“Jack?” he returned, lifting an eyebrow. “Look, Lil. I know His Grace don’t like Dansbury, but you don’t really believe Jack murdered old Wenford, do you? Just leave it be.”
“You don’t understand, William. I need to see Jack.” Her voice shook, and she couldn’t help the tear that ran down one cheek.
William stepped toward her, his expression immediately becoming concerned. “What’s wrong?”
“Please, William. Just go tell him I need to see him, and let me know what he says.”
“Father’ll kill me if I go near Dansbury. And you, as well.”
“It’s important,” she pressed, her voice breaking and tears flowing freely down her face. She clutched her brother’s arm tightly, willing him to show some sense just this one time.
“Master William,” Milgrew said, straightening, “I’ll get his lordship, if you’d like.”
William glanced at the groom, then returned his gaze to his sister. “That’s not necessary,” he said slowly, his eyes searching hers. “But it may take me a bit of work to find him.”
She nodded, acute relief flooding through her. “Thank you.”
Immediately Milgrew retrieved her brother’s tack and went to work saddling Thor. William continued to watch her, curiosity and speculation on his face, while Lilith tried to pull herself together enough to return to the house. It would never do if her father or Aunt Eugenia saw her like this. They would never understand, never sympathize, and certainly never help her.
Finally Milgrew stepped back and handed William up into the saddle. Her brother pulled Thor around, then hesitated. “Lil?”
“I’ll explain later, William,” she said. “I promise.”
He nodded. “All right. I’ll be back soon.”
She watched him out the door, hugging herself and trying to stop shaking. Milgrew gathered up his grooming brushes into their box, then returned to stand beside her. “You all right, lass?” he asked quietly.
“I will be,” she answered in the same tone.
“Master William’ll find the marquis. Don’t you worry.”
She smiled and wiped at her face. “Thank you, Milgrew. I hope so.”
Jack was beginning to become considerably aggravated. His butler had been gone for the better part of a day, and then had sent a note that he was headed for Gloucester and would send further word as soon as he had any. So Jack had gone prowling, looking for any friend of Wenford in whom the duke might have confided. Unfortunately, it seemed more likely that he would be turned away from clubs where in the past he had been a favorite, than that he would actually find someone, friend or enemy, willing to speak to him.
It had been this way before, when he had first returned from France with the rumors of his killing a woman running through the gilded halls of Mayfair. Back then, he had buried himself in his black reputation, making certain everyone knew that he had earned it, and that he welcomed it. He’d nearly managed to convince himself that he did enjoy it. Until he’d met Lil. Now, all he could think of was that if he couldn’t correct things, he would never have her.
He finally tracked down Donald Marley at the Navy Club, and with a stifled sigh of relief, took a seat beside him in one of the chairs clustered around the large, soot-blackened fireplace. Dolph Remdale’s closest crony was occupied with reading the London Times and smoking a cigar, and it was a moment before Jack’s calculated fidgeting caught his attention.
“Dansbury,” he said, lowering the paper, a look of surprised dismay crossing his features.
“Marley,” Jack acknowledged in the same tone.
Marley stared at him for a moment, then folded up the section of the paper he’d been reading. “If you’ll excuse me,” he muttered, and stood.
“You certain it’s me you don’t want to be seen with?” Jack asked offhandedly, sitting back and crossing his legs at the ankles.
“Yes, I believe I am,” Donald Marley returned, glancing back at him.
“A second poor choice.”
“And what was the first poor choice, pray tell?”
At least Marley had stopped his retreat. “Becoming acquainted with Dolph Remdale.”
“I’d have to disagree with you, Dansbury. And considering what Antonia St. Gerard’s done for you, perhaps you should be the one concerned with whom you become acquainted.”
Alarm bells began going off in Jack’s head, and he frowned. “Antonia?” he repeated. It seemed his troubles hadn’t yet finished accumulating.
