Ladies and Their Secrets: Regency Romance Collection

by Alec, Joyce

  “My reticule!”

  A sudden cry had Lord Borden back at the window within seconds. He craned his head out of the window, whilst Julianna remained precisely where she was, a little relieved that he was no longer looking at her with such a severe gaze.

  “Good gracious,” Lord Borden muttered, as a loud clamor began to rise from within the park. “It appears that Lady Chiders has lost her reticule.” He rapped loudly on the carriage roof, and it came to an almost immediate stop. “We must aid in the search.”

  Julianna stared at Lord Borden in confusion. “What is it you intend to do, Lord Borden?”

  “Do hurry up,” he said impatiently, opening the door. “Lady Chiders will require as much help as she can. She has lost her reticule!”

  Julianna resisted the urge to roll her eyes, aware that Lady Chiders was the widow of an earl and, therefore, quite able to share her attentions and her wealth with anyone she wished. This could not be the reason that Lord Borden wanted to go to her aid, surely? And yet, he climbed down from the carriage with such eagerness and haste that Julianna could not disbelieve it.

  “What has occurred?” she asked, a little annoyed as he helped her down. “She has lost her reticule?”

  “It must be somewhere,” Lord Borden replied hastily, hurrying towards the growing crowd. “Come, Miss Newton. If we aid in the search, I know that Lady Chiders will be more than grateful.”

  Julianna did not hasten after Lord Borden but chose, instead, to remain a little ways behind so that she might not become lost in the crowd. She could hear Lady Chiders’ voice regardless of whether she was close to her or not, for the lady appeared to be in a good deal of distress.

  “It had a good deal within it,” Lady Chiders exclaimed, as someone patted her hand. “Who could have taken it?”

  “No one has taken it from your hand, surely?” cried another. “You must have simply dropped it somewhere within the park, Lady Chiders. Have no fear! We will discover it.”

  A ball of ice rolled down Julianna’s throat and settled in her stomach. She did not move, fixed in place, as she heard Lady Chiders cry out that she was certain she had not dropped her reticule, for it was most unlike her to do anything of the sort. Julianna had to agree, for a lady did not usually let go of her reticule for any reason – unless it had been taken from her hand without her notice.

  Taken by someone who had, perhaps accidentally, brushed against Lady Chiders or even walked directly into her. In the confusion and the exclamations that would have followed, it might have taken Lady Chiders a few moments to realize that she was without her precious reticule.

  The thought made her feel nauseous, struggling to comprehend her thinking. Could she truly believe that Henry had been in any way responsible? He had been seen in the park, having insisted that he intended to remain at home that afternoon. Of course, he had not shown any particular interest in where she was to go with Lord Borden, and even if their eyes had met across the park, she doubted Henry would have cared that she had seen him out of doors instead of at home, drinking brandy.

  But what had he been doing at the park? He was not the sort to want to show himself to society, to want to garner conversation and new acquaintances, as Lord Borden had done. He had walked with anger in his steps, his face set and eyes narrowed. Had he taken the reticule? Had he stolen it simply for the few coins that might be within?

  Julianna closed her eyes, trying to steady herself. She had no particular reason to believe that such a thing was true, other than the fact that her brother had already shouted at her that he considered his fortune to be far too little, that he was not satisfied with what he had been given. Was this his way of attempting to further his wealth? Through theft?

  “Miss Newton.”

  She jerked violently in surprise, turning around to see a bearded gentleman standing to her left, his face turned away from her. He was a good deal taller than she, to the point that she had to squint in the sunshine, struggling to see him clearly – although she had recognized him at once.

  “It is you,” she breathed, one hand pressing against her beating heart. “Did you put the note in Lord Sharpe’s pocket? Why? Why would you do such a thing?”

  The gentleman did not smile, his eyes not quite settling on her features as though he could not bring himself to do so.

