by Sandra Heath
Emma shook her head. “Lord Avenley, I am sure that you can speak to me down here.”
“As you have already discovered, this entrance hall is a rather public place, Miss Rutherford. Besides, what I have to say to you is far too important and private to be aired anywhere but in seclusion.”
“I would prefer—”
“Miss Rutherford, do you wish to retrieve the Keepsake and your brother’s notes?” he interrupted sharply.
“Yes.”
“Then please be so kind as to accompany me upstairs, where we may speak in private. If you do not, then there is no point in coming here at all, for I will carry out my threat and ruin your match with Kane.”
Emma knew that he meant what he said, and without further resistance she walked toward the staircase. Dolly accompanied her, and they were both conscious of his steps on the staircase a few feet behind them. At the top they paused, and he indicated some tall, elegantly decorated double doors to their right.
“Please come this way, Miss Rutherford,” he murmured; then he looked at Dolly. “You may remain out here, girl, for what I have to say is strictly between two, not three.”
Emma’s eyes flew unhappily to the maid, but there was nothing for it but to obey his instruction. He had already opened one half of the double door, and she went inside. As the door closed upon them, Dolly hurried toward it, crouching down and putting her eye to the keyhole. She found that not only could she see a great deal of the handsome crimson-and-gold drawing room beyond, but also she could hear what was being said.
She saw her mistress in the center of the room, one hand resting nervously on the polished surface of a fine inlaid table, and she saw Lord Avenley move to the fireplace. Emma’s attention was turned away from him as she glanced around the room, and Dolly saw him suddenly reach up to a clock on the mantelpiece. He took something from a hiding place at the back of the clock and put it in his pocket, before replacing the clock in its former position. Emma sensed nothing as at last she turned to face him. “What exactly do you want of me, Lord Avenley?”
“Please allow me to take your cloak and muff, Miss Rutherford, for I am sure I find it a little warm in here,’’ he said softly.
“I am quite comfortable, sir,” she replied, but she did push her hood back. “Why have you forced me to come here?” she asked.
“Why, so that you will have the opportunity to retrieve the Keepsake, spare your brother from debt, and at the same time save your match from perdition,” he said, smiling coolly.
“And how may I do all this?”
“Is it not abundantly clear to you, Miss Rutherford? I find you very desirable indeed, and if my original intent was merely to make things awkward for Kane’s new marriage by luring your fool of a brother into debt, that is no longer my sole purpose. Your match can remain intact, provided you come to me. I wish to enjoy your charms, my dear, and in return for one night with you, I will give back the Keepsake and the lOU’s, and I will leave your match with Kane alone in future.”
Emma stared at him, deeply shaken by his words, and outside the door, Dolly’s eyes widened.
Lord Avenley gave another cool smile. “I cannot imagine that my terms come as all that much of a shock to you, Miss Rutherford, for it must have been obvious to you that I admired you.”
“I would rather die than give myself to you,” she whispered.
“Indeed? Is that not a little extreme? Come now, I suggest that you give the matter a little sensible consideration. Is one night so disgusting a thing to contemplate?”
“Yes. Yes, it is! I refuse your terms, sirrah, for I have no intention of bowing to blackmail. I will tell Lord Kane.”
“What will you inform him, my dear?” he asked lightly.
“I have only to show him the note you sent.”
He gave a brief laugh. “Be sensible, Miss Rutherford. The note gives no indication as to the sender, for it most certainly is not in my hand. It makes no mention of the Keepsake as such, nor does it point to the lOU’s as being those belonging to your brother. In fact, my dear, it is something and nothing, conveying meaning only to you.”
He came a little closer, suddenly taking the Keepsake from his pocket and holding it up so that the diamonds flashed in the light from the chandeliers. “I have indeed had this little trinket stolen from you, Miss Rutherford, and it is indeed in my possession now, but you will find it intolerably difficult to prove the fact.”
