Scandalous Scions One

by Tracy Cooper-Posey

  A short path led to the carriage house from there. Now they were outside once more, Lilly realized her cheeks were wet. She had been crying and had not realized it.

  One of the under footmen stepped out of a man-sized door. “This way, m’lady,” he murmured. A second footman and a lad in shirtsleeves and waistcoat were pushing aside a heavy door. Inside, Lilly could hear the nicker of horses and the soft voice of men talking to them.

  Elisa’s driver, Portman, came toward them, pulling on his coat. “Where to, my lady?”

  “For now, the Williams house on Park Lane. We may be going farther than that, Portman. I’m sorry, I don’t have any details as yet.”

  “Never ye mind, m’lady, we’ll sort it out. Here, let me get the door for ye.” He opened the door, then stood back. Giles heroically helped Lilly up into the carriage, almost lifting her off her feet. She needed the help. Her limbs were heavy and hard to move.

  Elisa climbed up and settled next to her, pulling her onto the seat properly. Then she reached over and plucked the tartan blanket off the front seat and shook it out. She laid it over Lilly and tucked it in around her. Then she pulled her up against her. “Hold tight,” she whispered.

  Lilly lay against her shoulder and shivered.

  The images were there, brighter and hotter and more insistent than they had been for a long time. She was helpless to make them stop. All the tricks she had learned over the years to push them from her mind would not work now.

  The memory of his weight on her. The smell of his breath. Whiskey and cigars and sour sweat. The pain.

  She didn’t remember arriving at the house. When hands plucked at her she tried to fight them off, her panic rising in her throat, until a voice whispered in her ear. “You’re safe, Lilly. You’re safe.”

  She closed her eyes with a sigh.

  * * * * *

  After laying Lilly on the bed, Thomsett was almost pushed out of the room by the two anxious women.

  He didn’t mind—there was more than enough to do right now. Thomsett hurried back down the stairs and found Raymond in the drawing room, talking to Monroe and Pritchard.

  “Mister Davies will not be difficult to find,” Raymond was saying. “He will either be at his offices, or at the law courts. Lord Farleigh may be difficult to track down. You must do your best. Don’t come back until you find him. Thomsett, could you give them a pound each in coins, for cabs? It will save time.”

  “Thank you my lord,” Monroe said. “That will be helpful. We will find them, not to worry.”

  “Perhaps, Princess Annalies…?” Thomsett suggested.

  Raymond nodded vigorously. “Yes, by God. She would flay us all alive for keeping her out of this and she might know just the people to deal with the man, too. Stop off at the Davies house, first, Monroe. Ask the Princess to please drop everything she is doing and come at once.”

  “Yes, my Lord.” Monroe jerked his head at Pritchard, whose eyes were wide. “Come on,” he said shortly and strode to the door.

  That left the two of them alone in the drawing room.

  Raymond scrubbed at his hair. “Are you as blind to this business as I, Thomsett?”

  “I have done a great deal of guessing and speculation of late, my lord,” Thomsett said. “Yet I believe I know less about the matter than you.”

  Raymond dropped into the nearest chair with a heavy sigh. “I had no idea…” he breathed. He looked up at Thomsett. “Did Elisa say anything else to you on the way upstairs? All I heard was that Blackawton had interfered with Lilly and that we must take her out of town at once.”

  Thomsett hesitated. He recalled Lilly’s white face against his arm as he carried her upstairs. Her cheeks had been wet with tears. “Lilly was afraid that something like this might happen,” he said.

  Raymond stared at him.

  “I mean, forgive me, my lord, I meant Lady Lillian.”

  Raymond waved away his apology with a quick, irritated gesture. “You’d better sit down and tell me all you know, Thomsett. It appears you know more than I do, after all.”

  Thomsett was reluctant to sit down. It wouldn’t look right. Neither did he want to give intimate details while standing over Raymond. He pulled one of the upright chairs next to the sideboard over to the big chair Raymond was using and sat on the edge and leaned forward.

  “I have only recently surmised that a matter in Lilly’s past weighed upon her. I understand she was a successful debutante?”

