In Search of Love: Convenient Arrangements (Book 2)

by Pearson, Rose

  “Yes, my lord,” Collins said, whilst the driver remained silent. “And even with the threats, she gave us coin in order to remain silent the following day. I—I didn’t know why or what was going to happen or where.”

  Stubbs cleared his throat for what was the third time. “When a man came to the carriage, we simply did as we had been told,” he said, sounding as though he were making some sort of serious confession under pain of death. “We did nothing.”

  “I do not think, then, that Lady Darlington knew for certain that I would have such an expensive gift within the carriage, ready for Lady Guthrie,” Lord Altringham said quietly, looking to first Lady Newfield and then to Julianna. “I believe she simply sent someone who would look inside in the belief that there would be something there.”

  The driver cleared his throat, sending a wave of irritation through Julianna. She looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to speak.

  “I think Lady Darlington came to the house, my lord,” he said, daring a look at Lord Altringham, who stared at him in astonishment. “I heard that the moment the carriage left, Lady Darlington appeared and spoke to the butler and one of the footmen.” He dropped his head again. “The footman, George, said that when she went back into her carriage, there was a fellow with her.” He snorted lightly. “Foolish boy, thinking himself jealous over a lady who gave him nothing more than a smile.”

  Julianna felt shock wash over her. Lady Darlington had been bold and brash, coming to Lord Altringham’s house, no doubt to determine whether or not he had taken a gift with him in the carriage that day. Once she had used her flirtations to discover what she needed to know, she had merely climbed back into her carriage and made her way to Hyde Park. The man within the carriage with her had done precisely what she had wished for him to do, making certain that the diamonds were soon within her care.

  “I did think her jealous, but I did not think her so conniving,” Lord Altringham murmured, sinking back down into his chair and waving a hand at the driver. “You are both dismissed.”

  The two men hurried toward the door, relief evident in their faces as they spun around—only to be halted again by another word from Lord Altringham.

  “Should either of you—in fact, should any of my staff—ever think of behaving in such a way again, then have no doubt.” He rose, pointing one finger at the two men, who stood, wide-eyed and fearful, before him. “Have no doubt that you will be thrown from my employ with no references and the truth about your disloyalty made known to the beau monde in its entirety.” His lips pulled thin, his brows low over his eyes and anger filling each and every word. “Do you understand me?”

  Both men bowed, muttering their understanding under their breath, their voices barely audible and fear in their faces as they looked, terrified, at Lord Altringham.

  “I think they will become some of the most loyal staff a gentleman has ever had,” Lady Newfield said sweetly as the door closed behind them both. “You have put fear in their hearts and now they shall never dare even to speak ill of you.”

  Lord Altringham shook his head. “I hope, in time, they will come to respect me as a good master,” he said heavily, “rather than obey out of fear.”

  Julianna sat down next to Lord Altringham, looking at his features and seeing the sorrow in his eyes and the traces of anger in the tightness of his jaw and the lines in his forehead.

  “I am sorry that our suspicions have been proven true,” she said carefully. “I am sure that you did not want your close acquaintance to be the one who—”

  “She is not my close acquaintance, Julianna.”

  It was the first time he had used her name and the intimacy of it drew her closer to him. Her breath caught at the hard look in his eyes, seeming to smack hard against the tenderness with which he had spoken her name.

  “She is not my close acquaintance,” he said again, as though this made things all the clearer. “I used her for my own benefits, as she used me.” His eyes became troubled, perhaps seeing himself as he truly was for the very first time. “In one way, it does not surprise me that she has done this. It is to be expected. We—she and I—are both very selfish creatures in our own ways.”

  Silence rang around the room for a few minutes. Julianna let out her breath slowly, not sure what to say, or if she should say anything at all for fear of breaking this reverent quietness.

  “We should go and speak to her at once, Lord Altringham,” Lady Newfield said eventually, her voice low. “Do you know where she might be?”

