For the Lust of a Rogue: A Steamy Historical Regency Romance Novel

by Olivia Bennet

  “I would like to help, but you must tell me more. How can Lady Caroline be in danger?” Jasper insisted.

  “Go find Emma Mitchell. She is Lady Caroline’s former lady’s maid. She knows the truth but believes she is in danger. She had planned to meet with Lady Caroline but did not show up. This plagues my mistress, and I am concerned that she will try to go to Emma again,” Madeleine said.

  “Again?”

  “I must go now, Mr. Langley.” She turned to leave, looking toward the entrance of the museum.

  “Please, don’t leave, tell me how I can find this Emma,” he said urgently.

  “Go to the lodgings not far from the milliner on Bond Street. I don’t know the address, but the curtains in the window have a rose pattern. That’s all I can say.” At those words, she hurried back to the museum.

  What on earth can this mean? This cryptic warning felt laden with meaning. I must find this Emma.

  It was late, and the sky was dark. Jasper walked down the street, looking at the different houses, trying to find the correct one. Once he had returned to his office, he had begun preparing for his meeting with Mr. McIntire, knowing he would only have one opportunity to convince the Constable to testify the following day.

  However, he had to wait for a long time for Mr. McIntire to show up. When they had finally finished preparing, and Mr. McIntire had confirmed that the will was indeed authentic, Jasper hurried to find this mysterious Emma.

  Not knowing the house number made this search nearly impossible. He had long since passed the milliner Madeleine spoke of, but there was no sign of the rose-patterned curtains. He was just about to give up and return home when a flicker of light in a window to his right grabbed his attention. The curtains fluttered with the movement of the light—rose-patterned curtains.

  I will simply have to try to knock and hope I am not intruding on some poor strangers.

  He heaved a heavy sigh and knocked on the door. A long while passed before the door was opened slowly.

  “Good evening. My name is Jasper Langley, and I am searching for Emma Mitchell,” he said politely.

  “What do you want to do with Emma?” The woman who had answered the door spoke harshly.

  “I only wish to speak with her,” he replied.

  “How can you help us?” The woman spat angrily.

  “I am a solicitor,” he replied.

  “Well, I haven’t got any money.” She was about to close the door.

  “Will you tell me what has happened? Why was Emma unable to meet Lady Caroline?” He was sure the woman was about to shut the door in his face when another voice called from the back.

  “It’s all right, Esther, you can let him inside.”

  Esther stared at Jasper for a long while before letting him enter the house. He was surprised to see it was almost completely dark inside, the only light coming from a few candles at a table near the window.

  “Are you Emma?” He asked, unable to see anything except the dark outlines of a person in front of him.

  “Yes.”

  “I want to help you, but I am afraid I do not know what has happened,” he said cautiously.

  “No one can help us,” she replied.

  “Why do you say that?” He was getting used to the darkness, and he noticed Esther had moved to stand next to her.

  “That is simply how the world is, Mr. Langley.” There was silence for a moment, until Emma said. “How did you find me?”

  “Lady Caroline is concerned about you,” he replied vaguely.

  “Lady Caroline?”

  “Yes,” he said. “She worries about your safety.”

  “Will you give a message to Lady Caroline?”

  “What is it?”

  “Tell her that I am well, and she should not concern herself with our wellbeing. I should not have sent her that letter. I made a mistake.” she spoke stiffly, and Esther sighed loudly.

  “Is that the truth?” Jasper asked seriously.

  “No,” she replied. “But it will hopefully keep Lady Caroline out of danger.”

  Chapter 25

  Jasper was almost late. He ran up the steps of the courthouse, completely out of breath. He had stopped at the Examiner to drop off Lady Caroline’s latest article. Mr. Fielding had wanted to discuss the previous article in detail and refused to let him leave until after reading the new piece through.

  “There he is,” Mr. Holmes said, walking forward to greet Jasper. “Lady Williams was growing rather anxious.”

  “I’m here,” he replied. “I do apologize, My Lady.” He turned to face the nervous-looking Lady Williams.

  “I’m just glad you are here,” she said nervously. “Mr. Holmes mentioned a new witness?”

  “Yes. But let’s not speak here.” He looked around and noticed that Mr. Trembill had been slowly edging closer toward them.

  “My sister is going to meet me after the proceedings,” Lady Williams continued. “She lives up North, and there isn’t much room, but I know I will be welcome there.” She gazed away from them, with a somber expression.

  “Let us get going, My Lady.” Jasper tried to keep his expression grim. He did not want Mr. Trembill to sense that he felt victorious in the slightest.

  The court proceedings had begun. Jasper stood, facing the judge, holding the notes he had prepared. The courtroom was unusually packed with people. Mr. Trembill observed him with a wide grin on his face. He could hear Lady Williams sniffling softly behind him. He took a deep breath before addressing the judge.

