by Amanda Quick
“You make the selections,” Prudence said. “I don’t really care which parties we attend. They all seem the same, somehow. The rooms are too crowded and too hot and there is so much noise it is difficult to converse.”
“One must make sacrifices when one is moving in Society.” Hester picked up a card. “Ah, yes, we shall most definitely put in an appearance at the Thornbridges’ ball. The new Lady Thornbridge is causing talk.”
Trevor swallowed his cake, looking interested. “How’s that?”
Hester gave him a knowing smile. “She’s quite a bit younger than her lord. And very beautiful. Word has it Thornbridge is mad with jealousy these days. Should be interesting to see if there will be a scene or two at their ball.”
“It sounds rather unpleasant to me,” Prudence observed. “Who wants to see a jealous husband make a fool of himself over a young wife?”
“Most of the ton, my dear,” Prudence assured her cheerfully.
The door of the drawing room opened again at that juncture. Hester’s butler, chosen for his imposing air, appeared in the opening.
“A Mrs. Leacock to see you, madam.”
“How lovely,” Hester said. “Show her in, Crandall.”
A birdlike woman with silvery white hair, dressed in an expensive mourning gown of black crepe, was ushered into the drawing room.
“How kind of you to call, Lydia,” Hester said. “Do sit down. You know my dear friends Trevor and Prudence Merry weather?”
“Yes, of course.” Mrs. Leacock’s bright little eyes darted nervously from Hester to Prudence. “Actually, this is not precisely a social call, Hester. I have come to consult with Miss Merryweather.”
“Have you, indeed?” Hester picked up the teapot. “Don’t tell us you have a ghost you want investigated?”
Mrs. Leacock alighted on a silk-cushioned chair. “I am not certain. But something rather odd has been happening of late in the west wing of my house. The incidents have begun to affect my nerves and I fear for the consequences. My doctor has warned me that I have a weak heart.”
Prudence was immediately intrigued. “This sounds far more interesting than choosing which parties we shall attend. Do tell me everything about these incidents, Mrs. Leacock. I would be happy to investigate.”
“I should be forever grateful, Miss Merryweather.” Mrs. Leacock’s cup rattled in its saucer. “I fear I really am getting rather desperate. I have never before believed in ghosts, but lately I have begun to wonder.”
“Let me get my notebook,” Prudence said eagerly.
• • •
Mrs. Leacock left an hour later, looking vastly relieved at having engaged a professional investigator. Prudence was delighted with the prospect of a puzzle to solve.
“If you will excuse me, Hester, I am going straight upstairs to read a new book I purchased this morning. It is all about the usefulness of electricity machines in detecting vaporous substances in the atmosphere. Perhaps I shall learn a technique I can apply to my new case.”
Trevor looked briefly interested. “My friend Matthew Hornsby has an electricity machine. Made it himself.”
“Does he?” Prudence asked with great interest.
“Yes, but I doubt that you’ll need it.” Trevor made a face. “Your new case is composed of nothing more than the imaginings of a nervous old woman.”
“I’m not at all certain of that.” Prudence went to the door. “It sounds to me as though there have indeed been some disturbances that require an explanation.”
Hester looked up. “Are you saying you believe Lydia might actually have a ghost in her house?”
“I shall let you know my thoughts on the matter after I have had an opportunity to study my notes. In the meantime I want both of you to give me your word that you will say nothing of this to anyone.”
“I shall not say a thing, my dear,” Hester assured her.
Trevor grimaced as he got to his feet. “You needn’t worry about me spreading the news of your case. Damned embarrassing having a sister who investigates spectral phenomena. Wish you’d give it up, Prue.”
“I have no intention of giving up my hobby.” Prudence went out into the hall.
“Prue, wait, I would like a word with you.” Trevor hurried after her.
Prudence waited for him on the bottom step of the staircase. “Don’t try to talk me out of this, Trevor. I am very bored with parties and soirees. If we are to stay in London until the end of the Season, as you wish to do, I must find something interesting to occupy my time.”
“No, no, it’s not about your silly investigation.” Trevor glanced around to make certain none of the servants were within hearing distance. Then he leaned forward.
“Since you somehow learned of the duel I had scheduled with Angelstone, I don’t mind telling you a rather interesting fact I have learned about the infamous Fallen Angel.”
“What’s that?” Prudence asked warily.
“He may have a ferocious reputation, but the man’s a bloody damn coward.”
Prudence was shocked. “Trevor, how can you say that?”
“Perfectly true.” Trevor nodded once in satisfaction. “Man’s an out-and-out coward.”
“That’s not true.”
“He’s the one who called off the duel, you know. Apologized rather than meet me on the field of honor this morning.”
Prudence was infuriated by Trevor’s interpretation of events. “If you want my opinion, Angelstone showed the sort of mature, responsible behavior one would expect in a well-bred gentleman. If you truly believe he’s a coward, then you are a fool, Trevor.”
“Now, Prue, calm yourself. Truth is, the man’s a coward and that’s a fact. By this evening, the entire social world will know it.”
“Rubbish. Utter rubbish.” Prudence picked up her skirts and dashed up the carpeted stairs.
