Lady Beware

by Jo Beverley

  “Dull?” Thea asked with a laugh. “When he almost murdered a man before my eyes?”

  “I’m sure it was a very dull murder,” Maddy said and flounced out.

  Thea hoped that meant she wouldn’t see her again for a long time. She did spend a few moments wondering if she should warn her mother or aunt—but of what? Maddy said she wouldn’t elope, and her reasons made sense. She was underage, so there was no other way for her to marry Foxstall. She could write secret letters and even slip out for clandestine meetings as much as she wanted. Thea was sure she’d been doing such things for years. And if Maddy felt for Foxstall as she felt for Darien, Thea truly, deeply sympathized.

  When would Darien visit?

  He didn’t come that evening. When he didn’t come the next day, Thea set out in the afternoon to wander fashionable London with Harriet in the manner of an angler trailing a fly across water. She went to Hatchard’s to peruse the latest novels, and walked the length of Oxford Street until Harriet was beginning to mutter. She saw no sign of Darien other than a painting in a shop window.

  That certainly absorbed her for a while. He was truly splendid in full hussar magnificence, on a prancing gray horse, ready for battle. Others paused to admire it, too, and Thea even heard one woman say, “Brother to that madman, you know, but this one, Lord Darien, he’s a regular hero.”

  Everything was going so well and she wanted to share that with him. That night she and her mother went to the theater, but again, Darien was nowhere to be seen. By then, Thea thought it safe to ask her mother.

  “I believe he’s visiting the Duchess of York at Oatlands.”

  “Excellent,” said Thea, and she meant it. Not only because that was another sign of his social progress, but because there was a reason she hadn’t encountered him.

  But the next day he returned to Town—there was a brief note in the Gazette—and still didn’t call at Yeovil House. That evening, before dinner, where the French ambassador and some other diplomatic people were to be her mother’s guests, even the duchess noted his neglect.

  “I do hope to see Darien soon. But it is excellent that he’s so busy, and with eminent company.”

  Busy avoiding her, Thea had to conclude. It was possible that he was being noble, but what if he’d realized he didn’t want an extravagant duke’s daughter for a wife? She couldn’t stand the uncertainty, but she could hardly march round and knock on his door, tempting though that was.

  Chapter 33

  The next day, after a fruitless morning spent waiting for some sort of news of Darien, Thea received a plea from Maddy.

  Dearest, dearest Thea,

  I’m so sorry for losing my temper, but I truly am suffering, and it’s made worse with Fox in Town. I’m allowed to go nowhere without escort, and of course my maid doesn’t count. Mama says if you accompany me she’ll allow an excursion. Thank heavens for your golden reputation! There’s an interesting bookstore I’ve heard of, quite within walking distance of our house. Do say you’ll come and escort me there or I’ll slit my throat.

  Your loving cousin,

  Maddy.

  Thea shook her head, but she might as well be useful to someone. She told her mother, ordered the carriage, and was soon on her way to Maddy’s house with Harriet in attendance. Once there, she sent the coach home with orders to return in two hours.

  Maddy truly was finding restriction difficult. She was ready and in a fever to be off. “It’s like being in prison,” she complained as soon as they were outside. “Thank you, thank you!”

  For a prisoner, she was in fine looks. Her bright blue outfit suited her to perfection, her color was high and her eyes bright.

  “You haven’t brought your maid?” Thea asked.

  “I knew you’d bring Harriet, and Mama doesn’t trust Susannah. With reason,” she added with a giggle.

  “So what is this special bookshop?” Thea asked as they walked down the street.

  “Thicke and Stelburg. Not a fashionable place, but I’m told it carries books that are just a little bit naughty.”

  “Maddy!”

  “Oh, don’t fuss. This isn’t some great scandal. They’re like Minerva novels, but the imprisoned heroines and lusty heroes get up to a little more than kisses. Caroline has one and it’s great fun. If I have to live in durance vile, I need amusement.”

  Thea resisted the urge to exclaim “Maddy!” again. This was harmless enough, and if it distracted Maddy from Foxstall, it would be worth it.

