For a few moments, she stayed in her seat drawing in great breaths of air with which to steady herself. The fury would get her nowhere, and she knew she must dispel it in its entirety before the Duke arrived. She must not come at him immediately with all that she knew, but rather she must let him give himself away, even if the letter and Prudence’s evidence certainly was enough to put an end to the whole thing. Still, she wanted to see him make himself foolish.
“Right.” Adeline re-entered the room so suddenly that Imogen gasped. “Oh, I am sorry my dear,” she said, seeing the look of surprise on Imogen’s face. “Now then, I am going to make a show getting ready for my evening with Lady Rossington.”
“Do you really need to go to such efforts?”
“I intend to play my part to the fullest, Imogen,” Adeline said grandly. “And that includes dressing for an impromptu dinner.” And with a hilarious toss of her head, she strode dramatically out of the room, followed by Imogen’s grateful laughter.
Imogen had found herself entirely surprised that every part of Prudence’s scheme seemed to go exactly to plan.
Adeline had timed the thing beautifully and had been downstairs in the servants’ quarters to receive the Earl and his sister the moment they made their curious entrance through the back of the house.
Adeline had taken them immediately into the dining room where Imogen awaited them.
“Lady Pennington, how are you?” Heath said the moment he was in the room.
“In truth, Sir, I have had easier days. But I shall manage very well.”
“I know that you shall,” he said with his bright blue eyes fixed intently on her own.
“Lady Redmond, I have just thought of something which concerns me,” Prudence said as she hurriedly untied her bonnet.
“And what is that, my dear?”
“Two of your maids were in the kitchen as we made our way in, and I cannot help worrying that your butler might accidentally let something of our presence slip when the Duke arrives, for surely he knows of it now. But still, your butler does not know that we are secret guests, and he might mention it when the Duke arrives.”
“Of course,” Adeline said with a face full of admiration for Prudence’s quick thinking. “As I leave, I shall have a quiet word with Simmons. He has been with me and my husband these thirty years, and I can trust him entirely. I shall not give him the details, but simply let him know that if and when the Duke arrives, he is to show him in and make no mention of your presence.”
“Then I think we have every possible problem fully addressed,” Prudence said and nodded her head thoughtfully. “Yes, I think we most certainly have.”
“Yes, you have done the thing very well, Prudence. I had hardly imagined you to have such a talent for artfulness.”
“Heath, I do wish you would save your teasing until the thing is done,” Prudence said and folded her arms firmly across her chest in a way which made Imogen laugh.
“Why is it that women are always tearing strips off me?” he said with a mischievous grin.
“I think that is a question that only you can answer, Lord Reddington,” Imogen said feeling scared and yet, at the same time, comforted by the presence of the Montgomery siblings. She felt very reassured not only by their competence but by their support.
“And now it is time for me to make my exit,” Adeline said importantly.
“Quite so, Adeline. But not too ostentatiously,” Imogen warned cautiously. “After all, this is not an Adelphi screamer.”
“Although it would make a very good plot,” Heath said nodding. “I should imagine it would be a most popular tale.”
“I am inclined to agree,” Adeline said and smiled at Heath. “I do like a young man who thinks as I do.”
“Whereas I simply feel nervous to have the two of you in the same room,” Imogen said and gently shooed her friend out.
“I am awfully tempted to watch her go, and yet I would not want to risk being seen in the window,” Imogen said to Prudence.
“Very wise, idea,” she said and reached out for Imogen’s hands. “It is nearly done, Lady Pennington. You have just this next bit to get through, and then we have won.”
“Yes, and I shall do it all to the best of my ability,” Imogen said, squeezing Prudence’s hands in return. “Now, ought I to leave you here and make my way to the drawing-room in readiness?”
“Yes, I think that would be very wise. Perhaps read a few lines of a book or something similar which will calm your nerves and make you seem a little more at ease when he arrives.”
“Right, I shall leave you.”
“All will be well,” Heath said and placed his large hand on her shoulder for a moment before releasing her.
It seemed that Adeline had been gone no more than ten minutes when Simmons arrived at the drawing-room door to inform her that none other than the Duke of Dalton had arrived to call upon her and Lady Redmond.
“Of course, I have made him aware that my mistress is from home at the moment,” Simmons said significantly and yet gave no indication that Adeline had even spoken to him. He really was a most trustworthy man indeed.
“Oh well, do show him up anyway for a few minutes,” Imogen said and smiled at him confidently. “All will be well, Simmons, I promise,” she said in almost a whisper.
“Very well, Lady Pennington.” He smiled back at her and left the room, returning within moments with the Duke.
“Lady Pennington, forgive me. I should not have disturbed you had I thought that you were alone this evening.”
