A Season to Be Sinful (43 page)

Woodridge pried his bloodless knuckles free from Midge and shook them out. Who are they?

Sherry caught Midge by the collar and dragged him to stand with his compatriots. My wards, I am chagrined to admit. Or at least they will be when my solicitor has completed all the legal particulars.

Wards? Youre serious? He looked at the three boys who were all wobbling on their feet. Where did they come from? Are they relations?

No. No relations. Sherry started to move the boys toward the pocket doors. Go on. Find Mr. Wolfe and tell him what you did. Dont think I will not inquire later. He parted the doors and let them make their escape. They stumbled out and took off in the direction of the servants stairs. Shaking his head, Sherry stepped back. When he turned around, he saw that Woodridge was no longer standing near his chair but had moved to the open walnut panel. The baron was investigating its construction.

Where does it go? Woodridge asked, poking his head inside the dark stairwell. He looked up and down the narrow passage. Clever. My country house has a priests hole, but nothing like this. He drew his head back and stepped aside as Sherry closed the panel. Does it lead outside?

You may have already guessed that it goes down to the wine cellar. That room is locked on the kitchen side so there is no exit. If one goes up, then it leads to a drawing room and a bedchamber.

And on the other side of the passage? It looked as if it might open on another room.

The music salon. Woodridge made a noise at the back of his throat that might have indicated that he was either impressed or bored. Sherry did not ask him to explain. He fol-lowed the baron back to where theyd been sitting and took up his chair. The scoundrels are not always at their best on short acquaintance. My apologies for their interruption.

You truly intend to make them your wards?

Yes. I like them well enough, and they have no one else.

Bloody hell, Sherry. Can you not see what you are doing? It is just as I was beginning to say when they came in here. It is all about the Crick affair. Your doubts. Your judgments. Your decision to leave. Even these children are part and parcel of that business. Surely you must know that.

Of course I know it.

But you bear no responsibility for how that turned out.

What idiocy. Was there someone else in the room when Ellison Crick put a pistol to his head? He killed himself because I persuaded him it was in the best interest of everyone that he do so. And do you know, Woodridge, I believed it. I could not have spoken so convincingly otherwise. He saved his family the embarrassment of a public trial. He saved the prince regent the humiliation of admitting hed spoken too freely to his friend, the cost of which was that we were very nearly denied Napoleons abdication. He saved the people from a painful examination of their leaders in and out of the Parliament.

And he was guilty. The evidence supported his guilt, never his innocence. He was the only one who said it was otherwise, but does one truly expect to hear something different? I didnt. I never have. I was presented with the charge, the evidence, the accused, and told to make it right. I never doubted that he was acquitting himself as honorably as he could, given the circumstances.

Sherry leaned forward and made a steeple of his fingers. He regarded Woodridge intently as he presented his case. The man did not loom so large before him as he had done in the past. There was a look of dissipation creeping into his countenance. The touch of gray in his complexion was much more telling than the gray threads in his ash-colored hair. Lines at the corners of his mouth and eyes made his expres-sion seem brittle. As he spoke, Sherry thought it seemed that Woodridge was making himself smaller, somehow shrinking in his chair, and that in time he might disappear altogether.

It was an end much desired.

The circumstances, however, Sherry said calmly, were wrong. They were wrong when they were presented to me, and they were therefore wrong when 1 presented them to him. His guilt was predicated on a lie, a lie that was told first by the man who was guilty, a lie that was believed and turned against an innocent man.

Do you know how I persuaded him to kill himself, Woodridge? It was not what I gave him in facts or in choices, but what I took away. I took away his hope. He was an innocent man who was made to understand there was nothing left to him. I know the precise moment when he abandoned hope; it was the moment when he saw I was unconvinced by his argument.

Crick was a weak man.

Perhaps, but shouldnt that engage our compassion, not our enmity?

You did nothing wrong.