  Lord Altringham let out a small, sad laugh. “I will send her a note and she will be present within half an hour,” he said, shaking his head. “Thereafter we shall have the truth in its entirety from her, I can assure you.”

  Julianna swallowed a sudden lump that had come into her throat, seeing the sadness and regret in Lord Altringham’s eyes and feeling a strange urge to comfort him. In one way, she was glad that he was seeing himself and his acquaintances as they truly were, noting that to speak so openly of oneself meant that an honest reflection was taking place within. But at the same time, she felt sure that this would bring with it a great deal of pain. A pain that would, in time, lead to healing—of that, she was quite certain—but there was something about him enduring such difficulty that brought a pain to her heart.

  She was free now to allow her emotions and her feelings to rush through her with abandon. Now that the darkness of her future had turned to light, she was able to look at Lord Altringham with fresh eyes. There was a hope, now, that he would begin to care for her, that their life together would be one of contentment and happiness. It was more than she had ever allowed herself to dream of and yet it was now a real possibility. She could hardly believe it.

  * * *

  Lord Altringham had been quite right, Julianna mused as the door opened and the butler announced Lady Darlington. She had arrived within half an hour. Glancing across to Lady Newfield, she saw the lady’s eyes narrow as she took in the young lady from where they sat. They were in the corner of the room, with Lady Darlington swirling past them toward Lord Altringham without so much as a glance toward them. Her attention was clearly fixed on Lord Altringham to the point that she had not even become aware of their presence.

  “Good afternoon, Lord Altringham,” Lady Darlington breathed, dropping into a deep curtsy. “I was very glad to receive your note.”

  Lord Altringham, who had risen to his feet, did not so much as smile.

  “There is a very important reason I requested your company this afternoon,” Lord Altringham replied, his voice low and his expression grave. “It is not what you might believe, Lady Darlington.”

  “No?” she laughed, running one finger down Lord Altringham’s arm. “I was sure that you—”

  “You stole my diamonds.”

  Julianna tensed at the blunt words from Lord Altringham, seeing how Lady Darlington froze. She caught her breath as Lady Darlington took a small step back, fearing that she would run from the house without having spoken of the diamonds. Clearly, Lady Newfield considered this to be a real possibility also, for she rose from her chair quickly and made her way to the door.

  Lady Darlington let out a small shriek of surprise, turning around just as Lady Newfield rose.

  “As I said,” Lord Altringham murmured as Lady Newfield pressed her back against the door, a tilted smile on her face. “The diamonds, Lady Darlington.”

  Her hands pressed against her heart, Lady Darlington let out another whimper and looked for somewhere to sit. Lord Altringham took a step closer to her, and Julianna rose to her feet also.

  “We have heard it from Lord Altringham’s driver and his tiger,” Julianna said, surprised that she was a little nervous when it came to speaking with such force to Lady Darlington. “They told us everything.”

  Lady Darlington staggered back but no one reached for her. Julianna wondered if it was more of an act rather than a genuine weakness, believing that the lady in question was simply playing at being overcome
in order to garner sympathy from Lord Altringham.

  “Why did you steal the diamonds?” Lord Altringham asked quietly. “Was it because you wanted them for yourself?”

  Lady Darlington let out a harsh sob, one hand over her mouth, but still, no one went to her aid. Julianna saw the hard look on Lord Altringham’s face, the bored expression that was slowly being drawn on Lady Newfield’s, and realized that they both knew all too well Lady Darlington’s manipulation. All she was doing was trying to escape this situation in any way she could without giving anything away.

  Julianna drew in a deep breath, planting her hands on her hips and trying to speak with a good deal more authority. “Why did you steal the diamonds, Lady Darlington? I can assure you that your tears will do nothing but force you to remain here a little longer.”

  Lady Darlington stopped crying almost at once. Her eyes turned toward Julianna, who was astonished to see the dark malevolence that ran through the other lady’s features.