Angelstone had kept his word. He had spared Trevor’s life. Prudence prayed that the Fallen Angel would not put too high a price on the damage she had apparently done to his formidable reputation.
Four
our days later on the night of the Thornbridge ball, Prudence decided she had had enough. She was thoroughly annoyed with Sebastian and she let him know it the moment he sought her out in the crowd.
“My lord, you are making a laughingstock out of my brother.”
Sebastian, dark and predatory-looking in his black and white evening clothes, managed to make every other man in the room look like a fop. He seemed unsurprised and unmoved by Prudence’s accusation. His mouth curved in the familiar humorless smile.
“At least he is a live laughingstock rather than a dead one,” he said. “Isn’t that what you wanted, Miss Merryweather?”
She glowered at him through her spectacles. He was being deliberately difficult. “No, it is not what I wanted. Not precisely, that is.”
Sebastian’s brow rose inquiringly. “You would rather I had accepted one or two of the numerous challenges I have received from him in the past few days?”
“Certainly not. You know perfectly well that the last thing I wanted was a duel between the two of you. That was the very thing that I wished to avoid.”
“You have gotten your wish.” Sebastian’s amber eyes gleamed. “I have kept my end of the bargain. Why are you berating me, Miss Merryweather?”
Prudence felt herself turning pink at the reminder of the deal they had struck in his library. “You know perfectly well I expected you to handle this entire matter in a more subtle manner, my lord. I did not think you would turn it into a joke.”
The realization of exactly how Sebastian was dealing with her brother’s outrage had finally come to Prudence earlier that afternoon. Hester, torn between amusement and affection for Trevor, had outlined the latest gossip to Prudence only a few hours ago.
“It is common knowledge that Trevor is issuing a challenge every time he learns that Angelstone had talked to you or danced with you,” Hester had explained over tea.
“Oh, no.” Prudence ha
d gazed at her friend in shock. “Why on earth can’t Trevor learn to keep his mouth closed?”
Hester had shrugged. “He’s very young, my dear. And quite determined to protect you. In any event, Angelstone has made a game of the entire affair. He promptly sends a flowery apology each time Trevor calls him out.”
“And Trevor accepts it?”
“There is nothing else the boy can do. Angelstone’s reputation is not harmed in the least because no one would dream of suspecting him of cowardice. His reputation is far too formidable. There isn’t a soul who believes he is actually afraid to meet Trevor.”
Prudence had brightened slightly. “I suppose everyone realizes Angelstone is showing compassion and a mature nature by refusing to meet my brother.”
“Not quite, my dear,” Hester had said. “The assumption is that Angelstone is refraining from putting a bullet in poor Trevor because he is reluctant to cause you distress.”
“I don’t understand.”
Hester sighed. “It’s perfectly obvious, Prue. Everyone believes Angelstone is indulging you for the moment because they believe you are marked as the Fallen Angel’s next victim.”
“Nonsense.” But Prudence had been acutely conscious of the shock of excitement that had shimmered through her. It was madness to entertain the notion that Angelstone might have anything other than an amused, intellectual interest in her. Nevertheless, she could not put the memory of his kiss out of her head.
Tonight she was determined to confront him on the subject of the way in which he was treating Trevor. She intended to be quite firm.
Sebastian now contemplated Prudence’s resolute expression, “If you will recall the terms of our bargain, Miss Merryweather, you will remember that you did not specify exactly how I was to avoid future duels with your brother.”
“It did not occur to me that Trevor would make a fool of himself by continuing to challenge you. He was so anxious after he called you out the first time that I assumed he would be grateful to have escaped unscathed. I hoped that he would take pains to avoid a future encounter.”
“Forgive me for saying so, Miss Merryweather, but I fear you don’t know much about the workings of the male brain.”
“Not about the workings of the immature male brain,” she said. “I’ll grant you that much. And it seems to me, sir, that your approach to dealing with my brother is no more mature than his is in dealing with you. I won’t have you amusing yourself at my brother’s expense.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes. And while we’re on the subject, I would also like to inform you that I will not allow you to amuse yourself with me, either.” She felt herself turn pink, but she held her ground. “lust in case you have taken a notion to do so.”
“How will you stop me?” Sebastian asked with grave interest.
“If need be, I shall put a stop to this nonsense once and for all by declining your invitations to dance.” She lifted her chin in challenge. “Perhaps I shall cease speaking to you altogether.”
“Come, now, Miss Merryweather. Don’t make threats you will be unable to carry out. You know that you would soon be as bored as I am at these affairs if you were to cut me dead.”
“I’m certain I could find one or two other interesting people with whom I would enjoy conversing,” she said. But her words were spoken out of sheer bravado and she suspected he knew it.
It was Sebastian who made the endless round of soirees and balls bearable. It had gotten to the point where Prudence actually looked forward to going out in the evenings now because she knew he would turn up at one or more of the parties she was attending.
Sebastian’s eyes glittered with a knowing expression. He took her hand and led her out onto the dance floor. “Look around you, Miss Merryweather. There is no one else here tonight who shares your interests. No one else with whom you can discuss techniques of investigation. As far as the ton is concerned, you are merely a new and quaintly amusing toy.”
