by Joyce Alec
A wry smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “I mean to say that I find myself speaking more truths to you than I do to anybody, Lord Stoneleigh,” she answered, a dullness about her voice that made him realize she was not at all pleased about this state of affairs but rather, in fact, a little frustrated.
“I will not betray any confidences, Lady Prudence,” he promised. “You may speak as you wish, and I shall not be offended or astonished.” Glancing over his shoulder and seeing the maid approaching with a tray of refreshments, he grasped the opportunity. “Might I also suggest that you bring down the parcel, Lady Prudence? If your mother has not yet attended us and has, instead, sent a maid as a chaperone until she is prepared to join us, would that not give us enough time to look at the contents of the parcel?”
Lady Prudence smiled softly, her eyes bright. “It would indeed, Lord Stoneleigh, which is why I have already fetched it from my rooms.” She waited until the maid had set out the refreshments and then moved to sit a little further away from them both—her back to them, however—before she began.
“I have placed it in my pocket for the moment, although it is not a particularly small piece,” she said, standing up and turning herself away for a moment or two. “I have not opened this, as I have said, since Lord Yardley gave it to me.”
Felix said nothing, seeing Lady Prudence’s expression become anxious again as she turned back to him. Her eyes were a little wider than before, searching his face as though she was afraid she was about to make the wrong decision. Her shoulders were lifted, her hands grasping tightly a wrapped object that Felix knew was what Lord Yardley had given her. Her lips were pressed tightly together and, as he watched, he saw her bite her lower lip, clearly worried that she was now about to make a grave mistake.
“This is your decision,” he reminded her gently. “I shall not demand anything from you.”
This seemed to have something of a sobering effect upon the lady, for she started visibly, closed her eyes, and set her shoulders, before returning to her seat.
“Lord Yardley pressed this into my hands,” she said, setting down the item that was wrapped in blue cloth. “I have not even taken the cloth from it as yet.”
Felix nodded. “It is tied with string, then?”
“A small black ribbon,” Lady Prudence corrected, turning the object over and undoing the ribbon which she then slid free from the object. The blue cloth remained in place and, after only a momentary hesitation, Lady Prudence pulled it back to reveal what secrets it held.
A little surprised, Felix blinked rapidly as he saw nothing other than a plain wooden box. It had a clasp on one side but, aside from that, there was nothing ornamental or unusual about it.
“Oh,” Lady Prudence murmured, looking at it. “It is a box.”
Felix chuckled. “With something within, certainly.”
Lady Prudence blushed. “I thought,” she began, a little awkwardly. “That is, what I mean to say is that I had expected it to be a little more…ornate. That it might have some sort of wonderful decoration all over it, or that it in itself might be a clue as to why it was of such great importance.”
A little ashamed that he had made her blush so, Felix tried to smile. “I did not mean to embarrass you, Lady Prudence,” he said as she dropped her gaze back to the box. “I, too, am a little surprised.” Glancing over his shoulder and relieved that Lady Devonshire was, as yet, nowhere to be seen, he turned back to Lady Prudence. “Might you wish to open it to see what is within? We may not have a great deal of time.”
Lady Prudence nodded but said nothing. Turning the box toward her, she lifted up the clasp, which pushed itself back with a gentle click. Taking a hold of the lid with one hand and holding the bottom of the box with the other, she took a breath and then pushed it back.
Felix, who could not see what was within, could only guess from the utterly astonished expression that wrapped itself around Lady Prudence’s features that whatever was contained within was of great significance. Her eyes were huge, her mouth a little ajar, and the color had drained from her cheeks in an instant.
“I—I do not understand,” Lady Prudence breathed, setting the box down carefully on the small table that was between them. Turning it toward him, Felix was finally able to see what was within—and the sight of it took his breath from his body.
“Why should Lord Yardley have diamonds such as these?” Lady Prudence murmured as Felix reached out and gently touched the diamond earbobs that sat nestled in the middle of the box. “They are clearly not something that he himself would have possessed, for he would not have had need to hide them so.”