  “She was.” Raymond smiled. “Men made fools of themselves over her. She was gay and pretty. Even my mother envied her for the becoming way she dressed. Then it all stopped. Everything. The balls, the season. Lilly announced she had accepted Elisa’s offer and would take up a post as governess.” Raymond grimaced. “She was never the same after that.”

  “When was that, my lord?” Thomsett asked. “Was it, perhaps, around the time that Blackawton sailed to India to take up his commission?”

  Raymond closed his eyes. “This was not the first time…” he breathed and hung his head. “Oh, poor Lilly!”

  “No, I do not believe it was the first occasion,” Thomsett said. “Lilly has tried to move on from that first occurrence. It has been difficult for her.”

  “So I am beginning to understand,” Raymond said. His voice was hoarse. “The monster!”

  Thomsett nodded. “That is a good name for him.”

  “Why would no one speak of this?” Raymond demanded. “Why would they not tell the police, or try to have him arrested for the deed?”

  “And shame Lilly even further?” Thomsett asked. “Ruin her reputation and make her a pariah among society? You know how society treats fallen women, my lord. I believe Lady Elisa took Lilly in to protect her from that ruin. It was bravely done.”

  “Yes. By God, yes, you’re right. They would have destroyed her spirit at the least, had the truth come out. She would have been shunned and more. I see, now, why Natasha would not confide even in me. She did not want me to think less of Lilly.” Raymond sighed. “It is a sorry business.”

  Thomsett shook his head. “I do not believe the business is over with yet. It is clear that Blackawton worked to find Lilly here in London. He may have been watching Lady Elisa’s house, too. In fact, I am certain of it. Lady Elisa is correct—Lilly must be taken out of London.”

  “To Cornwell, then?”

  “Blackawton knows about Innesford. Everyone in London does,” Thomsett said. “It should be somewhere unexpected.”

  “You mean, we should hide her away?” Raymond asked, sounding appalled.

  “I mean exactly that, my lord,” Thomsett said. “You are not thinking as Blackawton does—as I suspect he thinks. I have met the type of man before. They are ruthless and they are mired in fanciful thought that makes no sense to ordinary people. After six…seven years?”

  “Seven,” Raymond said.

  “The same year as Lord Innesford died?” Thomsett asked sharply, his heart squeezing.

  Raymond looked at him. “A connection,” he breathed. “I never did find out how he died…”

  Thomsett shook his head again. “That is not the important matter today. The critical matter is how Blackawton will respond. After seven years, he returned to England and one of his first actions was to seek Lilly out. I believe he is fixated upon her.”

  Raymond breathed in, then let it out. “I don’t doubt there are men like that in the world. I just find it difficult to believe a man of such rank could descend to…this.”

  “I believe he has used that rank to hide his proclivities,” Thomsett said. He rubbed his temples. “This is all conjecture, my lord. I would not dream of impugning the reputation of a good man. If I am right, though, he deserves far more than any words I could use to speak against him.”

  “We will work to make sure he receives what he deserves, only this must be handled carefully, so very carefully, Thomsett.”

  “My Lord, the unexpected place…perhaps, Northumberland?”

  Ra
ymond considered him, frowning. “The wilds of the north. Why there?” he asked.

  “My commission, my lord. I was with the Fifth Northumberland Fusiliers Regiment of Foot. They are stationed at Newcastle when not on active duty. I know the area well.”

  “I am sure you are just as well-known there, too, Thomsett,” Raymond said. “When you are recognized, word will pass and the military have intimate connections with society. However, your general idea is a good one. There is a man I know only a little from when I was at Cambridge. Diggory Newman.”

  “My lord?” Thomsett said, puzzled.

  Raymond smiled. “I saved the lad from a severe beating once. He was a puny boy and a weak man, too. He is stout of heart, though, despite his lack of physical strength. He will remember what I did for him. He is Baron Dalehouse, now. His estate is in Yorkshire.”

  “On the moors,” Thomsett said.

  “You know the estate?”