Sherry smiled, albeit without humor. And that is why I left, he said. Because youand others like youthink I did nothing wrong. He had children, you know. Two boys. Two girls. His wife lost the child she was carrying. I have heard since that she was the one who discovered what her husband had done. He wanted to leave her a note, but I couldnt allow him to do that. What could he have said that would not have aroused her suspicions? He had no debts, no mistress, no reason to do what he did except for his melancholia of late. She had to be satisfied with that. She will go to her grave thinking her husbands despair was greater than the love he bore her.

I will go to my grave knowing I convinced him it made no difference.

Come away from the window, Lady Rivendale said. It was not the first time she had cautioned Lily in such a manner. It cannot be good for you to stand there staring at his carriage.

His carriage is already gone. The grooms have removed it from the drive and taken it to the stable.

Then there can be nothing at all for you to see. Come now. It is wearing on my nerves.

Lily turned away. Are you afraid I will leap?

Do not be absurd. She was on the point of underscoring this with a dismissive wave of her hand when she paused and reconsidered. Would you?

No. Lily managed a small smile. Killing myself has never presented itself as a satisfactory solution, though I have always thought the baron would have been relieved if I had done so. Odd, is it not? He led me to believe it was the only way I should ever be able to leave him.

Her ladyship shivered. She squared off the deck of cards in her hand then began shuffling them again. Come. Wont you sit down? Well play two-handed whist, and I promise you an honest game.

I couldnt.

Sighing heavily, Lady Rivendale put the cards aside. Neither could I. She glanced toward the open doorway. What do you suppose they are doing now?

Lily thought her ladyship was referring to Sherry and Woodridge, but when she followed the direction of Lady Rivendales gaze she saw Pinch, Dash, and Midge were framed in the doorway, frozen in the act of tiptoeing past it.

Hold! Her voice did not have the same resonance that Sherrys had, but the authority it carried was sufficient to keep them from moving forward. They could not quite sustain the pose in which they had been caught out and teetered sideways so that they were in danger of toppling like dominoes placed on end. Come here.

Their collective sigh was loud enough for both women to hear. Pinch nudged Dash forward; Dash nudged Midge. It was with palpable reluctance that they filed into the sitting room that adjoined Lilys bedchamber.

Well? Lily asked. I thought we agreed you would remain in the area of your own rooms this afternoon. Did you have tea?

Dash nodded. Mr. Gant made sure there were extra cakes on our tray. Pinch played mother. We said please and thank ye even though there was no one to ear us do it.

Truly? Lily looked at Lady Rivendale and saw she appeared to be more disarmed than distrustful. That is very good of you. And where did you come from?

The kitchen, Pinch said. We ad tea in the kitchen.

At the same time Pinch was offering that explanation, Midge was saying, We ad a picnic at the lake.

When Lily looked pointedly at Dash, he had the good sense to remain quiet. I hope you do not mean to say you had tea twice, she said. Now, where have you been?

None of them could hold out for long against her. For once, though, it was not Midge who broke the silence. Pinch plowed his fingers through this thick hair in a gesture that was so like Sherry that Lily felt her heart being squeezed.

We wanted to see whod come to visit, Pinch said.

And?

We were iding in the stairwell.

For all that his reply was mumbled, Lily did not mistake Pinchs meaning. Not any stairwell, I imagine. You were hiding in that passage again.

Pinch hung his head. Yes, Miss.

Lily moved her attention to Midge. His head was also hanging, but she suspected his reasons were different than his brother in arms. She cupped his chin and lifted it. What is that purple stain around your mouth?

Blackberries. Mr. Gant made blackberry tarts.

I thought you said you had cakes.

And tarts. Dash forgot to mention the tarts.

Perhaps because you lifted the tarts. Is that what you did? You pinched the tarts, then stuffed them in your mouths so fast you left the evidence all over your face? She dropped his chin and took Dash in hand, inspecting his sheepish countenance. It appears you were a bit less greedy than Midge.