“There is a diamond pendant here too,” Felix murmured, picking it up and lifting it from the box. He eyed it carefully, a little worried that the diamonds were paste, only to come to the conclusion that they were genuine. Not only that, but they were rather large diamonds indeed, which meant that any lady wearing such jewelry as this would certainly be noticed. He could not imagine just how much such items would cost.
“Look!”
His eyes lifted from the diamond pendant to what Lady Prudence was pointing to. Watching as she pulled something small from the box, his eyes flared wide with surprise as she revealed to him a small, gold key. And on the very end of the key was a small crest.
“Whatever does this mean?” Lady Prudence breathed as Felix hastily put the pendant back in the box. “This is not Lord Yardley’s crest, I am sure of it.”
“May I?” Felix held out his hand to Lady Prudence and she gave him the key without hesitation, setting it gently in his hand. Felix held it a little more closely, looking hard at the crest and realizing, with a jolt, that he knew precisely whose crest this belonged to.
“I believe this is the Viscount Brunswick’s crest,” he murmured slowly. “Although I am not entirely certain.”
Lady Prudence’s eyes flared wide and she sat back in her chair. “Lord Brunswick?” she repeated, as though she could not quite believe it. “I—I am acquainted with him.”
“As am I,” Felix replied, thinking silently that he had not taken much of a liking to the young man, finding him arrogant and rather conceited. “I could not say definitely, but I am sure that it is his crest.” He hesitated, wondering if he ought to ask whether or not he might keep the key for a day or so, in order to make quite certain of it, but then chose not to do so. Lady Prudence had already trusted him with this, and he would not push her to do even more.
“Do you think you might be able to confirm this, Lord Stoneleigh?” Lady Prudence asked, holding her hand back out for the key, which he gave to her at once. “I—I am acquainted with him, as I say, but I do not think I would be easily able to discover such a thing.”
“But of course,” he said quickly. “I can certainly make sure of it by tomorrow evening’s ball?”
She put the key back in the box and then closed the lid, covering it again with the blue cloth. “Thank you, Lord Stoneleigh,” she answered, putting the ribbon back around the cloth again. “That would be very helpful indeed.”
Felix watched her delicate fingers tie the ribbon neatly, remembering just how astonished he had been to see the diamonds nestled neatly in the box. “Do you have any thought as to why Lord Yardley would have these diamonds?” he asked, reaching for his glass of lemonade. “They are clearly worth a great deal.”
Lady Prudence shook her head. “I cannot understand it,” she said heavily, pushing the box pack into her pocket before sitting down. “I do not know why he had it in the first place, or why he gave it to me to hide. The key with the crest is the greatest mystery, for surely that means that the diamonds themselves belong to Lord Brunswick?”
It was a considered thought, Felix had to admit. “I would not like to say,” he replied carefully. “It might appear that way, certainly, but I must admit to wondering what this key opens.”
A small smile lit Lady Prudence’s eyes. “I do not intend to make my way into Lord Brunswick’s house and attempt to find
the place for this particular key, Lord Stoneleigh, I must confess.”
Felix laughed but did not immediately state that he would not do such a thing, for the truth was that, should it come to it, he was willing to do whatever was required.
“I suppose,” Lady Prudence continued, her expression becoming more serious, “that we must first confirm that the seal is that of Lord Brunswick—although what I should do thereafter, I confess I cannot even imagine.” Her eyes dimmed and her brows lowered over her eyes. “I feel as though I have a great burden of responsibility and very little thought as to what I ought to do to help Lord Yardley.”
Surprised at the sudden urge within him to go to her, to kneel by her side and to take her hand in his so that he might comfort her, Felix satisfied his desire to do so by merely leaning forward in his chair and fixing her with a warm gaze.