  “You must be careful,” he said gruffly, his voice barely reaching her over the din of the other pedestrians. “Your brother must be careful.”

  She frowned, taking a step towards him only for the fellow to move back. He wanted to keep a good distance between them, it seemed. The sun continued to shine into her eyes, making it hard to see clearly. “I must tell Henry to be careful?” She saw the gentleman frown and felt her frustration grow. “Why can you not speak to me plainly?”

  The gentleman shook his head. “I cannot. It is too dangerous.”

  “But why?” she persisted, moving closer to him again. “Why can you not tell me what you know?”

  The gentleman turned his head away from her again, leaving her with the feeling that she was missing something particularly obvious.

  “I do not know if I can trust you,” the fellow said, his voice floating towards her. “I cannot tell whom I can trust. I must pray and hope that…”

  Julianna frowned hard, wondering why his voice appeared to be a little familiar to her. “I am a trustworthy person, sir.”

  “Oh, I am aware of that.” The tinge of humor in his voice made her flinch, more than confused as to how he could speak so freely. “But I do not know as yet what it is you believe to be the truth. I must hope it is one and not the other. But you must be careful, Miss Newton. Warn your brother to be careful. There is more danger than either of you are aware of.”

  Julianna wanted to scream, such was her frustration, but instead, she took in a long, calming breath. “I fear, sir, that my brother will not listen to a word I have to say.”

  The gentleman looked over his shoulder at her, his eyes piercing. “You have more than one brother, do you not?”

  She gaped at him, her eyes fixed on his quiet expression, the sun going behind a fluffy white cloud for a moment to allow her to see him better. How did this gentleman know so much about her family when she was not even acquainted with him? There was something familiar about him, but yet, no clear recollection.

  “What is it you mean?” she asked, struggling to make sense of it all. “My brother, Baron Hollard, is not to come to London. In fact, he—”

  “Miss Newton!”

  She turned back to see Lord Borden hurrying towards her, a broad smile on his face.

  “It has been found. The reticule, it has been found!”

  “Oh.” She turned her head to speak to the bearded gentleman again, finding the lost reticule and Lord Borden’s interest in it to be less than appealing. “I say, I cannot imagine…” She trailed off, her mind going blank as she saw that the gentleman had disappeared. There was no trace of him, and even as she began to look this way and that, she could not see him departing from her.

  “Are you all right, Miss Newton?”

  With a heavy heart and a mind whirring with thoughts, Julianna turned back reluctantly towards Lord Borden. “Yes, I am quite all right. I thank you.” She put a smile on her face, despite the frustration that she felt. “The reticule has been found, you say?”

  “Indeed it has,” Lord Borden declared, clearly delighted. “I was glad to aid in the search, although I am sorry that some ruffian has gone through it all and taken what belonged to the lady.”

  Julianna’s heart stopped in her chest for a moment, her breath hitching. “What can you mean?”

  Lord Borden’s expression was sorrowful. “Lady Chiders often carried a little more than pin money, if you understand what I mean. She has always been inclined to do so, for I think she believes that it shows others just how wealthy she is.” He shook his head, his eyes returning to the large crowd that had assembled just behind Julianna. “There is nothing left.”r />
  Julianna’s stomach turned over. “Nothing?” she whispered, feeling almost a little faint as her thoughts about Henry came back to her. “Not a single coin?”

  “It is all gone,” Lord Borden replied with a sad smile. “Not that it will matter to her, given just how much of a fortune she has, but it is the fact that some miscreant either found or stole the reticule from her hand and rifled through it. I cannot imagine!” He sighed heavily, as though he had been the one who had been stolen from. “What sort of person does such a thing as that?”

  Julianna tried to find some sort of response, all the while wondering if Henry could have been in any way responsible. “Mayhap some beggar child came into the park.”

  Lord Borden scoffed at this. “Highly unlikely. You know very well that the fashionable hour is for nobility and such. Unfortunate creatures would have been removed from the park.”