  “Who are you?” Lady Darlington spat, her eyes sparking with anger. “Why do you think you have the authority to—”

  “Answer the question, Lady Darlington.” Julianna was as astonished as Lady Newfield and Lord Altringham that she interrupted and spoke with such firmness, but it seemed to silence Lady Darlington. “There is nothing else for you to do other than speak the truth.”

  Lady Darlington’s lip curled but she turned back to face Lord Altringham. “All you have done is furnish Lady Guthrie with gifts,” she said angrily. “And yet you have taken a good deal from me without even the smallest amount of return from you!” She sniffed and lifted her chin. “I know that you have stolen a good many affections from other ladies also, even though you assured me that I was the only one that you thought of.”

  Julianna took in a deep breath, seeing Lord Altringham frown.

  “And so you stole the diamonds for yourself,” Lady Newfield said. “Very well done, Lady Darlington.”

  “Well, how else was I to have something such as that?” Lady Darlington huffed, her arms folded across her chest. “It is not as though I have many other gentlemen willing to seek me out for my attentions.” Narrowing her eyes, she shot an angry look toward Lord Altringham, whose brows lowered all the more.

  “If I might ask, Lady Darlington,” Lord Altringham said quietly, but with a dark expression on his face, “who spoke to you of these other ladies? Who helped stoke your anger by telling you of them all?”

  Julianna caught her breath, seeing Lady Darlington’s face pale and realizing precisely what Lord Altringham meant by his question. She moved forward, seeing Lady Darlington turn toward the door, perhaps looking for a way to escape.

  “Who, Lady Darlington?” Lord Altringham asked, his jaw tight. “I must know.”

  Lady Darlington let out her breath shakily. “I have no reason to tell you.”

  “You may keep the diamonds in return,” Lord Altringham said, astonishing them all. “And have no fear that I shall tell anyone of your discrepancies. If you do not tell me the truth, however, then I shall tell all of the beau monde what you have done and you will be forced to return the diamonds to me.”

  Evidently, the threat of being so treated by the ton and having the diamonds within her own possession for good were enough for Lady Darlington.

  “Very well,” she said, moving toward the door. “Lord Fairfax, he spoke to me of the other ladies of your particular acquaintance,” she said, her voice high-pitched, her expression tight. “I was greatly distressed to hear of it.”

  Lord Altringham let out a long, slow breath, dropping his head a little and rubbing his forehead with his hand. “And might it be that you heard of my intention to visit Lady Guthrie from Lord Fairfax?” he asked slowly.

  Julianna held her breath as Lady Darlington lifted her chin and looked at each of them in turn, her eyes narrowed. “Yes,” she said with a small, dark smile. “Although he did not tell me about the diamonds. I had to deduce that on my own.”

  And with that, she opened the door and stepped out, her head held high with no sign of the broken, sorrowful young lady that had been there only moments before. Julianna let out her breath, turning around to look at Lord Altringham, who was, much to her dismay, still standing with his head in his hand.

  “My lord,” she murmured, moving closer to him and extending one hand toward him. He looked up and, to her astonishment, reached out and took her hand. He then pulled her to him, his hand tight to hers so that she was looking up into his face. Her heart squeezed tight at the expression on his face. His eyes were closed tight, his jaw working furiously and lines grooved deep into his forehead.

  “What is it, Lord Altringham?” she asked, tentatively pressing her free hand against his heart. “What has troubled you so?”

  Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked at her, his gaze deeply troubled. “I recall what was said to me by the man that attacked me in the gardens,” he said quietly. “And now I have come to a most troubling conclusion.”

  Hearing footsteps behind her, Julianna felt rather than saw Lady Newfield come to stand closer.

  “What is it you recall?” Lady Newfield asked gently. “What was it that was said?”

  Lord Altringham let out a very heavy sigh. “He stated that I was unworthy.” His lips twisted ruefully. “And it is not that I do not believe the sentiment but rather that the only person who has said such a thing to me before has been, in fact, Lord Fairfax.”