“Lady Prudence,” he said quietly. “You need not fear. We shall walk through this together. Once we have discovered whether or not it is truly the crest of Lord Brunswick, we might then start to seek a little more information about the gentleman himself. That may, in turn, lead us to uncovering the mystery behind the diamonds.” Finishing his lemonade and knowing that it was best for him to take his leave, he rose and bowed. “I shall speak to you again tomorrow evening, then?”
Lady Prudence, who had hastily risen to her feet also, bobbed a curtsy. “I look forward to it, Lord Stoneleigh.”
“As do I,” Felix found himself saying, rather astonished to realize, as he took his leave of her, that he truly meant every single word.
Striding into White’s, Felix looked all around him and instantly found the gentleman he had been looking for. Lord Claverhouse was busy in conversation with another fellow, a brandy in his hand and, from the broad grin on his face, clearly having enjoyed an excellent evening thus far.
“And here you are,” Lord Claverhouse said as Felix made his way forward. “The game is almost ready to begin now. We only wait for Lord Seaton and then we will be able to start.”
“I am glad I was not late,” Felix replied, sitting down in a chair next to Lord Claverhouse and greeting the other gentlemen with a nod. “I have had something of a busy afternoon, I confess.”
Lord Claverhouse waggled his eyebrows as his eyes began to twinkle. “I have heard that you were walking in the park with a particular young lady,” he said, loud enough for the other gentlemen to hear. “Perhaps it is that you have found a reason at last to stay in London?”
Felix closed his eyes for a moment and let out a pained sigh, giving Lord Claverhouse no doubt that he was frustrated with the conversation—but as he looked at his friend again, he realized that he was not going to be easily able to convince him to drop that particular topic of conversation.
“I took Lady Prudence and her mother, Lady Devonshire, for a short walk around Saint James’s Park, that is all,” he replied steadily. “There is nothing in it, Lord Claverhouse, I assure you.”
The other gentlemen next to Lord Claverhouse exchanged glances with each other whilst Lord Claverhouse himself laughed in a rather uproarious manner, making Felix wince inwardly. Clearly, his friend had already had a little too much liquor, which meant that any attempt to quieten him would fail completely.
“And what other young ladies, pray tell, have you ever taken to Saint James’s Park?” Lord Claverhouse asked, still chuckling away. “I have been your friend for some time and cannot think of a single occasion where you showed any interest in any young lady of your acquaintance.”
“Be that as it may,” Felix replied evenly, “there is nothing worthy of notice here, Lord Claverhouse.” He lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug. “Lady Prudence is a very kind young lady, with a gentle manner—”
“And certainly very beautiful,” interjected another gentleman. “In fact, she has shown no preference to any advances from anyone thus far. I should consider yourself rather blessed, Lord Stoneleigh.”
A small, dark muttering came from the gentleman beside him, which made the first grin broadly.
“Lord Stutton has been one rejected in such a manner,” he said, by way of explanation. “But I am sure he is very pleased that you have managed to succeed where he has not.”
From the dark look on the gentleman’s face, Felix did not consider that to be true, but he merely shrugged and allowed himself to relax just a little. It was not worth trying to explain that he was only considering Lady Prudence because he enjoyed conversing with her—or whatever other excuse he could give—for Lord Claverhouse would merely laugh and shake his head and state that he had never seen Felix do such a thing before. This, in turn, would then lead to the suggestion that Felix was rather taken with the lady and if he were to continue to deny it whilst going on to spend further time in Lady Prudence’s company, then that would only complicate matters further.
Perhaps it was best just to allow them to think that he had intentions of courtship toward the lady. Nothing would come of it, of course, for he certainly did not think that he would ever truly be interested in marriage with Lady Prudence, surely?
Why ever not?
The thought made his brow furrow hard as Lord Claverhouse began to speak about something trivial to which Felix paid no attention. He had only known the lady for a few days and yet there was bound to be a relationship of a long duration between them, given what had been found in the box and what they would now have to do to discover the truth. What would happen once all was at an end? Would he be content to simply return to his estate, to leave Lady Prudence back in London and see her betrothed and wed to another?