  “I know the moors, my lord. I was born there.”

  Raymond nodded thoughtfully. “It may well work. We will take Lilly up there tomorrow, on the early train…why do you look at me that way?”

  “My pardon, my lord. You cannot do anything but sit here in your townhouse and pretend that nothing is awry.”

  Raymond glanced at the window, his throat working.

  “Yes, he will have someone watching this house, too. If he is as thorough as I think he is, then he will have someone watching the Davies household, too. All of London is familiar with the members of the Great Family.” Thomsett stirred. “No one of the Family can deviate from their normal, everyday activities.”

  “Then—”

  “I will take her,” Thomsett said.

  Raymond considered him for a long moment. “What about Baumgärtner and the manor?”

  “I don’t want it,” Thomsett said shortly. Honestly. “My absence will be a complete answer for Baumgärtner. He will go away with his deed and that will be the end of it.”

  Raymond put his fingertips together. “Only, is this—escorting Lilly—is this not walking into the conflict you say you wish to avoid?”

  “The purpose of stealing Lilly out of London is to run away and hide, not confront the enemy. Hiding is something I have been doing for a number of years now and I am good at it.” His tone came out wry.

  Raymond considered him. “I can write a letter for Dalehouse. It will ease your way. A situation on the estate would be better than a lonely place on the moors. It will be better protected and no one counts the noses of residents on an estate.”

  “While a new tenant in a small town will be the talk of the place inside a day. Yes, I agree with you,” Thomsett said. “A letter would be useful, thank you, my lord.”

  Raymond sat back again, with a gusty bellow. “You’re observant, Thomsett. And you seem to have earned Lilly’s trust, which is a difficult thing for anyone. I considered myself her friend, yet she did not confide in me, so I would ask you as her friend to protect her to the best of your ability.”

  “Of course, my lord. It doesn’t have to be asked.”

  “Nevertheless, I ask it of you. I don’t know what will happen—you seem to have a better grasp of Blackawton’s thoughts than I. I will do what I can to end this, one way or another.”

  “I appreciate that, my lord. I will call upon your resources if I have need of them.”

  “You will have the family’s gratitude, too,” Raymond said.

  “Let us deal with Blackawton first,” Thomsett said. “Then, let us speak of gratitude.”

  “Yes,” Raymond said flatly. “Now, Thomsett, what do you need? How do we do this? You are the soldier. Advise me.”

  Chapter Nine

  “I must admit,” Lady Laceby said in her uneven voice, “that I had not anticipated how busy your home would be, Lady Elisa. You do welcome all sorts of people, don’t you?”

  “I do,” Elisa said calmly, turning her teacup around so the handle was in the correct position to pick it up. “I find a wide variety of people to be stimulating. It does not do to become too accustomed to one’s surroundings. That is how habits calcify. Don’t you agree?”

  Lacy Laceby dropped her chin to consider Elisa carefully. “What an unusual idea,” she said, apparently unaware that she had demonstrated Elisa’s point precisely.

  Elisa hid her smile and pushed the plate of scones a little closer to Lady Laceby. The woman seemed to have an infinite capacity for eating. Elisa understood that the food in India was not the same as one was used to eating here, yet Lady Laceby ate as if she had not eaten for the twenty years she had been living in Bombay.

  Elisa looked through the lace panels at the windows, out onto the square. Her discomfort rose as she remembered that the house may be under observation at any time. Raymond had been specific in his instructions. “You behave exactly as you would normally. You meet your appointments, you walk in the Park—only, you will become the most sociable person in the Park. Speak to everyone you know. Stay visible. Don’t walk there. Have Portman take you and bring you back. Contrive never to be alone. Otherwise, it is as if Lilly is still teaching the girls upstairs in the nursery and all is as it should be.”

  It was easy to contrive to never be alone. Elisa was afraid to be alone, especially outside. She spared a thought for Lilly, whom Raymond had spirited out of London that night, and wished her well. Then she turned her attention back to Lady Laceby.

  “You asked to speak to me, Lady Laceby,” she said.