From beyond the door, Dolly gazed at the Keepsake, suddenly realizing that it was what she had seen him take from the hiding place in the back of the clock.
Emma was staring at the brooch, and then she raised her eyes to his face. “I will not bow to your vile threats, sir. I mean to tell Lord Kane what you are demanding.”
“Do that, and your match will very swiftly be a thing of the past.”
“You cannot—”
“Break it asunder? Oh, my dear, I rather think that I can. Believe me, it would be a very simple matter for me to suggest to Kane that you have become infatuated with me and that you are prepared to deceive him in order to attempt to win me. You’ve deceived him already, haven’t you? You’ve come to me instead of accompanying him to Manchester House.
“What did you tell him? Did you cry off with a headache? Whatever you did, you fobbed him off, and even though you have no doubt taken care to remain anonymous since leaving Grosvenor Square, I rather fear that Jerry Warburton somehow recognized your maid a few minutes ago. He hasn’t yet remembered where he’s seen her before, but I could so easily jog his memory. I can only presume that he noticed her when he helped take your brother home after the sailing accident.”
Emma turned away, her mind racing. She was trapped. It was as if an invisible net was closing in around her, its mesh tightening inch by inch until she could not move.
Lord Avenley gave a cool half-laugh. “Like all the best plots, my dear, it is really very simple, as is your way out. I promised you that Stephen would find it easy to redeem his lOU’s, and I am keeping my promise. One night with me, my sweet Emma, and your brother’s debts will be a thing of the past. One night, and not only will you have the Keepsake again, but you will soon be able to give yourself to Kane with all the passion I am sure you feel for him. One night. That is all.”
Slowly she turned to meet his gaze again. “I despise you with all my heart,” she whispered.
He seemed amused. “I’m sure you do, but of what consequence is that? Your opinion of me is immaterial, for I do not want your regard, I want your physical charms, which I find more and more irresistible each minute I am with you.”
She recoiled, her disgust and repugnance almost tangible. “And I find you more and more repellent,” she said. “You still haven’t told me why you’re doing this. You claim now it is because you desire me, but you also admitted that originally it was only to do with ruining the match. What is this really about?”
“Do you see that miniature on the wall over there?” he asked suddenly, pointing past her to an alcove where the light from a candelabrum on a console table illuminated an oval miniature set in an ornate silver frame.
As Emma went toward it, he turned again, replacing the Keepsake in the clock. She did not see what he did, but from the doorway Dolly witnessed everything.
Emma reached the alcove and picked up the candelabrum to examine the miniature more closely. It was a likeness of a beautiful young woman with magnificent bronze hair and large hazel eyes. She had a pale but perfect face, and her rosebud lips were a little pouting, as if she was inviting a kiss. There were pearls in her hair, and around her flawless throat, and she wore a drapery of soft white silk, like a classical statue.
Puzzled, Emma turned to look at Lord Avenley. “Who is she?”
His eye shone with a cold steadiness. “She should have become Lady Avenley, but chose to become Lady Kane instead.”
Emma whirled about to look at the miniature again. “Margot? Gerald’s first wife?
“Yes, Miss Ruth
erford, the first Lady Kane is the reason for all this. She was mine, but Kane lured her away with his silver words and silken looks. She didn’t love him, she was blinded by his charm, and when she wished to return to me, he wouldn’t let her go. She died when she eventually fled in the middle of the night and her carriage overturned on Hounslow Heath.”
His voice was low and almost beguiling, and he stared across the room at the little portrait as if he could never gaze too much upon Margot’s likeness. “She was mine, my dear Emma, she was always mine, but Kane stole her. When I heard that he was marrying again, I decided to destroy the match, but then I saw you.”
His eye swung away from the miniature to rest upon Emma’s face. “I saw you, and I made up my mind to enjoy you, just as he once enjoyed Margot. It will please me to know that I have sampled your charms before he has, and there will be a certain piquancy in the situation, will there not? For you will become his wife, but you will have surrendered to me before his ring was even on your finger. There is poetic justice in that, Miss Rutherford.”