Marley nodded. “Still only rumors, of course, but I hear she’s gone to swear out a statement against you. Says you told her you were looking for information about Lilith Benton, and that you deliberately won Dolph’s pin to encourage a break between him and his uncle.”
For a moment Jack sat silently, his gaze on his hands. He’d underestimated Antonia. When he’d discouraged William from seeing her, he’d expected her to be angry. He hadn’t expected her to move to get him arrested. It didn’t make sense, for it certainly wouldn’t gain her William back. Jack pursed his lips. It only made sense if all she wanted was revenge.
“Well, you’d best run along, then,” he said, waving a hand at Marley. He needed to think. Rumors and accusations from a lifelong enemy were one thing. Antonia, though, was considered to be a friend—anything she said would be taken seriously.
Donald Marley was halfway through the door when he had to sidestep to avoid another man bursting into the parlor. Jack straightened as William Benton looked about, saw him, and strode forward with a look of relief.
“Jack, thank God,” he muttered, dropping into the chair Donald Marley had just vacated.
The marquis looked at him. “Tell me, William, did you win or lose our little wager concerning Antonia?” He was unable to keep the anger and bitterness out of his voice, but William didn’t seem to notice.
“Oh, I lost. But we’ll worry about that later.” The boy looked about the room, then leaned closer. “Lilith sent me.”
Jack’s heart jolted. He had no idea how much William knew, and he certainly didn’t want to give away anything that hadn’t yet been discovered. “She did?” he asked, as mildly as he could.
“Don’t act so surprised,” William murmured. “She was in tears, begging me to go find you and tell you she wanted to see you. Correction—she needed to see you.”
Jack stood. If Dolph had done something to her, there were going to be two dead Remdales. “Where is she?”
“Not so fast, Dansbury,” her brother returned, unmoving.
That didn’t bode well. Slowly Jack retook his seat. “Yes?”
“Why did you take up with me?”
“What sort of question is that?” Jack said, lifting an eyebrow. “And hardly the time for it, don’t you think?”
“I’d heard about you, you know,” William continued, undaunted, “and I didn’t expect you’d want anything to do with a simpleton like me. After seeing Lilith earlier, though, I’m beginning to suspect why you allowed me to tag along. I’d just like to hear you say it.”
Jack looked at his companion. “I’ll admit,” he said after a moment, “initially I considered that befriending you would get me your sister’s attention.”
William’s jaw twitched. “I see.”
It annoyed Jack to realize that hurting the boy’s feelings bothered him. He was becoming so sentimental he hardly recognized himself. “It took me a very short time to realize that I’d made an error in my initial perception of your sister, and that in addition, she rather detested me.”
“At the least.” William glanced about the room again, noting the distance between their party and the rest of the club’s patrons. “So why didn’t you cut me, after you realized your plan wasn’t going to work?”
“Because—and at the moment to my surprise—I like you,” Jack said flatly.
“I heard Price calling me your whipping boy the other day.”
“You’re no fool, William. Initially I may have thought so, but I was mistaken.”
“But—”
“William, I’m likely about to be arrested for killing the Duke of Wenford, and your sister is in tears and asking to see me. We don’t have time for this.”
“Yes, we do. You know how important this Season is to Lil. So now that you apparently have her ‘attention,’ what do you plan to do with it? For God’s sake, Jack, she’s to be married. And she’s not used to your type, or to your games. You could hurt her very badly.”
“I wouldn’t hurt Lilith,” Jack returned indignantly. “And as for her being betrothed, you might have taken her part and told your father how much she hates Dolph Remdale before such a damned stupid thing could happen.”
Her brother blinked. “I know she thinks Wenford’s a dull pot, but she doesn’t hate him.”
“She hates him,” Jack repeated. “And I intend to get her out of it.” By any means necessary.
For a moment William looked at him. “And then what?”
Jack gritted his teeth irritably. “I have no idea. If you attempt to delay me any further, though, you won’t be alive to find out. So may we go?”
