not receive any visitors at this time.”
Byron stood up from the settee as the butler left for the entrance.
Her father stormed over to Byron. “Where were you this evening? Your job was to watch my daughter and prevent bad things from happening to her.”
Eleanor blinked at the sharp tone in her father’s voice. Byron, on the other hand, wasn’t bothered by it. He calmly went to the door and shut it.
Her father plopped down in the chair across from her and crossed his arms. “I hope you have a good explanation for this. I don’t care much for gentlemen who waste my time, much less my money.”
Byron headed back over to them. Eleanor thought he was going to sit back down, but he remained standing.
“I didn’t tell you who the suspect was since it’s someone you’re well acquainted with, but I can safely say he is the Duke of Winnett,” Byron said.
Eleanor knew it! That only proved that the Duke of Winnett was as bad as she feared.
Her father, however, just snorted in disbelief. “You’ll have to do better than that if you want me to take you seriously.”
“It’s true,” Byron said. “In fact, I wasn’t in the ballroom when your daughter sat in the broken chair because I was searching his townhouse for clues.”
Eleanor’s eyes grew wide. He was?
“What do you mean the chair was broken?” her father asked. “It looked perfectly fine before Eleanor sat in it.”
“It was supposed to look like it was intact. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have sat in it,” Byron replied.
“That’s absurd. If a chair is broken, one can tell that by looking at it.”
“Not if someone manipulated the legs or something under the seat.”
“Do you have proof of this?”
Byron sighed. “Unfortunately, I don’t. By the time I found the discarded chairs, they were being burned.”
Eleanor’s father shook his head and rose to his feet. “You’re wasting my time.”
Byron stopped him before he could leave. “Who told you to go to those chairs? Lady Cadwalader?”
“No, the Duke of Winnett arranged for us to meet her there. It turns out he recently made Lord Cadwalader’s acquaintance, and he let Lord Cadwalader know that Eleanor is a member ofLadies of Grace. This impressed her, and she asked to meet Eleanor. He reserved that side of the room for us so that no one would interrupt us.”