I dont like them as well.

Ahh. She shook her head. You will have to tell Mr. Gant what youve done. All of you. What if he blames one of his helpers? Did that occur to you? No, I can see that it didnt. Let us hope that has not already happened.

Shall we go now? Pinch asked.

Lily released Dash. No. Not to the kitchen. That can wait until his lordships guest is gone. Wash up and stay in your rooms. It is better if you are not underfoot right now. They turned quickly and started to go, but Lily called them back. Wait. One small favor. Will you show me this passage? I want to see it for myself.

Lady Rivendale stood up, clasping her hands together. Oh, I do not think that is wise. Another time, mayhap.

No, Lily said calmly. I wish to see it now. Boys? They nodded, but Lily could see they were disinclined to obey. At least they did not apply to her ladyship to intercede on their behalf. Go on. Ill follow.

I think I will come as well, Lady Rivendale said stoutly.

I should like to see more of the thing myself. She fell in step behind Lily as they filed out the door. In the hallway, Midge waited for her so that he might be her escort. Youre a good lad, Master Midge. She tousled his hair. He grinned up at her, the purple ring around his mouth making his smile even broader. She sighed. Rascal. I think you mean to steal my heart.

Pinch led the way to the drawing room in their wing of the manor. It was a crowded repository for pieces of furniture that no longer served the style or function of other rooms. Still, in spite of the mismatched chairs and upholstered benches, or perhaps because of them, the room was entirely comfortable. It was in this room that the boys often took their meals and practiced their deportment. They also liked to see how high they could arrange the chairs without toppling them. The evidence of their failed attempts to reach the ceiling could be seen in the small scratches and nicks in the polished wood, but no one had yet discovered their game.

Everything was as it should be when they entered. Pinch went immediately to the cold fireplace and took the poker from its stand. He climbed on the chair to the left of the hearth and used the poker to stretch his reach. He ran the tip of it across a seam in the paneling directly above the ornate gilt frame of a pastoral landscape. When it caught the tip of a cleverly hidden lever, he wiggled the poker back and forth until it pushed the lever to one side.

It is beyond everything that you could have found that, Lily said when the panel sprung open a few inches. I can only imagine you were up to some trick at the time.

None of the boys volunteered they had been playing at acrobatics, stacking and climbing chairs when Midge noticed something wedged between the seams in the paneling. They hoped they had stumbled on an odd treasure, and it was in the course of trying to pull it out that the lever was moved to the side and the secret panel revealed itself.

Lily helped Pinch down from the chair and directed him to replace the poker. She pulled open the panel and exam-ined the other side. How do you boys get back to this room if this closes behind you?

Midge stepped forward and pointed to the way the lever hooked on the interior side. I can reach it if Im on Pinchs shoulders.

Stretching on her toes, Lily found she could just touch the tip of it with her fingers. She moved it back and forth experimentally. And this goes to the gallery below?

And the music salon, Dash said. Sometimes wed go down to ear is lordship play.

Lily had to smile. Shed sat on the main staircase to overhear the concert, while the boys had discovered much better seats for the same. Lily regarded the passage. She was struck by how dark it was. Do you keep candles inside?

A few. But we always take one or two in wi us. Ye can ardly see yer and in front of ye if ye dont.

Lady Rivendale joined Lily in inspecting the passage. Extraordinary.

Lily stepped fully inside the narrow corridor. Shh. She tilted her head to one side and concentrated on listening. After a moment, she whispered, Do you hear that?

Her ladyships voice dropped to a pitch that matched Lilys. What?

It is Sheridan.

Im sure I dont hear

Shh.

Lady Rivendale fell quiet again, adopting Lilys position with her head cocked and her shoulders hunched.

Lily trusted her own ears when she heard the low, indistinct murmuring coming up from below. She didnt ask for confirmation this time. Stepping out of the passage, she addressed the boys. When you were hiding in there earlier, where was his lordship?