  Gloria Laceby put her cup and saucer down on the table with a firm touch, as if she had been waiting for Elisa to say just that. She leaned forward a little. “Patricia’s coming out was a success. I wanted to thank you for your efforts on her behalf and on behalf of my husband and I.”

  Elisa smiled. “It was no effort. We have adored having both your children here and my own children were grateful for the company. Will and Jack are the firmest of friends and Sharla and Jenny are, too.”

  “John and Patricia have grown into fine young people to be sure,” Lady Laceby replied stiffly. “However, I do have to wonder at the company they have been keeping.”

  “Wonder about what?” Elisa asked.

  “I do wonder whether the company is appropriate.”

  “Appropriate, Gloria?” Elisa said, deliberately using her given name.

  Lady Laceby stiffened, her shoulders squaring. “I took measure of the guests that were invited to the ball and I have monitored the invitations my daughter has received. Commoners, upper class with no titles, even peerage of lesser rank…there does not seem to be any filtering of her affairs.”

  Ahhh… Elisa put her cup down before she crushed the porcelain between her fingers and sat back. “She is your daughter, Lady Laceby. If you wish to limit the company she keeps, we are bound to accede to your wishes. However, society is not what it was in your day, or mine. The ton is more tolerant of movement within the ranks and to be truthful, fresh blood invigorates the peerage.”

  Lady Laceby’s nostrils flared. “I feared you were one of those people,” she said, her voice bodiless. “I told my husband that when he first approached Farleigh about taking the children. I said that the stain on your reputation would bring ruin upon my children.”

  “Ruin?” Elisa repeated, stunned at this sudden attack.

  “My daughter’s bloodline goes back eleven generations. There are kings in her lineage. My father was a duke. I should be satisfied with a…a…baron as her husband?”

  “Oh, I think you could set your sights far wider than that,” Elisa said, her temper flaring. “What about a baronet? Or a simple knight of the realm? Perhaps a commoner may take an interest in her.”

  Lady Laceby choked and got to her feet. “You are cruel in your teasing, Lady Elisa. You do not understand the delicate position my daughter is in. She must marry well. I have made Patricia understand her obligations to her family.”

  “A mere Marquess would not be suitable for her?” Elisa asked, thinking of Will and his inheri
tance. “An Earl, perhaps?” For Natasha’s Cian was taking up his inheritance now, too. “An alliance with this family would be welcomed, I know. It would formalize Sharla’s place among us.”

  “Your family?” Lady Laceby said, her tone withering. “I think not,” she added.

  Elisa held still, her heart pattering, letting the shock slide through her and depart. For the sake of Jack and Sharla, she swallowed her temper and held back the acid response to Lady Laceby’s disdain. Instead, she gave the woman a small smile. “Shall we draw up a list of suitable candidates that meet your criteria? I have a small sheet of notepaper here that will do.” She motioned toward the lap secretary, which was sitting upon the table next to her.

  Lady Laceby did not recognize that sarcasm, either. It was a tiny balm upon the wound the woman had delivered.

  * * * * *

  Being invited to the Duke of Salcombe’s annual summer dinner was considered to be a great honor, especially for a commoner. Ben reminded himself of that over and over as he sat through the seven courses with gritted teeth and partook of rather more champagne than food.

  The coldness of the wine didn’t help cool his thoughts or ease his body.

  The long table held forty guests and one of them was Sharla. She sat fifteen seats closer to the Duke than he, the commoner, and she was on the Duke’s right. Ben could see her clearly from where he sat with his collar digging into his chin. Her hair gleamed in the candlelight, glowing with a life of its own. It was curled and pinned up, with cream roses tucked into it. The gown she wore was dark green velvet. Cream lace wrapped her shoulders. The lace and her bare shoulders seemed to blend into each other for her skin was as flawless in color as the lace.

  Since her coming out ball, Ben had found himself thinking of Sharla more than once. He had dismissed her confession of interest as a girlish thing—something a new debutante would say to snare the attention of any bachelor she came across. Wasn’t collecting hearts and counting them up part of a woman’s first season?