  Maddy shared society gossip all the way, but when they arrived at the address, Thea paused. The shop was not appealing. The front was narrow and the windows so dirty it was hard to see what few books were on display in there. Maddy walked in, however, so Thea had to follow.

  It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the gloomy interior. To her right, a morose-looking man hunched behind a small desk, absorbed in a book. In front of her, long rows of shelves stretched toward the dim back of the building, lit occasionally by smoky lamps. Maddy had disappeared.

  The place stank of wood rot and moldy paper, and Thea wanted to find these books and get out of there. She crossed the shop, floorboards creaking, peering down each aisle.

  There were customers—all male, but at least they looked respectable. She saw young men who were probably students, and older ones who looked like scholars. One was a clergyman.

  Thea didn’t feel afraid, but where was Maddy? Sometimes these shops were warrens, but this one looked simple enough, and Maddy’s blue gown should shine like a beacon.

  She was tempted to call Maddy’s name, but the silence was so firm she couldn’t quite bring herself to, so she went down an empty aisle looking for cross-aisles or unseen parts of the store. The only crossway was at the very end.

  She walked back up another aisle, having to squeeze by a disapproving scholar, until she arrived at the front again. She gave up and went to the desk.

  “My cousin, sir. A lady in blue. Do you know where she went?”

  The man looked up, sniffed, and silently handed her a folded, sealed sheet of paper.

  Heart suddenly thumping, Thea snapped the seal. A glance showed her Maddy’s flamboyant writing and the first words.

  Do forgive me, Thea.

  The wretch! Aware of the man’s interest, she went out into the fresh air before reading further.

  Do forgive me, Thea, for the ruse, though I do think it a very clever way to gain my freedom. Don’t worry. Your part is over. You may do as you please for the next two hours and then pick me up at the bookstore and take me home, with Mama none the wiser.

  And I will be with Fox, ensuring our future!

  I know you will help me, but if you think to do otherwise, remember that the pot shouldn’t call the kettle black. Silver feathers were found in the Harroving linen room. No one knows of it yet other than Fox and me. I’m sure you want it to stay that way.

  Your loving cousin,

  Maddy.

  Thea wondered if her eyes were bulging.

  “Loving cousin”? Maddy was blackmailing her.

  But then her knees turned weak. Dear heaven, had silver feathers really been found there? She had noticed that the poor owl had been a bit the worse for wear.

  Found by whom? Presumably by the laundress, who’d told Lady Harroving, who’d told her lover.

  Clearly her own connection had gone no farther yet, but it only needed someone to make a point of it.

  “What’s the matter, milady?” Harriet asked. “Where’s Miss Maddy?”

  There was no hiding it. “Gone, Harriet. Oh, dear….”

  “Kidnapped? Shall I get help?”

  “No! Hush, I must think.” Thea started walking so as not to attract attention. “She’s slipped away. Up to one of her tricks. But what should I do?”

  “Go right back and tell her mother, milady.”

  Thea hadn’t truly been asking for advice. “No, I can’t do that. Hush.”

  Had Maddy decided to elope anyway? She had to prevent
that. But if she told Aunt Margaret, Maddy would ruin her. Yes, she might actually do it.

  Maddy could simply be enjoying a tryst. That was wrong, but not worth taking risks to prevent. If she knew where Foxstall was lodging, she’d go there and find out. If they’d left in a post chaise, she’d know the worst and she’d have to act. If Maddy was there with him, it would simply be embarrassing.

  “Milady…”

  Harriet’s complaint made Thea come out of her thoughts. “What?”

  “Where are we going, milady?”

  Thea looked around. She was in a new street, and if she wasn’t careful she’d get lost. How could she find out where Foxstall was staying?

  Darien. He might know. But she couldn’t go to his house.

  But then she remembered him taunting her about being confined by cobwebs. Very well. She’d brush this one aside.

  “Harriet, how do we get from here to Hanover Square? It can’t be very far.”