She searched his cold face. “Do you take me for a fool, sir? If I give in to your blackmail, I know full well that you will inform Lord Kane of my indiscretion. What satisfaction is there for you unless he knows what you have done?”
“That is a chance you will have to take, my dear. You have a day in which to decide. If you do not indicate that you will come to me tomorrow night, I will destroy your match before it begins.”
She replaced the candelabrum on the table, glancing for a last time at Margot’s lovely face.
Lord Avenley spoke softly behind her. “The choice is yours. If you love Kane, which I believe you do, then there is only one course open to you. You have to do as I wish. Refuse me, and you will lose him, that I can promise you. He and I despise each other because of Margot, and he has only to discover that you lied to him in order to come here tonight…” He allowed his voice to trail away into an eloquent silence.
The atmosphere in the drawing room was suddenly so claustrophobic that she could barely breathe. The net was tightening all the time, denying her the strength to struggle free. He was so clever, so thorough, and so bitterly determined to be avenged for the past, that he had left no chink of light in the darkness that was engulfing her. If only she could clear her thoughts …
She forced herself to meet his gaze. “You have said all you wished to say, my lord, and now I want to leave.”
He smiled. “I trust you mean to be sensible about this, my dear. Just remember that you cannot prove I even have the Keepsake.” He spread his empty hands.
She raised her hood again and began to walk toward the door.
“Allow me to see you out,” he said, accompanying her.
Outside, Dolly had quickly straightened and drawn a discreet distance away from the door.
He escorted them both down to the entrance hall, and then out to the porch, where the carriage was waiting at the curb. There he spoke to Emma again. “Be advised not to say anything about this, Miss Rutherford, for if you do, it will be the worse for you. Your wisest course is to bow to my demand.”
“I find you everything that is obnoxious and immoral,” she whispered, despising him with her glance.
He smiled, taking her hand suddenly and raising it almost tenderly to his lips. “My dear, I’m flattered to have aroused such strong emotion in your sweet, virtuous breast,” he murmured.
She snatched her hand away and turned toward the carriage. As she did so, her hood fell back, revealing her face in the lamplight and causing the spangles in her hair to sparkle eye-catchingly.
A carriage was driving past at that moment, and the solitary gentleman inside glanced out in time to witness the entire apparently intimate incident. He saw the hooded lady as Lord Avenley tenderly kissed her hand, and he saw her hood fall back to reveal her identity.
Lord Castlereagh sat forward in dismayed surprise. Miss Rutherford and Avenley? Surely he was mistaken. Then he saw that the carriage the lady was entering was Lady Bagworth’s town vehicle. There was no mistake, it was indeed Miss Rutherford. But why on earth was she with Avenley instead of being at Manchester House with Kane?
Lord Castlereagh turned to look back along the Pall Mall pavement, wondering greatly at the scene he’d observed. Was the little Rutherford deceiving Kane behind his back? If she was, why, oh why, had it to be with Avenley, of all the men in London!
Sitting forward again, Lord Castlereagh pursed his lips thoughtfully, and his carriage conveyed him on his way to Manchester House.
Chapter Eighteen
Manchester House, the London residence of the Marquess of Hertford, presided very impressively over the northern side of Manchester Square, just to the north of Oxford Street. The house was just over thirty years old, and although very grand, was far from being the most beautiful in the capital.
It comprised a three-story central block flanked on either side by two-story wings, and the roofline was marked by a plain balustrade of little aesthetic quality. A rather ponderous columned porch jutted out from the main entrance, and on top of the porch, accessible from one of the main reception rooms on the second story, was a covered wrought-iron balcony that gave a splendid vantage point, but which did nothing at all to improve the appearance of the house.
In front of the building there was a cobbled courtyard that was separated from the square by a tall iron railing. For the occasion of the assembly there were lanterns everywhere, and all the windows of the house were ablaze with lights. A crush of carriages thronged the square, and the sound of laughter and music drifted out into the cold September night.