Finally William nodded and stood. “You can’t call on her at home. Where do you wish to meet her?”
Jack pulled out his pocket watch. It was well into the afternoon, a little late for shopping, but not unfashionably so. “I’ll meet her on Bond Street, by Brook, in forty minutes.”
William likewise glanced at the watch. “All right.” Jack started to leave, but William put a hand out and stopped him. “Jack, I’m trusting that you won’t pull her into more trouble.”
“I won’t,” he promised, though he wasn’t certain whether he was trying to convince William or himself. “I’m trying to pull myself out.”
William gave a slight smile as he lowered his hand. “If it matters, I thought from the beginning that you were the right one for her. You’re the only man she’s encountered who actually makes her forget what she’s supposed to be doing for everyone else.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Jack said dryly.
He made his way to the appropriate corner of Bond Street and hid Benedick so Lilith’s aunt wouldn’t see him. It would be difficult to get Lil away from her escort, especially when he couldn’t show himself first, but short of starting a fire or a stampede, he had very few ideas. Jack looked up the street, then smiled. Speaking to Penelope Sanford was almost as risky as seeing Lilith, but at least the accompanying innuendo was absent. And Miss Sanford had helped them before.
Arranging to collide with her wasn’t difficult, given the crowded streets. She dropped one of her packages as he bumped into her, and with an apology he bent and retrieved it for her. “Beg pardon.” He smiled, handing it back.
She blushed. “Quite all right, my lord,” she returned, glancing at her mother.
“I need to pay more attention to where I’m going,” he continued, then leaned closer on the pretext of helping her rearrange the bundles in her arms. “Lil will be here in a few minutes,” he murmured. “I need to see her, over in the alley off Brook Street. Can you get her over there?”
She looked at him for a moment, then licked her lips and nodded. “She won’t get in trouble?” she whispered.
He gave his head a slight shake. “She asked to see me.”
“All right.”
With a polite nod to Lady Sanford, Jack strolled down the street. Penelope and her mother disappeared into a shop on the corner, and Jack immediately turned and made his way back to his post at the entrance to the alley. With a slight scowl he checked his pocket watch again. Ten more minutes. He found himself pacing, and sternly planted his feet by the wall. Nervous and worried, he spent the time wondering what had happened to make her need to see him as soon as she returned from her picnic. She might have news about Dolph’s guilt, but he thought she would have been more subtle in getting the information to him if that were the case.
He stood about kicking his heels, fretting like an old woman and wondering if he would have to storm Benton House to see her after all, until finally the Hamble coach appeared. Jack ducked back into the narrow alley to wait, trying not to feel like the skulking criminal he was doing a sterling impression of.
She appeared sooner than he expected, resisting as a giggling Miss Sanford led her down the street and into the alley’s entrance. “Pen, stop it,” she was whispering. “I have to meet…” She saw Jack and stopped. “Jack,” she muttered, her tense expression easing, and rushed forward.
Jack opened his arms and pulled her into a tight embrace. “Are you all right?” he murmured into her hair.
“I am now,” she returned shakily, her shoulders heaving as she began to cry.
“I’ll be right around the corner,” Penelope said, and with a last, compassionate look for the two of them, vanished.
“I like your friend,” Jack offered, looking after her.
Lilith raised her tear-stained face. “She knew?”
“I ran across her, and asked her to lead you over here.” He held her gaze. “What happened?”
“Oh, I suppose it’s silly, but…I just needed to see you,” she said, her arms still wrapped tightly about his waist.
“It’s not silly,” he stated. “And you don’t panic. What happened?”
“He did it,” she stated. “I know he did it, and he threatened me about it, but I still can’t prove anything.”
She tried to duck her head into his shoulder, but he shifted his grip to hold her away. “What do you mean, he threatened you?”
Lilith looked at him, then shook her head. “I don’t want to tell you.”
Now he was worried. It was serious, and she had not kept secrets from him before. “Lil, you wanted to see me. Please tell me why.”
