When he stepped into the ballroom, his eyes felt almost electric, hunting for her. Thomas stood, gasping for breath beside him.
Towards the far end of the room, the orchestra sat in their little chairs, their violins pressed against their necks and their cellos dipped against the floor. Alongside them, a long table of drinks stretched towards the opposite side of the ballroom.
Next to the table, several men stood in a conspiratorial circle, drinking and stroking their moustaches. And next to that, a similar circle of women hung tight, tittering and giggling. Amongst them were Tatiana and Ursula. Tatiana flashed her eyes towards Thomas and then immediately turned to Ursula, muttering something under her breath. The drama of it annoyed William, although he felt Thomas’ anxiety mount.
“Should I ask her to dance? Right now?” Thomas demanded, sounding like a child.
“Take it easy, Thomas,” William said. “Just bide your time. Let’s get a drink.”
They marched through the crowd, inhaling breath after breath of perfume, before arriving at the drink table. The moment the liquid hit William’s tongue, he yearned to guzzle all of it, just to cast himself into that wonderful cloud of courage.
Just as he began to sip his second, then his third, he turned his eyes across the crowd and caught sight of her—of Harriet—striding alongside Zelda. Immediately, William’s heart burst up to his throat. Suddenly, Thomas’ fears no longer felt as silly.
“There she is,” Thomas murmured, seeming apt to play William’s game, as well. “Speak with her.”
“Only if you speak with Tatiana,” William said. He shifted his weight.
“The minute the next song begins, I will,” Thomas said. His eyes sparkled. “If you do.”
“Okay. It’s a deal.”
It was difficult for William to describe the feeling he had the minute the next song began. It felt a bit like the most difficult, terrifying thing in the world, and yet it also felt like the most necessary. As he approached her, he had spurts of memory from the previous time he’d seen her—how he’d inhaled the scent of her neck, allowed his tongue to trace her nipple. They’d been the most private, most personal things he’d ever done to anyone. Always, he ached for more of her and only her. She seemed to be the antidote to all his problems.
When he reached her, Zelda’s words fell away. Harriet gazed up at him, her lips slightly parted, almost provocative. Zelda sniffed, adding, “I suppose our conversation is over, then.”
“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” William offered.
“You most certainly did,” Zelda said, almost playfully. She drew her elbow into Harriet’s upper arm, murmuring, “If you don’t dance with my old teenage love, then I’ll have to, just so he isn’t embarrassed. And you know how little I wish to do such a thing.”
Harriet’s cheeks flashed bright pink. “He hasn’t asked me yet. Who’s to say why he’s here?” She arched her brow. “Will you inform us of the meaning of your arrival, Lord Abernale? Otherwise, we do have a great deal to discuss.”
“Regarding the gossip of the court, of course,” Zelda said, putting on the same pompous voice Thomas had previously.
“I don’t mean to interrupt such insightful conversations,” William said.
Suddenly, Harriet brought her hand across his upper arm. The motion was so graceful, so sudden, that William’s heart stopped for a moment. He gazed at the impossibly beautiful porcelain of the space between her neck and her bosom. She was as perfect as a painting.
“Are you going to ask me?” Her eyes flashed, telling him something. It was clear she wanted more than a dance.
This was the night she would tell him everything.
“Lady Arnold. Will you do me the honour of dancing with me?”
“I want nothing more in this world.”
It was as though the rest of the party fell away, drifting off into another reality. William wrapped his hand across Harriet’s lower back, drawing her belly tight against him. She felt like putty in his hands, yet her mind was sharp, its own creature. He could never manipulate it, nor truly know what lurked within.
When they were out of earshot of anyone else, Harriet whispered, “I’ve thought about you endlessly.”
The words were so striking that William lost his footing for a moment. He glanced towards the orchestra, trying to land back on beat.
“I’ve thought about you, as well.” The words sounded garbled in his ears, as though he’d briefly forgotten how to speak English.
“Of course, I want only to tell you everything. Especially now that you know me—body and soul,” she continued.
“Yes,” William whispered.
“But I’m not terribly sure there’s time tonight,” Harriet continued. Her eyes flashed.
“Darling, we have all night,” William said. He gripped her tighter, trying to highlight the severity of his point. “I’ll dance with you all I can—”
“No more than would arouse suspicion,” Harriet said, arching her brow.