  Julianna shivered at the way Lord Borden referred to a class of people he deemed lower than himself. “But that means—”

  “Yes indeed,” Lord Borden agreed, before she could say anything more. “It must be someone from within our society circles.” His eyes narrowed, evidently taking the slight against Lady Chiders as a personal affront. “But I have very little idea who it could be.”

  “Nor do I,” Julianna lied, aware that she was now feeling a little faint due to the weight that was resting on her mind, as well as the fact that she had met the strange, bearded gentleman again. “Do you mind if we return to the carriage, Lord Borden?” She managed a smile as he finally looked back at her instead of continuing to regard the distraught Lady Chiders, who was using the situation to garner as much sympathy and compassion as she could – particularly from certain gentlemen. “I feel a little tired.”

  “But of course,” Lord Borden said at once, turning back towards the carriage without so much as offering her his arm. “Then I simply must ensure that Lady Chiders is quite all right before I come to join you. You do not mind, I hope?”

  “Not in the least,” Julianna replied truthfully. “Thank you, Lord Borden.”

  The quiet of the carriage allowed Julianna to close her eyes and let her mind work through some of the tangled threads that were insisting on tying themselves together. She could not make sense of much of what had occurred, not being at all certain whether Henry truly had stolen from Lady Chiders and trying to tell herself that it was simply her own considerations and nothing more. The warning from the bearded gentleman, however, was not something she could easily forget. He had been quite clear in what he had said, wanting her to warn her brother to be careful even though he was far away in his London estate. What was she to warn him about? Was she to tell him about this fellow and his strange warnings? Or was she simply to suggest that there was something sinister afoot and that she believed Hollard might need to be on his guard?

  And who was this gentleman? Why did he seem to know her family so very well when she herself was not aware of him in the slightest? It was all very peculiar, and Julianna felt her head begin to ache with all that she was considering.

  “Lord Sharpe.”

  Even saying his name aloud was a relief. She knew that she could trust him to help her in this matter; she knew that he would be able to listen and to help her in some way. Julianna rested her head back against the squabs, her urgency to see Lord Sharpe growing steadily. He would be able to protect her, whatever happened, she was quite certain of it.

  Although whether her heart would remain untouched was quite another matter.

  6

  “Thank you for agreeing to come with me.”

  There was something about having Miss Newton in the carriage alongside him that brought Thomas a good deal of contentment, even though he felt his stomach swirling with a strange sense of anticipation and even a dash of anxiety that had not been there before she had climbed in.

  “But of course,” she exclaimed, looking up at him. “And the marquess was quite willing for you to conduct these interviews at his residence?”

  Thomas grinned, unable to help himself. “More than willing,” he replied, with a chuckle. “In fact, I do not think I have ever seen a man more determined to be of aid than the marquess.” He smiled as he recalled just how delighted the marquess had appeared to be when Thomas had tentatively made the suggestion. “The marquess carried a good deal more gravitas than a mere viscount, so I have every expectation that the three men I have found will appear.”

  “Three?” Miss Newton appeared surprised. “I thought you could only recall two.”

  “But I forgot that the marquess himself was present also,” Thomas explained. “When I discussed with him what our intentions were, he was easily able to recall two other men and could even describe their appearance.” He shook his head, a little frustrated that he did not have as good a memory as the older gentleman. “Regardless, we have discovered the whereabouts of these three men, and the marquess has sent some of his own men to go and bring them to his townhouse for a quiet word.” He saw Miss Newton relax into her seat, although her expression remained troubled. “We will be able to speak to them quite freely, Miss Newton.” He shot a quick glance towards Miss Newton’s lady’s maid, who was almost always with her. However, just as before, the maid appeared to be almost half asleep, her eyes vacant as she looked out of the window.

  “There is something else I must discuss with you,” Miss Newton said, a little hesitantly. “It has to do with my brother.”