In the gallery, Pinch said.

And you were eavesdropping?

No. No, we made our escape as soon as we knew e was there.

Did you? Her tone made it clear she was patently skeptical. Through the music salon and then to the kitchen for those blueberry tarts.

Blackberry.

Blackberry, Lily repeated. She looked from one to the other and saw they would not be moved from this story. Go on. To your rooms now.

I should close the panel, said Pinch.

No. Ill do that. You do as youre told. They hesitated, then obliged, slinking off single file into the hall. Well? Lily asked Lady Rivendale. Do you believe they werent eavesdropping on Lord Sheridans conversation?

Im afraid not. It is just the sort of intrigue they would find difficult to resist.

Precisely my thought. I am trying not to imagine what they may have overheard.

Come away from there, Lily. You do not want to repeat their experience. Close the door and have done with it.

Lilys fingertips whitened where they pressed the edge of the panel. Distress darkened her eyes. I must go, she said. I never thought I would want to see him again, but to have this chance I cannot explain it. He is here, almost underfoot, and I find I very much need to hear his voice. The years I spent in his house in his She shook her head and pressed her mouth flat for a moment. These were not things she could say to her ladyship. It does not always seem real to me; often it is as though it happened to another person.

Lady Rivendale took a step closer. Is that not a good thing, my dear? Do you not want to put it from your mind?

I do not think I can, not if I do not fight for myself. I ran, you see. It was what I needed to do then but now, now I think I need to do something else. I think I need to confront him.

Confront? Oh, surely not. That is for Sherry to do.

I know. Or rather I know he believes that.

Lady Rivendale did not attempt to hide her alarm. And you do not? Lily, this is madness. If you must hear what is being said, if you must hear Woodridge for yourself to set things right in your own mind, then I will not stop you, but I cannot countenance a confrontation. In fact, I forbid it. If you cannot clearly consider the matter of your own safety, then I would ask that you consider Sherrys.

I understand. I am only going to listen. Please, you said you would not stop me from doing that.

Too late her ladyship realized the trap she had set for herself. By misjudging Lilys intent, she had in effect given permission. Not alone. I am going with you.

Lily shook her head. No. It is too private. It would be like inviting you into my nightmares. I cannot do it and you would not want to be there.

When put to her in such a manner, Lady Rivendale had to agree. Very well, but I will wait here with the door open, and you must return immediately if it all becomes too much to bear.

Yes.

Lady Rivendale regarded Lily, frankly dubious. I believe you would say anything to be on your way.

Yes.

That honesty brought home the futility of further argument. Lady Rivendale gave her attention to finding Lily a suitable candle. She found a three-stick candelabra, lighted it, and passed it to Lily. Have a care with it, though I suppose if the scoundrels did not burn us to the ground, we are safe enough with you.

Thank you. Impulsively she kissed Lady Rivendales cheek, then before there was any comment regarding it, Lily slipped into the passage and started down the stairs.

Sherry noted that Woodridge had yet to show any signs of being discomfited by the course of their conversation. That was not unexpected. The baron was adept at schooling his features, and Sherry understood that what he had disclosed about the Crick affair was more of an annoyance to Woodridge than a revelation that would require him to alter his thinking or take any action.

Do you believe in happenstance? asked Sherry.

Woodridge sipped his tea. Happenstance. As a matter of faith? No. Does it ever occur? Yes, but perhaps not so often as people are wont to believe. Is it a point of philosophy that you wish to make, Sherry? What has coincidence to do with poor Mr. Crick?

Im not sure that it does. But you were the one who placed the assignment before me.

As I did many others. What are you suggesting?

I think you knew Crick was innocent at the outset.

Woodridge calmly set his cup in the saucer, then set both aside. You mean to present some proof, I hope.

I have none. It is merely conjecture.

You dare. I should call you out for that.