“Of course. Although, I dare say, it’s a funny thing thinking of you attempting to hide a simple affair like this—when you have such undeniable secrets in that head of yours …”
Harriet’s eyes fluttered. “I really wish I could dance like this all night. That I could fall in your arms, gaze up at you, feel warm and alive. Perhaps at another stage of my life, that was all I wanted. But just now …”
William prayed that the song wouldn’t end. He whisked her towards the far end of the floor, trying to draw them further from Thomas, who had continued to gaze longingly towards Tatiana.
As he brought his eyes back towards Harriet, however, he spotted something rather extraordinary. There, in the midst of the crowd, stood the Marquess himself! It had been ages since William had seen him, wearing his almost cartoonish expensive garb, his curls wafting down his shoulders. He stood boasting alongside his wife, his voice booming over heads around him.
Harriet nodded her head. “Yes. He’s here.”
“Did you know he would be?” William murmured.
“I had a hunch. I’ve been dreaming about it all week. What it means is that he’ll be away from his mansion …” Harriet said.
William arched his brow. “So, you have some sort of plan, then.”
Harriet allowed her shoulder to shrug only slightly. Her cheeks flashed pink. “I’m not one to live for these sorts of events any longer, William. As I said, I’m just …”
“You’re different from anyone I’ve ever met,” William affirmed. “I know that for certain.”
They held the silence for a moment, whirling around one another. William’s heart hammered.
“The Marquess is up to something,” Harriet said then, making her voice so low it was difficult to hear. “He’s running some sort of operation out of his estate. When I went south of the Thames to—to deliver goods to the poor, I met a young boy there. A night soil collector. Wretched job, really …” She paused for a moment, her face growing clouded. “Yet, in the midst of his collection, a strange man approached and stole his money. He then placed the bag of money in a specific location in an alleyway, only for another man to come and fetch it. I’ve seen this occur twice. The second time, I followed the man back to the home of the Marquess. It’s clear he was delivering the young boy’s money there. Of course, that was the night that I ran into you and couldn’t fully determine what was happening, nor collect the money back myself …”
“I see,” William murmured.
Harriet licked her lips nervously. “If the Marquess is away from his estate this evening, it’s a perfect time to enter his home unnoticed. My parents won’t suspect a thing. My mother is already blissfully drunk—have you seen her? And my father is so boisterous, in the midst of yet another tale. I’ll be gone for only an hour and a half, tops. And what I’ll learn during that time, well. It could change everything.”
“Harriet, it’s incredibly dangerous what you’re doing. You know that I respect you more than anyone. That I feel th
at you’re a godsend to the people of London. But I don’t think the Marquess is one to muddle with. He’s—he’s conned some of the most intelligent men in England. I really don’t think…”
“Come, now, William. I didn’t expect that you’d deliver such a verdict,” Harriet said.
“I just need you to tell me precisely what you’re going to do when you arrive at the home of the Marquess tonight,” William said, his voice growing taut. “And I need more explanation. I need to know—how long you’ve been doing this. Was that night at the ball your first? And …”
“As I said, William,” Harriet murmured, “I really don’t have time to get into it just now. Time is running out. But before I do go, I need to ask YOU something.”
“I don’t know that that’s entirely fair.”
“It doesn’t matter what’s fair just now. I only need to know—why were you there that night? Walking in the Marquess’ estate? And do you have any connection with this—this second thief? This other person who’s been copying my model …”
“Of course … I can tell you everything,” William said, his throat feeling tight. As he parted his lips to continue, however, the music petered out. He blinked towards the orchestra, almost daring them to keep going, to stretch out the song longer. But the musicians were adjusting on their seats, flipping through sheets of music.
Suddenly, Lady Arnold emerged between them, her cheeks flopping about as she spoke.
“Darling Harriet! I see you’ve already found yourself a dance.”
Harriet dropped her hands to her sides. William followed suit, forcing himself to deliver his most sterling smile to Lady Arnold.
“You really do know how to insert yourself in any situation, don’t you, Mother?” Harriet said.
Her mother gave little recognition of the severity of what Harriet had said. She swept her fingers above her ear, and then linked her arm with her daughter. “Your father has been absolutely boyish this evening. It’s reminding me of the early days of our courtship. I’m sure I’ve told you, but you couldn’t get the man to stop speaking. Of course, in the midst of it, I realised just how anxious he was. The man wanted to marry me from the moment he saw me. That much is true …”
As Lady Arnold barrelled on, Harriet turned towards William and whispered, “I’ll explain everything to you after. Find me later. Outside.”
William furrowed his brow. He ached to tell her no, to put his foot down on an event he felt far too dangerous for anyone like Harriet to put herself through. Yet already, Harriet was snaking through the crowd alongside her mother, leaving him behind. Again, his eyes turned towards the Marquess, who’d drawn up an enormous posse around him.