  Julianna couldn’t breathe for a moment, her chest tight as she began to realize what it was Lord Altringham meant. “You believe it was Lord Fairfax who attacked you on these two occasions?”

  He nodded, swallowing hard. “And who made certain that Lady Darlington was fully aware of my intentions as regarded Lady Guthrie,” he said softly. “I am in no doubt.” Shaking his head, he pulled Julianna a little closer still. “The perpetrator in question is none other than my friend, Lord Fairfax.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Thomas looked all around the ballroom as he walked further in, trying to appear just as nonchalant as usual. This was no ordinary evening, however. This was the evening when he would reveal Lord Fairfax’s true intentions for him to all the other guests. The disgrace that would follow would bring Lord Fairfax’s attempts to a swift end and would, in all likelihood, throw him from the ton’s good graces for a long time.

  And yet, there was something within Thomas that did not want to do so. His friend—for that was how he still thought of him—had been one of his acquaintances for many years and Thomas still did not understand what had occurred to make Lord Fairfax behave so. What had he done that had brought Lord Fairfax to this point? What had occurred for his friend now to wish him dead?

  “Good evening, Lord Altringham.”

  Thomas started visibly, berating himself as he did so. Swiftly, he dropped into a bow, looking at the young lady in question and seeing how she blushed as he did so. Her friend beside her giggled but Thomas found no pleasure in the sound. Rather, he found himself somewhat irritated, not wanting to be interrupted from his task.

  “Good evening, Miss Brampton,” he said with a small smile that did not, he knew, spread to his eyes. “I do hope you are enjoying the ball thus far?” Wondering silently where the lady’s chaperone was, Thomas let out a small sigh as the lady blushed even deeper, before simpering and murmuring that yes, she was having a wonderful time but her only complaint was that her dance card was not yet full.

  Again, Thomas sighed inwardly but recalled that he was expected to act just as he would normally do. Thus, he inclined his head and begged to see her dance card, which Miss Brampton held out to him at once, clearly having expected him to do so. He then sought introductions to the lady’s friend, who turned out to be a Miss Stanhope, and wrote his name on her dance card also.

  This done, he smiled to them both, bowed, and took his leave, knowing full well that both of their dances would go unfulfilled. He had no intention of dancing this evening and by the time the dances ca
me around, he would already be gone from this place, he was sure.

  “Already seeking out new acquaintances, then?”

  Lord Fairfax’ voice was the usual mixture of disapproval and bemusement. Thomas felt a surge of anger climb up his spine but he did nothing other than shrug, looking at his friend with one lifted brow.

  “What do you expect?” he said, as nonchalantly as he could. “I am eager to dance this evening.”

  “Dance?” Lord Fairfax repeated, looking at Thomas askance. “I hardly think it is merely dancing that you seek this evening.”

  Thomas forced a laugh, even though inwardly, he winced at such words, knowing that they would have been quite true had he still been the very same gentleman of only a few weeks ago.

  “I presume this means that you have no intention to return to your wife, then?”

  A reply stuck in Thomas’ throat. He looked at Lord Fairfax in surprise, a little taken aback by such a question. Why had he remarked on something such as that?”

  Lord Fairfax sighed, rolling his eyes as he did so. “Yes, yes,” he murmured, waving a hand. “I know you will berate me for mentioning your lady wife, but I must confess some curiosity.” He shrugged. “It is as though you are not even wed—and indeed, I believe half the ton does not recall your marriage either.”

  It took Thomas a moment to respond, forcing a smile as he spoke. “That is just as I wish it,” he answered, trying to chuckle. “I would rather not recall my marriage and thus, I would hope that the beau monde would forget it also.” He laughed again, hating the words that came from him. “Besides which, if they forget my betrothal and my subsequent marriage, then I am sure I shall have a little more attention from some of the ladies of the ton than if they recalled it!”

  Lord Fairfax grimaced, his eyes a little hooded as he regarded Thomas. He made no remark but rather turned his gaze away after a moment or two, as though attempting to make his distaste quite clear.