“Well, that is of little matter. Do come in and make yourself comfortable for a moment. Might I ask, is something wrong, Your Grace?”
“Wrong? No, why on earth should something be wrong, Lady Pennington?”
“It is almost six o’clock, Your Grace. Forgive me, but it seems a most unusual time to call. Have you not made plans to dine this evening?”
“Yes, but I am having a late dinner, so I thought I might call upon you and Lady Redmond in the meantime. In truth, I had not even considered the lateness of the hour. You must think my appearance rather curious.” Imogen realized that he had not thought the whole thing through in as much detail as dear Prudence had.
Prudence had covered every eventuality, and the useless Duke of Dalton had not even thought of a suitable excuse for calling uninvited at six o’clock in the evening. Something about the shoddiness of his approach suddenly gave her confidence. Everything was going to be alright, just as Heath had said it would be.
“That is why I asked if there was something wrong, Your Grace. But you assure me that there is nothing to worry about.”
“Nothing at all,” he said and made a very big show of casting his eyes towards the drinks cabinet.
“Would you like a drink, Your Grace?” Imogen said, fighting an urge to laugh. His performance really was quite ridiculous, and she was looking forward to upending him enormously.
“Yes, perhaps a sherry,” he said and smiled at her uneasily. “As long as you will join me, of course.”
“Well, I shall perhaps join you for one drink, Your Grace. After all, with Lady Redmond away from home, albeit briefly, we perhaps ought to keep this particular meeting a little short.”
“Oh, you mean in case of any naughty gossip?” he said and snorted with laughter.
“That is precisely my meaning.” And, instead of making her way to the drinks cabinet, Imogen walked over to Adeline’s writing bureau.
Something about the Duke’s ineptitude and scandalous tone angered her. It was clear that he was not going to make any threats nor inform her of the plan so that he might work upon her immediately. He undoubtedly was going to play for time and stay as long as he could and then simply set the rumour abroad. He was not even going to give her the opportunity to accede to his requests before he went out of his way to hurt her. And at the end of it all, he would still expect to marry her. Imogen decided she would wait no longer, there was no need.
“But before I
pour your drink, perhaps I ought to show you this,” she said, holding the letter out in front of her.
“And what is that?” he said most unconvincingly.
“It is the letter which you penned earlier this afternoon, Your Grace. You know, the one purporting to be from Lady Rossington in great distress.”
“Young lady, I have no idea what you are talking about and demand an explanation.”
“You are a little angry a little too soon, Your Grace. Your performance really does need a good deal of work, and you perhaps ought to have practiced it a time or two before presenting yourself here.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Everything is known, Your Grace. Your little scheme with the Countess of Reddington and the Ravenswoods is not news to me. I know what you intend to do, and I know why you intend to do it. I also know that you intend, after digging a hole in the ground and throwing my reputation firmly inside it, to have me marry you for lack of other options. You really are a disgrace.”
“Now look here,” he said and rose almost threateningly to his feet.
“Do not take another step, Carswell.” The door flew open, and Heath strode in.
In a heartbeat, the two men were almost nose to nose, and Imogen was relieved that her memory served her correctly, and the Earl was very much the larger man.
“What is this?” the Duke said angrily. “You will come to regret this.”
“We will not,” Prudence said, and the Duke’s eyes opened wider still. He had clearly not expected to see her either. “We have evidence against you, Your Grace, and we will make this dreadful plan of yours known. My brother and I are witnesses to your behaviour, and I am personally a witness to the entire plan you drew up with my mother and the Ravenswoods. I heard every word.”
“You little eavesdropper!” The Duke seemed ridiculously offended.
“Actually, I think her a very spectacular little eavesdropper. And you will make no other derogatory remarks towards my sister, or you will find yourself instantly sorry,” Heath said in a deep and dangerous voice.
At that moment, Imogen realized that Heath had never truly borne her any ill will; she had not imagined that he possessed so serious and willful a spirit. She had no doubt at all that the Duke of Dalton found himself afraid in the face of it.
“Here is what is going to happen, Your Grace,” Heath began steadily. “You are going to leave here, and you will not renew your addresses to Lady Pennington. And you will make no scandal, or you shall very much find yourself the loser by it. We have all the evidence we need, and even a man of your great title would suffer on account of such information being made public. You will make no more vile plans with my mother or the Ravenswoods. In fact, you shall make no plans whatsoever in respect of Lady Pennington, either good plans or bad. You will do nothing to disrupt her hard work, and you will do nothing to try to tempt her or force her to marry you. Is that understood?”
“I will make you sorry for this, Heath Montgomery, make no mistake.”
“They are empty words, Sir. I can tell by your countenance that you know you are stuck. You cannot make a move without hurting yourself, and you are very aware of the fact. Now get out.”