Without thinking, William stepped towards the posse, his heart fluttering. He had a sudden, horrific feeling—yet he told himself it was all unfounded. Harriet had always been fine. She didn’t need him. That was the most alluring part.
Chapter 28
William snaked himself through the crowd around the Marquess, moving himself alongside a man he’d grown up with named Isaac Holloway—who now gazed up at the Marquess with eyes that showed just how amazed he was at his grandeur. At this, William yearned to smirk. He forced his face to remain normal.
“It’s been really quite a trying time, as you can imagine,” the Marquess said. He drew his nail between two of his teeth and blinked down at the men around him, clearly enamoured with their captivation. “It’s as though suddenly, those of us at the top have a mark on our backs. To think of all the nights and days I’ve slaved, working to increase my wealth! And this man, this thief! He simply sneaks into my estate—on the evening of my ball, no less—and takes from me! Of course, he sent a signal to all of us. Telling us just how unsafe we really are in this city …”
“It’s absolutely wretched,” Isaac said, as the Marquess trailed off. “Nobody is more deserving of your riches than you are.
“Quite right. Quite right, my boy. And what was your name? Harris, wasn’t it?”
“Isaac,” Isaac offered, drawing himself to increased height.
“Wonderful. Wonderful.” The Marquess’ eyes scanned across the other heads, seemingly counting their number. “It was quite a sight, after my dear cousin was robbed. He came to me with tears in his eyes—some men do cry, I suppose—and asked me what in the world he could have done to protect himself? And I told him, I said that it was up to us to protect ourselves. That was when I began to concoct a plan.”
The Marquess paused once more, crafting tension. He spread his long, spider-like fingers across his chest.
“What kind of plan?” William heard himself ask now.
“Ah, well, my boy,” the Marquess said, clearly not sure whether Isaac or William or one of the others had asked it. “I’ve found just the man who will catch the thief.”
“Oh?” William said, his voice doubtful. “How do you suppose he’ll do such a thing? The thief has evaded capture for months.”
At this, the Marquess directed his strange, rat-like eyes towards William, seemingly deducing he was attempting to bicker. “You don’t think that I, the Marquess, don’t comprehend the strength with which this man operates? He’s come in from Brighton, and he’s simply the best of the best. He knows the ins and outs of London better than anyone. And do you know what else? He has connections with those on the inside. That means he knows actual thieves—or ex-thieves, that is—who have given us insight into who they think it is. You see, this thief has created such a tizzy throughout London that even the ordinary thieves don’t know what to make of him.”
William hadn’t considered this before. Knowing that he and Harriet were at the belly of this pleased him. He snuck his tongue out to the side of his cheek, watching as the Marquess continued to reveal more of his scheme. It was almost too easy to con the man to speak more.
“Regardless of who he knows or who he doesn’t know, however,” the Marquess continued, “he came up with such a stellar plan that will surely allow us to apprehend the thief only tonight! When he informed me of his decision, of course, I was rueful—as it meant that I would have to attend this rather … shall we say, lacklustre ball.”
Several of the men around William bobbed their head, as though in agreement. William forced himself not to roll his eyes.
“Well, it’s certainly no party like I throw a party. But regardless …” the Marquess continued. “Of course, the Duke is a fine fellow. Well. See, now I’ve talked myself off topic yet again, haven’t I? Ha. Well. The man I hired to catch the thief, you see, he’s lying in wait at my estate this very moment.”
At this, William’s heart lurched. “Tonight?”
“Well, it doesn’t take a genius to put it all together, I suppose,” the Marquess said, flipping his hair. “If I am at the Duke’s grand ball …” this, he said with sarcasm, “then it’s a perfect opportunity for the thief to strike yet again, don’t you think?”
“I would imagine that the thief may strike somewhere else,” William offered. “He’s already taken from you. Why would he come to yours yet again?”
“I believe myself to be a rather humble man,” the Marquess continued, “which means that I allow Duke Arnold to invite me to such gatherings, and I accept these invitations. However, most other members of my class—a higher tier, as you know—wouldn’t deign to be seen at such an affair.” He leaned a bit closer to William, so close that he spat a bit as he spoke and the spit landed on William’s cheek, just above his beard. “For this reason, there aren’t other empty houses this evening. Do you understand what I’m saying to you? The thief will surely know the backdrop of this party. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t amongst us at some point this evening, noting that I was truly here.”
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