  “If it pleases the court, Your Honor, we will bring forth our expert witness.” He spoke with a confident voice and was thoroughly pleased when he noticed the look of surprise on Mr. Trembill.

  “Proceed,” the judge said.

  “We call upon the consultation of Constable McIntire,” he continued. A ripple of sound from the gallery waved around the courtroom. Mr. McIntire stepped up to the witness stand, looking grim.

  “Your Honor, we object, this—” Mr. Trembill began, but the judge silenced him.

  “We will hear from Constable McIntire,” the judge said with finality.

  Seldom had Jasper felt in so much control. He asked Mr. McIntire about Lady Williams’s will and its legality. Mr. McIntire spoke with precision and without preamble. He explained how a forger might try to copy this handwriting on the document, but when he compared the will to another record by the late Lord Williams, he pointed out how not even he himself would have been able to replicate it.

  Mr. Trembill asked Mr. McIntire about his past as a forger, calling him a criminal. The Constable answered coolly that his past made him an expert on forgeries, and that he had paid his dues for his past. Mr. McIntire then went on about the so-called forger that Mr. Trembill had brought forth, stating it was strange that this petty criminal was suddenly a gifted counterfeiter.

  He ended his speech by saying he would very much like to see the forger at work, making him prove he was able to produce such work. Mr. Trembill was clearly rattled by Mr. McIntire’s testimony and asked the court for more time, which the judge refused. Not long after, the judge ruled that the will was authentic and that Lady Williams was the rightful heir of her late husband’s estate.

  “Well done, Mr. Langley!” Jasper turned around to see who was speaking to him. Since the judge made his ruling, Lady Williams had burst into tears, and Mr. Holmes had walked out with her to find her sister. He had been shaking hands, accepting congratulations from people who had been in the gallery. Lord Brighney grasped his hand tightly. “That was excellent work!”

  “Thank you, My Lord,” he replied.

  “You must come out here, I must introduce you to my colleagues.” Lord Brighney led the way to a room in the back, which was filled with gentlemen, solicitors, and judges. Lord Brighney introduced Jasper to them, telling everyone what an excellent solicitor he was and that they had been working together for a while now. All the gentlemen seemed quite interested, and it was a long while before Jasper was able to r
eturn to his client.

  “Where is Lady Williams?” He asked when he had finally returned to Mr. Holmes.

  “She went home to rest,” Mr. Holmes said. “She wanted to thank you properly, but she was completely exhausted.”

  “That’s fine,” he replied.

  “Lord Brighney certainly was pleased with you,” Mr. Holmes said. They had begun walking back toward the office.

  “It was frankly rather overwhelming.” He chuckled softly. “Being around all these gentlemen and Lords.”

  “I do not doubt that they will accept you as one of their own,” Mr. Holmes replied.

  “Well, I don’t know about that,” he said, but he felt hope swelling up inside him.

  My sweet Lady Caroline! I will prove myself worthy you, just you wait.

  Caroline had been carrying a tight knot of worries ever since yesterday’s trip to the museum. She could not rid herself of Lord Estaria’s image as he held her hand tightly in his. Thankfully, he had been quiet on the way back.

  I wonder where he disappeared to once Lady Sarah arrived? She seemed determined not to look at me, let alone speak.

  She had just sat down at the dinner table. Lord Estaria was there, of course, as well as the Dowager Duchess, and her father.

  “How has your day been, Father?” Caroline asked.

  “It was good, poppet. I must say, our Mr. Langley certainly made an impression at court today,” her father replied.

  “He did?” Her voice was soft and high, and her heart skipped a beat at the mere mention of his name.

  “Oh, yes, he was quite excellent.” Lord Brighney chortled. “Poor old Mr. Trembill hadn’t a chance.”

  “This was Lady Williams’ case, was it not?” She tried to calm her voice, but it was impossible.

  “It was,” her father said, seeming surprised she knew that.

  “I heard Lady Williams forged a will from her late husband,” Lord Estaria said suddenly.

  “Well, Mr. Langley proved today that was indeed not correct,” Lord Brighney replied.

  “Did he win the case?” She asked excitedly.

  “He did.”

  “I’m very pleased,” she said. But at the harsh look on Lord Estaria’s face, she quickly added, “This must mean so very much to Lady Williams. She has always been kind to me.”

  “Do you know, Lady Eastridge told me the most remarkable story, yesterday at the museum,” the Dowager Duchess said conversationally, after a somewhat tense silence. Lord Estaria looked sharply at the Dowager Duchess.

  “Oh, really, what did she say?” Lord Brighney replied. Caroline was sure her father hadn’t the faintest idea of who her aunt spoke.

  “It was about her poor niece, Lady Sarah,” her aunt continued. She glanced a look at Lord Estaria. He was paler than usual, and he gulped down his drink.