“But …” the Duke began but immediately fell silent. No doubt the Earl of Reddington’s words had finally settled in and made themselves understood.
Without another word, the Duke of Dalton turned and made his own way out of the drawing room.
Chapter 30
“Mother, pray tell me, have you seen the Duke this evening?” The moment they had returned home to Belgravia from Regent’s Park, Heath and Prudence had sought out their mother.
“Where have the two of you been? I have dined alone this evening. Really, you might have at least left a message of some sort for me instead of simply striding out of the house without a word.”
“Mother, that is not the answer to the question I put to you,” Heath said darkly. “I asked you if you had seen the Duke of Dalton this evening.”
“Why on earth would I have seen the Duke of Dalton?” His mother adopted her customary haughty tone. “He was not invited here, and he has never been here to my certain knowledge. Why on earth would he come here this evening?”
“Good Lord, Mother, two lies in one sentence,” Prudence said angrily.
“I beg your pardon young lady?” Veronica, who had been reclining on the largest and most sumptuous couch in the drawing room reading a book sat up straight and turned her aggressive, beady eyes on her daughter.
“You have previously invited the Duke of Dalton here, Mother. And he has been here at least once to my certain knowledge,” Prudence said without any hint of nerves.
At that moment, Heath realized that he should have backed his sister for many years prior. How alone she must have felt when he ignored his mother’s treatment of her. It was testament to Prudence that she had allowed his offer of friendship now after so long; after all, he was not so sure that he would have done the same thing in her position.
“Please, no more lies. We know everything,” Heath said and felt suddenly exhausted.
He wanted to berate his mother thoroughly. He wanted to drag out every detail from her and make her explain her actions. And yet, at the same time, he wanted to have done with it. He wanted it over so that he might get on with the business of living a happy life; a life with Imogen.
“I really do not know what you are …” she began.
“Enough!” Heath bellowed so loudly that he was aware that Prudence jumped a little beside him.
“Oh, Heath,” Veronica wailed and was instantly in tears. Heath knew that they were tears that could not be believed, despite an uncomfortable gentlemanly urge to do just that. “Heath, it was for your own good.”
“You would ruin an innocent woman for my good?”
“It really is not as simple as that.”
“It is as simple as that, Mother. If the Duke had gone through with his plan and spread his lies throughout London, Imogen Pennington’s life would have been ruined. You pointed out yourself that as the only child of Lord Pennington, it was unlikely that she would inherit the estate on her father’s death, and yet you sought to make her life even worse by taking away her choices. You would have made Imogen a pariah, and there would have been not one decent man in England who would have offered her marriage. And what then? Her choice would have been quite simple, would it not? Marry the evil, bullying Duke and have a life of misery, or live in destitution until she was forced to take work as a governess facing an uncertain future. How dare you attempt to strip a good woman, or any woman, of her right to a happy life? And how dare you say that it was for my own good, for I shall not have it.”
“Heath, perhaps it would be better if we spoke in the morning. You look exhausted, and I think you will see things a little differently after a good night’s sleep.”
“That’s ridiculous, Mother. If I took the rest of my life to look at the matter, I would see it no differently. I would see you no differently.”
“But you must know how I love you, my dear boy.”
“You pick and choose love to such an extent that I am not convinced you know how it feels,” Heath said and cast a sideways look at his sister. “It is to my eternal shame that I have not intervened properly these last years. When you should have been a mother to Prudence, you were her enemy. You should have been the very best friend in the world to your only daughter, and yet you chose to ignore her and belittle her and treat her as an inconvenience for whom a dowry would have to be found one day, much to your annoyance. How can you preach to me about love? You do not even know how to love as a mother.”
“I will not listen to this.” Veronica began to scramble to her feet.
“Sit down,” Heath said firmly. “I want you to know that we completely thwarted your appalling plan this evening. Had it not been for Prudence, I would never have known of it.”
“You eavesdropped?” Veronica looked scandalized, just as the Duke had done.
“That is twice this evening I have been accused as an eavesdropper. In truth, that is exactly what I did, but my accusers have committed far greater crimes than I have. And if you had been a person that I thought trustworthy, Mother, I should never have sought to find out the reason for you drawing the Ravenswoods and the Duke of Dalton to this house.”
“I shall forever be grateful to Prudence. She has intervened to ensure my happiness when all these years I have not afforded her the same luxury. Quite how a woman like you has produced so fine, caring, charitable, and beautiful daughter is beyond me. But I was your child, was I not? I was the one upon whom you spent your time and, as such, I turned out to be very much the lesser of your two children.”
A Lady for the Brazen Earl: A Historical Regency Romance Book Page 24