She searched his face. “I rather suspect that is all I am to you, too, my lord.”
Sebastian swept her into the waltz. “Unlike many others here tonight, I know how to take care of my toys. I do not take pleasure in breaking them and then discarding them.”
Prudence caught her breath. “What is that supposed to mean, sir?”
“It means you are safe enough with me, Prue,” he said softly. “And so is your annoying young pup of a brother.”
Not knowing how to take the first part of that vow, Prudence seized on the latter. “Then you will cease tormenting Trevor?”
“Never fear. Sooner or later hell figure out that when I want something, I do not let anything get in my way. Eventually he will desist. Now, then, I have been thinking about our last conversation and I have another question for you.”
Prudence eyed him uncertainly. “What is that?”
“You said you found the Pembroke jewels beneath a wooden floorboard while looking for signs of spectral phenomena. I doubt that you tore up every board in the house looking for a ghost.”
“No, of course not,” she agreed.
“Then how did you know which boards to remove?”
“Oh, that was easy, my lord,” she said. “I rapped.”
“Rapped?”
Prudence chuckled. “With a cane. The legend of the Pembroke jewels was connected to the Pembroke ghost, you see. I knew that if I could find the jewels, I might be able to prove or disprove the tales of the ghost.”
“So you went looking for the jewels in hopes of finding the ghost. Naturally you reasoned that the jewels, if they were still hidden somewhere in the house, would have to be in a concealed safe of some sort.”
“And a safe hidden in the floorboards or the walls would likely produce a hollow sound when I rapped on the wood above it,” Prudence concluded happily.
“Very logical.” There was genuine admiration in Sebastian’s gaze.
“I went through the entire house with a stout cane and rapped on every wall and every floor. When I discovered a place that sounded hollow, I instructed that the boards be removed. The jewels were hidden in a secret opening beneath one of them. Lady Pembroke’s grandfather had forgotten to pass the secret of his hiding place down to his descendants, so the jewels had been lost.”
“Very clever.” Sebastian looked down at her with cool approval. “I’m impressed.”
Prudence’s flush deepened at the praise. “I am happy for Lady Pembroke, of course, but I must admit it was rather disappointing not to find some evidence of spectral phenomena.”
Sebastian’s smile was ironic. “I’m certain Lady Pembroke would far rather have the jewels than the Pembroke ghost.”
“That’s what she says.”
“How did you become interested in such an unusual hobby?” Sebastian asked.
“The influence of my parents, I suppose.” Prudence smiled reminiscently. “They were both devoted to the subject of natural philosophy. My father studied meteorological phenomena. My mother made extensive observations on the species of animals and birds that lived in the vicinity of our farm.”
Sebastian watched her intently. “And they taught you how to make observations?”
“Yes. And how to conduct a logical investigation to discover the answer to a question. They were very expert at that sort of thing.” Prudence smiled proudly. “Both of them had papers published in the journals of several important scientific societies.”
“My father had portions of some of his journals published,” Sebastian said slowly.
“Really? What sort of studies did he carry out?”
“He kept extensive records of his travels and explorations. Many of them were of interest to scientific societies.”
“How exciting.” Prudence was fascinated. “I collect you were allowed to accompany him on his travels?”
Sebastian smiled briefly. “When I was growing up my father took all of us—my mother, myself, and my little brother—with him nearly everywhere he went. Mother had the k
nack of being able to make a home in the middle of a desert or on an island in the South Seas.”
“What happened when you grew older?”
“My mother and brother continued to travel with my father. But I went off on my own. I looked for interesting investment opportunities in foreign ports. I did some observations of terrain for the military during the war. That sort of thing”
“I envy you the sights you must have seen and things you must have learned,” Prudence said.
“It’s true that I learned a great deal about the world.” Sebastian’s eyes were as hard, brilliant, and cold as faceted gems. “But the price of my education was too high.”
“I don’t understand,” Prudence whispered.
“Four years ago my parents and my brother were killed by a great fall of rock while they were traveling through a mountain pass in a godforsaken corner of the East called Saragstan.”
Prudence came to a halt on the dance floor. “How terrible for you, my lord. I know how you must have felt. I remember all too well my feelings at the moment I received word my parents had been killed in the carriage accident.”
Sebastian did not seem to hear her. His gaze was turned inward as he led her off the floor. Prudence sensed that he was focusing on some distant landscape that only he could see. He came to a halt near the French doors and stood looking out into the night.
“I was to meet up with them in a small town at the foot of the mountains. I had business dealings there. The local weavers produce a very fine cloth which I purchase and have shipped to England and America. My parents and my brother never arrived.”
“I am so very sorry, my lord.” Prudence sought for words of comfort. “Such tragic accidents are very difficult to endure.”
Sebastian veiled his eyes briefly with his long, dark lashes. When he raised them again and glanced sideways at Prudence she knew he was once more in the present. “You misunderstand. My parents and my brother did not die in an accident.”
Prudence stared at him. “What are you saying?”