  “I don’t know, milady.”

  “Ask that man.”

  Harriet rolled her eyes, but she asked a respectable middle-aged man, who gave directions. Thea set off briskly.

  “Where are we going, milady?”

  “To Lord Darien’s.”

  Harriet grabbed her arm. “Not to that house, milady! It were covered in blood!”

  Thea didn’t know if Harriet was referring to the murder or to other events, but she said, “I doubt it still is. Come or not. I’m going because I need some information.” She marched on and Harriet kept up, muttering.

  When they entered the square, however, Thea paused to bolster her nerve. What would he think? How would he react? She couldn’t turn back now.

  The square looked so calm and elegant, the central garden orderly, and the four terraces of well-maintained houses promised prosperous, decent inhabitants. She didn’t know the number of Darien’s house, but knew it had an escutcheon over the door featuring a snarling black dog. People had talked of that with disapproval.

  She found it. Other than the dog, it looked un-alarming. There definitely was no sign of blood. Yet as Thea climbed the shallow steps and rapped the knocker she felt as if every window in the square held a staring witness to this witless female entering the mad dog’s lair.

  No one responded, so she rapped again. The house couldn’t be deserted. She plied the knocker a third time, vigorously.

  The door opened a crack and a round-faced girl stared out at her. “Yes, mum?”

  The maid looked ready to shut the door in her face so Thea pushed hard and marched in. The girl gave way, gaping.

  “I wish to see Lord Darien.”

  The bug-eyed girl scuttled off, but not to a nearby room or upstairs. She ran toward the back of the house, doubtless to the servants’ area. What sort of establishment was this? Would a body of servants arrive to force her out?

  There was no spacious hall here, but rather a wide corridor that shortly narrowed where the staircase rose. Open doors on either side of her showed a reception room and a parlor. Another door was visible farther down the corridor.

  She could search room to room. Instead, she went to the bottom of the stairs and called: “Darien! It’s Lady Thea. Where are you?”

  He came out of the closed door on this floor, in waistcoat and shirtsleeves, frowning. “What the devil are you doing here?”

  So cold. So angry. That answered one question.

  “Dealing with devilish matters,” Thea snapped to hide a spear of pain. She turned back and pointed to a wooden chair in the hall. “Harriet, stay there.” Then she marched into his room, using anger to fight tears.

  It was an office of sorts, with a desk and empty bookshelves. He appeared to have been poring over densely printed books.

  She turned to face him. “Where does Captain Foxstall lodge?”

  “Why?”

  “None of your business.”

  “You’re in my house.”

  Their eyes locked. Perhaps he wasn’t angry, or not in that way. Or indifferent.

  He was half dressed, without cravat and with his shirt open. A vee of chest showed, making her have to swallow. His hair was disordered, as if he’d run his hand through it again and again. She wanted to smooth it.

  She pulled herself together. “Maddy is with Captain Foxstall. She expects me to provide her with an alibi, but I can’t. She could be making a terrible mistake.”

  “What mistake do you think she’s making?”

  In his presence it was hard to think. “Perhaps only a dalliance, but I have to stop her. What if she’s eloping?”

  “Is the case as desperate as that?” he asked.

  “My family is strongly against Foxstall. He’s been investigated.”

  “Poor old Fox. But yes, it must be stopped. It will serve neither of them well.” He took his coat off the back of his chair and shrugged into it. His hat and gloves were on a small table by the door. “I’ll go and find out what’s going on.”

  “You know where he’s lodging?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m coming, too.”

  “No.”

  He turned to leave so she grabbed his arm. “I need to.”

  I need to be with you.

  His muscles turned rigid and sensations rippled from there through her body. She snatched her hand free and stepped back.

  His face twitched, but his voice was steady. “Let me handle this, Thea. It could be unpleasant.”

  “That’s the point. Maddy’s capable of making an awful scene.”

  “You can stop her?”

  “Probably. And what if”—she bit her lip—“if she’s in distress?”

  “If he’s raped her?” he said bluntly. “That wouldn’t serve his purpose, and he’s never had need to. He has a way with women.”