She sighed shakily. “It’s just that—well, you warned me that he abused his female staff, but I never expected—” Lilith stopped, her face flushing, and roughly moved his hand aside so she could rest her cheek against his shoulder. “I never expected,” she repeated.
“He hit you?” Sudden black fury coursed through Jack.
“He slapped me,” she admitted.
“I’ll kill him for that.”
“No, you won’t, Dansbury, because then no one will believe you didn’t kill his uncle, too.”
Her tone was matter-of-fact, and a slight smile touched Jack’s face. She was still more concerned for him than for herself. “Probably not. But no one believes me, anyway.”
“I do.”
He kissed her. “I know.”
“It really didn’t hurt, anyway, but it surprised me. But that’s how I knew for certain that he killed his uncle. The look on his face was frightening.” She looked up at him again, tears welling in her eyes. “But how can we prove it, Jack?”
For a moment, the marquis rested his cheek against Lilith’s hair and allowed himself to consider just how slim his chances of escaping Wenford’s trap were. “I don’t know.” He took a slow breath, trying to contain his anger. “I should never have let you go off with him.”
“I wanted to help,” she protested. “I still want to help. And I’m supposed to marry him, remember?”
He gave a bitter laugh. “How can I forget?” Jack tightened his arms around her shoulders. “We could just run away, you know, you and I. Spain, or Italy. You would like Venice, ma chère.”
For a long moment she was silent, her breath warm on his shoulder. Finally Lilith took a step back and lifted her hands to cup the sides of his face. “Is leaving England the only way to save you?” she asked.
Jack met her gaze. She would go with him—and part of him was elated. At the same time, he knew he couldn’t do that to her, couldn’t hurt her by making her desert her family as her mother had done. “No,” he answered slowly, rocking her in his arms. “It’s not. Tomorrow, Lil, I want you to go see Alison. Stay with her, until Richard or I tell you otherwise.”
“And what will you be doing?”
He gave a grim smile. “Hunting.”
Chapter 18
“Aunt Eugenia, please?”
Lilith watched her aunt out of the corner of her eye, saw her frown, and tried to keep the pleasant expression on her own face. She had expected her task to be a difficult one, but even though Lilith had been pestering since breakfast, Aunt Eugenia was showing no sign of weakening.
“I have accepted an invitation for tea with Lady Neuland. One does not cancel an invitation to chat with Lady Neuland,” Eugenia said.
“But I have accepted an invitation for tea with Lady Hutton.” And I promised Jack I would spend the day with his sister.
“She is only a baron’s wife,” Eugenia sniffed. “Lady Neuland is a marchioness. Don’t be ridiculous.”
This was not going well. “Papa?” Lilith appealed in desperation.
Lord Hamble looked up from his perusal of the morning newspaper. His irritated expression did little to boost her confidence. “Your aunt is correct, Lilith. You’re to be a duchess. Don’t waste your time with inferior relations of unacceptable persons.”
“That is not fair!” Lilith burst out, frustrated beyond bearing and angry at the jibe sent at Jack.
Her father looked up from his paper again, then folded it and set it aside. “Beg pardon?”
Lilith recognized the tone. She’d heard it every time she displeased him with her behavior over the past six years. “I’m only asking a small thing, Papa,” she said, in as calm and reasonable a voice as she could muster. “I want to spend the morning with a friend. Is that so terrible?”
“It is if you have no one to escort you. Which you don’t,” Aunt Eugenia broke in.
The morning room door opened, and William stepped abruptly into the room. Looking sheepish, he cleared his throat and walked over to drop onto the couch beside his sister. “I was thinking of going over to see Richard Hutton this morning,” he said brightly. “You know Lady Hutton, don’t you, Lil?”
He had been listening through the door, obviously. Lilith wanted to kiss him. “Yes, I do. As a matter of fact, I was planning on going to see her this morning. Would you mind escorting me?”
He grinned. “Not a bit.”
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