Society always flocked to events at Manchester House, for the Marchioness of Hertford was the Prince of Wales’s mistress, and therefore a person of immense influence. She was rather an unlikely royal mistress, being a stately, amply proportioned grandmother, but she held great sway over the Prince, and therefore over the beau monde as well.
Lord Castlereagh’s carriage entered the square from the south, and could not proceed to the house because of all the other carriages that had already arrived. With a sigh, Lord Castlereagh alighted some distance away and began to walk. He pulled his hat further forward and hunched his shoulders in his fur-trimmed cloak.
His thoughts were not on the assembly, but upon the mystery of seeing Miss Rutherford engaged in a seemingly fond leave-taking at Avenley House. Something was afoot, for that particular gentleman was the very last with whom she should be seen. There was some water which never flowed beneath the proverbial bridge, and the waters of animosity and bitterness between Kane and Avenley were just such a case.
The sound of the assembly grew louder as he approached the house, and he could see the people in the elegant, brilliantly illuminated rooms. He knew where he would find his wife, for if there was dancing, then that was where she would be. In the entrance hall there were footmen to take his hat, gloves, and coat, and then there were the first guests to dally with for a while.
Everyone wished to speak to him about the duel, and he was cynically amused to discover that there wasn’t a soul among them who had ever supported the foreign secretary’s side of it. How amazing, he thought to himself, and how perfectly predictable.
It was some time before he was able to enter the ballroom, where the small orchestra was playing a country dance. Two sets of dancers were moving on the sanded floor, and he very quickly perceived his wife’s golden turban. She was partnered by Kane, and they were laughing as they danced, which to Castlereagh’s mind was evidence that Kane could not possibly know of his future wife’s visit to Avenley House.
A footman passed with a tray of full champagne glasses, and Castlereagh removed one, sipping it thoughtfully as he watched the dancing. At last the final chord sounded, and the dancers left the floor. He had already been seen by his wife, and she and Kane came toward him.
“Robert! I was beginning to think that you had forgotten all about coming here,” she cried, stretching up to kiss him warmly on
the cheek.
He smiled. “Forget my promise to tread at least three measures with you, my dear? Now, would I be so remiss?”
“Well, you have had your moments in the past,” she murmured, tapping him with her fan.
He smiled again, and then looked at Gerald. “And how are you this evening, my friend?”
“In fine fettle.”
“Where is the delectable Miss Rutherford?’’ Lord Castlereagh asked lightly.
“I’m afraid she is indisposed. She was unwell when we arrived at Grosvenor Square, and so it was felt that she should stay at home and rest.”
“I see.”
Gerald looked curiously at him. “Is there something wrong, Robert?”
“I fear there has to be. You are certain that she is supposed to be at home?”
“Yes.”
Lady Castlereagh was becoming anxious. “What is it, Robert?”
“Look, the last thing I wish to do is cause trouble, but I have to tell you that Miss Rutherford is most certainly not languishing at home, for a short while ago I saw her with Avenley at Avenley House. They were just saying good-bye, and I cannot describe their manner together as anything other than tender.”
Lady Castlereagh was thunderstruck, and Gerald’s face had become very pale and still. “There has to be a mistake, Robert—” he began.
“I wish that that were so, my friend, but I fear it isn’t. I recognized Lady Bagworth’s town carriage, and I saw Miss Rutherford’s face and hair. I can even describe her coiffure, down to the long ringlet twined with spangles. Gerald, you have to face the fact that your bride-to-be has lied to you tonight.’’
At that moment Jerry Warburton approached, a broad smile brightening his face as he took Gerald’s hand to shake it warmly. “It’s the first time I’ve had a chance to congratulate you, Kane. I envy you your bride, for she is without a doubt the most charming in—”
He said no more, for Gerald was ignoring him, his angry gaze still on Lord Castlereagh. “Robert, I cannot and will not believe that Emma was at Avenley House tonight.”