  “What of her niece?” her father said, taking another bite.

  “Apparently, her lady’s maid has run away.” The Dowager Duchess turned her attention to Caroline.

  “How strange,” she said, her mind working furiously.

  Another lady’s maid, gone! Can this be a coincidence?

  “It’s so difficult to get a good lady’s maid these days,” her aunt said, her voice oddly accusatory.

  “I do hope Lady Sarah will find a new lady’s maid soon,” Caroline replied. The Dowager Duchess was now staring at her.

  “I could not help notice that Madeleine was missing for quite a while at the museum yesterday,” her aunt said.

  “Was she?” Caroline felt icy cold dread trickle down her spine.

  “Yes.” The Dowager Duchess took a sip of her wine, her eyebrow raised. “First, she neglects to handle her correspondence in private, and now she leaves at her own leisure.”

  “Oh, I remember now,” she hurried to say. “I asked her to return to Lord Estaria’s carriage.”

  “Why on earth did you do that?” Her aunt exclaimed.

  “I was concerned that I had lost Mother’s ring there,” she answered, thinking up the excuse quickly.

  “Did she find it?”

  “Actually, I remembered that I had left it at home,” she said lamely.

  “Is that so?” It was clear that her aunt did not believe her. She had to say something that would distract the Dowager Duchess. “Perhaps we ought to bring her here? She must be able to explain her absence.”

  “Please, Your Grace, that is surely not necessary,” she pleaded.

  “Dear Caroline, you are kind, and I am sure you wish to protect your lady’s maid, but given what has happened with a great deal of other lady’s maids, we cannot take any chances.” Her aunt snapped her finger and commanded one of the servants to bring Madeleine into the dining room.

  Caroline was trembling with nerves. Lord Estaria did not look at her, and her father was peculiarly observing her. The door to the dining hall opened, and Madeleine walked into the room, looking frightened.

  “Come here, Madeleine,” her aunt said authoritatively.

  “Yes, Your Grace,” Madeleine whispered. She walked timidly to the middle of the room, so she was facing the Dowager Duchess.

  “Yesterday, you left your mistress alone at the museum,” her aunt stated. “Explain your actions.”

  “I–I–I had to go to the...” Madeleine stammered, looking desperately at Caroline.

  “Speak up,” the Dowager Duchess barked. Madeleine had tears in her eyes and Caroline was thinking rapidly.

  I will not lose her. I cannot lose Madeleine.

  Finally, Caroline spoke. “Madeleine left to deliver a letter for me. I commanded her to go.”

  The room became deadly silent at once.

  Chapter 26

  “Excuse me?” The Dowager Duchess turned her attention to Caroline. “She was delivering a letter? For you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Madeleine, is that correct?” Her aunt looked back at Madeleine, whose eyes were wide. Caroline nodded her head, minutely.

  “It is correct,” Madeleine said slowly.

  The Dowager Duchess was fuming now. But just as soon as her anger had appeared, it dissipated.

  “You may leave, Madeleine.” Her tone was curt, and Madeleine looked utterly surprised. She hesitated for a moment before hurrying out of the room.

  Nobody spoke for a long while. The Dowager Duchess ate in silence, not looking at Caroline. Lord Brighney seemed unsure what to say, but Caroline was surprised and a little bit frightened at the look on Lord Estaria. He was staring at her with a hard expression, an almost accusatory glare.

  “I do apologize for this spectacle, Lord Estaria,” her aunt said after they had finished their dessert. Once the servants had brought forth the strawberry tart, nobody seemed to have much appetite left. Caroline was dreading what would happen next.

  She was certain her aunt was not finished scolding her. Most likely the full extent of her punishment would become apparent once they had left the company of her father and Lord Estaria. For the first time, she wished to remain near Lord Estaria for longer.

  What will Her Grace do to me? I cannot tell her who the letters were meant for.

  “We will excuse ourselves now.” The Dowager Duchess stood up gracefully.

  “Good night,” Caroline said, meekly, following her aunt out of the dining room. They walked to the drawing room, and she felt every step was heavier than the last.

  “Sit down,” her aunt commanded.

  “Your Grace, please will you let me expl–” she began.

  “Caroline,” her aunt cut her off. “The letter that fell from your basket the other day, was that from you as well? Not from Madeleine?”

  “Yes,” she replied softly.

  “Who were you writing to?”

  What can I tell her?

  She had never seen her aunt look this angry. What if she suspected Caroline wasn’t telling the truth? The thought filled her with dread. The truth was the very thing her aunt could definitively not know!

  “I was writ
ing to Emma,” she finally said. Partial truth was the only conceivable way out of this.

  “Emma?” The Dowager Duchess gaped at her. “Your former maid?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why on earth were you writing to her?” Her aunt looked thoroughly shocked, but it did have the added benefit that her anger seemed to be temporarily forgotten.