  “They’re moved by his war wound, I assume,” she said bitterly.

  “Often, but it’s not a war wound. He tells them a touching story, but the scar is superficial. He was born with the wry face.”

  “A liar? Even more reason to save Maddy. Why aren’t we already on our way?”

  He sighed, then gestured toward the door, but neither of them moved.

  “Why haven’t you come to see me?” she asked.

  “Our bargain was for late in the year.”

  “Or for when I was next in London.”

  A brow rose. “I don’t remember that.”

  “Then perhaps your memory is weak.”

  His lips twitched, they did. Hope unfurled.

  “We’re here for the duration of Parliament,” she told him.

  “And our bargain?” he asked softly. “We haven’t had enough time, Thea. You know it.”

  “Do I?” She stepped closer, she had to, and raised her hand to cradle his strong neck. A pulse beat rapidly against her palm. “I haven’t changed. Have you?”

  “No.”

  She moved her fingers to his lips. He kissed them, but then he took her hand. “Come. Let’s rescue your cousin, though I confess I have some sympathy for those driven mad by…by desire.”

  Had he almost said “by love”?

  He was tugging her out of the room, but she held back. “Wait. I must tell you something. Darien, Maddy threatened me.”

  “Threatened you? With what?”

  “With exposure. She implied that she knew. About what we did.” She dug the letter out of her reticule. “Here, read it.”

  He scanned it quickly, lips tightening. “It could be cunning guesswork.”

  “But what if it’s true? Mama told me Foxstall’s been…That Lady Harroving has been his mistress, even while he’s been wooing Maddy. Another reason Maddy mustn’t marry him, but that must be how he knows about the feathers. But how could he tell Maddy without revealing…?”

  He took her into his arms. “Calm down. If there were feathers there, the story hasn’t spread. Lady Harroving might not have made the connection, but if she has she would hesitate to offend your family. In any case there are probably many simi
lar incidents at her masquerades. If they became the tattle of the Town, she’d soon have no guests.”

  Thea rested against him, where she’d so longed to be, but she felt like weeping. “I hate her knowing. Despite everything….”

  “You wish you hadn’t done it. I know.”

  She looked up at him. “I don’t regret you. I will never regret you.”

  He kissed her gently. “I hope that’s true. But come, we should ride to the rescue.”

  They parted reluctantly and walked to the door.

  “If we find them, leave him to me,” Darien said. “He’s not a good enemy.”

  “He’d be less likely to strike back at me than you,” she said.

  “I place no reliance on that. He’s capable of anything he thinks he can get away with.”

  Thea shuddered. “We have to free Maddy from him.” She walked out into the hall. “Harriet, Lord Darien’s taking me to retrieve Maddy. You’d best stay here.”

  Harriet bounced to her feet. “You’re not leaving me in this house, milady!”

  “I’m taking the monster with me,” Thea snapped, then wished to heaven she’d not. She looked at him in horror, but he seemed to be fighting laughter. She smiled back—and wished Maddy to the devil. But without Maddy’s mischief she wouldn’t be here.

  What should she do now? She didn’t want to take Harriet because they might find Maddy alone with Foxstall, which would be a scandal if known. But if she sent the maid back to Yeovil House, there’d be questions.

  “Is there anywhere you’d like to spend an hour, Harriet?”

  “And leave you alone with him, milady?”

  “I am perfectly safe with Lord Darien,” Thea said icily. “Where would you like to wait for me?”

  “In Westminster Abbey, milady,” Harriet said, with a silent, Where I can pray for you to come to your senses.

  “Very well. I think.” Thea looked at Darien. “How do we get there from here?”

  “A hackney,” he said, smiling, but she knew he was noting her ignorance of all the practicalities of life.

  Chapter 34

  They left Cave House and walked out of the square. Again, Thea thought of how many people were watching and wondering. She didn’t mind now, however. His feelings hadn’t changed, so she wanted to be seen with him, to be connected to him in the mind of her world.