  “Henry?”

  She shook her head. “My brother, Baron Hollard. I received a warning yesterday. I mean, I was told to pass on a warning to him.”

  He frowned. “By whom?”

  Miss Newton let out a small sigh. “By the gentleman with the beard that we do not know,” she stated, spreading her hands. “He was in the park yesterday afternoon and spoke to me there.”

  Thomas stared at her, astonished. “You mean to say, the very same bearded gentleman who put the note into my pocket?”

  “Yes,” Miss Newton replied, sitting back with yet another sigh.

  Thomas was more than astonished. “What warning are you to give Baron Hollard then?”

  Miss Newton closed her eyes, her cheeks dusted with pink. “I could not say. It was not particularly specific, but more that he to be on his guard.”

  “On his guard against what, exactly?”

  Miss Newton opened her eyes and glared at him, her lips pulled tautly. “I do not know, Lord Sharpe,” she said tightly. “Did I not just say so? The gentleman said that there was a danger than neither of us was aware of. He did not give me his name, nor did I find out anything more about him. I am afraid, Lord Sharpe, that I did not do particularly well at all in attempting to garner more information from him.” She looked a little frustrated with herself, spreading her hands. “I was not only struggling with my own surprise at seeing him again, but also found that I was plagued with some troubling thoughts of my own that made thinking clearly rather difficult.”

  He saw the irritation in her expression and the glistening tears in her eyes and, despite his own inner warnings not to do so, he reached forward and took her hands in his.

  Miss Newton jumped visibly, her eyes rounding, only for her to smile at him, looking a little abashed.

  “I should not have spoken so sharply,” she said, dropping her gaze to their joined hands. “I apologize profusely, Lord Sharpe.”

  “You need not distress yourself, Miss Newton,” Thomas murmured quietly. “You have done nothing wrong.” He smiled back at her, seeing her expression clear. “Now, tell me what it was that troubled you so prior to this gentleman’s arrival.” Reluctantly, he let go of her hands and sat back up in his seat, aware that his heart was pounding in his chest, his desire to take her in his arms suddenly a good deal more forceful.

  Closing his mind off to all such thoughts, Thomas forced himself to listen carefully to Miss Newton as she spoke about what had occurred yesterday afternoon, growing all the more concerned that she was correct to t
hink that Henry was involved in the theft. He did not care at all for the gentleman, finding him to be harsh and abrasive, cutting Miss Newton to the quick whenever he spoke. The man was filled with greed and anger, and given that he cared for no one but himself, it seemed quite right that he should begin to steal in order to add to his own fortune, instead of finding himself some sort of respectable employment.

  “So you suspect one brother of being a thief and the other brother to be in some sort of danger?” he asked, when Miss Newton had finished speaking.

  “And somehow this is all tied together with Francis’s guilt,” Miss Newton sadly added. “Although what good it will do to find the truth now, I cannot quite understand.”

  Thomas let out a heavy sigh, aware that there was a good deal for them both to consider and even more to discover. “And on top of all this, you are to continue to allow Lord Borden to pay you court.”

  To his surprise, a ripple of disgust ran across her expression. A flare burst in his heart, reminding him that he had every opportunity to take the place of Lord Borden if he so wished it. However, it was this very thing that had him immediately confused. Did he wish to marry Miss Newton? Or was it simply that his promise to Francis was making him consider all manner of things so that Miss Newton might have a contented and settled future?

  “I do not care for Lord Borden, as you might have presumed, Lord Sharpe,” Miss Newton stated, turning her head away to look out of the carriage window. “He is dull, boring, and quite disinterested in me.”

  He cleared his throat, recalling the conversation that he had shared with Lord Borden only a few days ago. Should he say something to her?

  “But, of course, since I have no other gentlemen chasing after me, I shall have to resign myself to him, I think,” Miss Newton continued, sadly. “I can see no other way, Lord Sharpe. Can you?”