“I think there is more going on in your heart as regards Lady Prudence than you wish to admit,” Lord Claverhouse said, although he leaned toward Felix as he said this and kept his voice low. “You do not wish to tell me, however.”
“I do not wish to speak of it to anyone,” Felix replied firmly. “Now, are we to play this game or not?”
Focusing his attention on the game at hand rather than on Lady Prudence, Felix forced himself to remove all thought of her from his mind. There was no need to consider such things at present. All he was doing was assisting her with what could be a rather dangerous situation, were Lady Prudence not careful. What came after that, he did not know and, at present, he had no need to know either.
One thing at a time, he told himself as the cards were dealt. You need only take one thing at a time.
5
“Good evening, Lady Prudence.”
Prudence turned to greet whoever had spoken to her, her stomach twisting suddenly as she saw Lord Brunswick standing before her.
“Good evening, Lord Brunswick.” She curtsied as best she could, forcing all anxiety from her limbs as she tried to smile. There was no need for her to feel any sort of nervousness, just because she had found a key with his crest on it in the box from Lord Yardley. To be so was nothing less than foolish.
“I do hope you will favor me with a dance,” he said, an easy smile on his face. “Unless you have been inundated with gentlemen already?”
Forcing a laugh, Prudence took her dance card from her wrist and handed it to Lord Brunswick. “I am sure you will find a dance to suit you, Lord Brunswick,” she said.
“I am certain I will,” he replied with a broad smile, looking down at her dance card and then signing his name on not one but two dances. Normally, Prudence would not have minded such a thing, knowing Lord Brunswick was something of a flirt and liked to dance with as many young ladies as possible, even though he was already betrothed.
“I hope that will satisfy you, Lady Prudence,” he told her, handing the dance card back with a flourish. “Two dances this evening.”
“How very generous,” she replied, already not looking forward to being his partner. “I should be honored to be so favored, I suppose.”
Lord Brunswick laughed at her apparent levity and Prudence forced herself to smile.
“You jest, Lady Prudence, I know, but I appreciate your humor,” he answered with a tw
inkle in his eye. “There are not many young ladies who would speak to me so.”
Prudence did not know what to make of this but tilted her head and looked at him. “And your betrothed, I hope, does not mind that you dance twice with me this evening?” She did not know much about Lord Brunswick’s betrothed, having never met the young lady given that she was not yet in London.
Lifting one eyebrow in silent challenge, Lord Brunswick’s smile did not remain.
“My betrothed is not present this evening, Lady Prudence. In fact, she is not present even in London and thus, she cannot say whether or not she is pleased with my conduct.”
“I am sorry she is not here with you,” Prudence replied honestly. “Does the lady intend to come to London for the Season?” She kept her tone conversational, a little surprised at his reaction to her first question.
“She does not,” Lord Brunswick replied tersely. “There is no need. Our marriage will take place at the end of the Season and given that we are to be wed in her home parish, there is no requirement for her to attend London.”
Still finding Lord Brunswick’s manner to be a trifle odd, Prudence smiled in the hope that he would not think her either rude or deliberately antagonistic. “I think, Lord Brunswick that I do not even know your dear lady’s name,” she said, one hand pressed against her heart. “I am truly sorry, Lord Brunswick, I have been rude in never once asking you such a thing.”
Lord Brunswick did not smile or immediately answer her. Instead, he simply studied her, his eyes hooded and a tightness about his mouth as though he was uncertain of her motives in asking such a thing.
“Lady Josephine, the daughter of Lord and Lady Haydock,” came the mumbled reply. “I am not certain you will have—”
“The Earl of Haydock,” Prudence said with her eyes widening, remembering the rumors that Lord Brunswick had made an excellent and very beneficial match indeed. “Yes, of course. I recall that he and his daughter were in London last Season, for that was also my very first Season also.” The Earl of Haydock was, Prudence knew, very wealthy and his daughter certainly would bring with her an excellent dowry and income of her own. “From what I remember, she seemed to be a very gentle lady, with a warm smile for everyone.”