Never Run From Love (Kellington Book Four) (34 page)

“Mrs. Seton,” said Aunt Evelyn through a thin veil
of civility.  “I would imagine the very nature of your reform efforts would
bring you into contact with persons whose reputations are, perhaps, beyond the
pale.  But didn’t our Good Lord Himself meet with sinners of all sorts?”

“It is blasphemous to even mention the Good Lord’s
name in conjunction with your niece, whom I can all but guarantee is a fallen
woman.”

“Mrs. Seton!” said Mel’s uncle.  “I will not have
you spread these spurious allegations.”

“Spurious!” exclaimed Mrs. Seton in between bites of
her biscuit, as if fearing it would be taken away from her.  “I have it on the
best authority that not only has she visited a brothel on more than one
occasion, but there was a wager placed on her virtue!  I cannot believe I
allowed her in my home or to join my reform efforts.  Why, you should turn her
out of your house this very instant.”

Mel could barely breathe because of the many
horrible thoughts racing through her head.  Mrs. Seton knew about the brothel? 
How was that possible?  Then one word seemed to stand out.  “Wager?” she
asked.  “What wager?”

“It is in the betting books at White’s.  Lord Henry
and his friend wagered on whether or not he could kiss you.  Although, I’m told
it did not end with a kiss.  Just how much further than that it went, I cannot
discuss in polite society.”

“Nothing about this conversation has been polite,”
said Aunt Evelyn.  “Especially you.”

Mel felt sick.  This couldn’t be happening.  It
couldn’t be true.  Hal wagered he could kiss her?  Then he must also be the
source of the story that she had gone to the brothel.  Mel thought about how
much more he could tell from that evening and felt a wave of nausea rush over
her.  This couldn’t be happening.  She’d disgraced her dear aunt and uncle.  
She was ruined.  Mary would be ruined.  She couldn’t bear the shame of it. 

She wanted to run from the room, if only her legs
would carry her.  But before she could do that, her uncle spoke. 

“Madam,” he said to Mrs. Seton as he rose from his
chair, “the only person who will be turned out of this house is you.  Miss
Sutton is a much beloved family member.  More like a daughter than niece. 
Neither my wife nor I will listen to your ugly words any longer.  Remove
yourself from this house immediately.  And if I should hear of your spreading
tales about Miss Sutton, you shall hear from my solicitor.  Slander is still a
crime in London and I will not hesitate to bring the full force of the law down
upon your head.  Now be gone before I forget I am a gentleman.”

“And drop that biscuit,” said Aunt Evelyn. 

A rather offended Mrs. Seton took herself off,
followed closely by the suddenly unfriendly butler, leaving Mel alone with her
uncle and aunt.

Mel’s eyes were welling with tears and her hands
were beginning to shake.  Aunt Evelyn pulled her close.  “There, there, my
child.  Please do not trouble yourself.”

Mel believed her heart would break from her aunt’s
kindness.  “But what Mrs. Seton said was true,” she said in barely a whisper. 
“I did go to the…the…I did go there.  But I didn’t know about a wager.”

Aunt Evelyn’s response was to simply pull her
closer.  Mel couldn’t bear it.  She tried to pull away, but her aunt was
surprisingly strong.

As strong as a mother’s love.

“My dear,” said Uncle Frederick, gently.  “Your aunt
and I received a missive today, shortly before that shrew’s arrival.  It
outlined the very same allegations we just heard, then asked for a sum of money
if we wanted to prevent the stories from getting out.  But apparently it is too
late for that.”

“I’m so terribly sorry,” said Mel, her voice barely
a whisper.  “I shall return to America as soon as possible.”  It was the only
way to limit Mary’s exposure to the scandal. 

“How can you say such a thing, my dear?” asked Aunt
Evelyn as she kissed her niece’s head.  “What would we do without you?”

“But the scandal,” she said.  “Mary does not deserve
this.  You do not deserve this.”

“We will weather the storm,” said her uncle.  “And
you underestimate Mary if you believe this will harm her chances to make a
match.  I daresay none of us would want her to marry a man who would be so
easily scared away.”  Her uncle paused, then he continued with some steel in
his voice.  “And what of Lord Henry?  Do I need to make an appointment at
dawn?”

“Oh no!” said Mel, pulling away from her aunt in angst. 
“Please, Uncle, you cannot even think of challenging him.  I could not bear to
think you might be hurt.”

“What makes you think I would be the one who would
be hurt, child?” he asked with a wan smile.  “I was once considered quite a shot.”

“’Struth, I wouldn’t want either of you to be hurt,”
said Mel, then cursed herself for being such a fool.  Hal Kellington was a
blackguard and the worst sort of man, but she couldn’t bear to think of him
shot and dying.

“I see,” said Uncle Frederick.

“Promise me Uncle that you will not challenge him. 
It is my shame.  My foolishness that has brought this upon us.  I must pay the
price.”

“Very well,” he said.  “I will not call him out.”

“Thank you,” said Mel, as her eyes welled with tears
once more.  “Now if you will excuse me.”  She all but ran from the room,
seeking the refuge of her bedchamber.

*                    *                    *

It was, for all intents and purposes, a council of
war.  The entire Kellington family was gathered in Lynwood’s study, as well as
Inspector Stapleton.  They shared what they knew about Charles Francis’s
possible involvement in the white slavery ring and the blackmail scheme and
tried to come up with a plan of action.

Lynwood’s man of business had looked into Francis’s finances
and told him that within the past several months, he’d become much more flush. 
There was no apparent source of the income, although Francis had bragged about
winning at the gaming tables.

“I’ll be the first to admit that a series of
successful wagers can allow one to live well,” said Arthur, who’d relied on
gaming to supplement his income before meeting Vanessa.  “But no one has that
much luck for that long a period.  Not unless he cheats.  And I’ve never heard
that said about Francis.”

“Nor have I,” said Hal.  “I also cannot recall his
winning all that often.  Although, truth be told, I was usually in my cups when
I was with him.”

“Perhaps,” said Lizzie, “Hal is not the only person
he’s blackmailing.  Hal, you said that this Madame Thurmond claimed the villain
had information on her, as well.  Perhaps you’re only the latest in a long
string of victims.  I believe we should all go to this Madame Thurmond’s place
of business and….”

This suggestion was met with a loud and vocal “no”
by every man in the room.

“There is one thing I do not understand,” said
Lizzie’s husband Marcus, the Marquess of Riverton.  “If Francis is indeed
blackmailing others and possibly involved in a white slavery ring, it would
seem he has access to quite a lot of money.  Why would he blackmail Hal, as
well?  He had to know Lynwood would become involved, as well as the rest of
us.  It seems to be too great a risk for him to take.”

“Unless it’s personal,” said Vanessa.  “Hal, can you
think of any reason why Francis would do this to you?”

Hal had been running that question through his mind
ever since it looked like Francis might be involved.  He could not think of a
thing.  “We have a convivial acquaintance, drawn together by our love of
drinking, gaming and…”  Here he remembered there were ladies in the room.

“Whoring?” supplied Lizzie.

“Elizabeth,” said Lynwood.  “Was it necessary to
fill in the blank?  I believe we’d all supplied the word in our minds.”

“I don’t know why you should be offended by my
saying the word, when he was the one who actually did it,” sniffed Lizzie.

“We do not know if Francis is guilty, although his
presence at Newgate at the time of Rodgers’ murder is certainly suspect,” said
Ned.  “The question now is one of strategy.  How do we learn if he had any
involvement at all in this affair?”

Before anyone could answer, Heskiss entered the
room.  “Excuse me, your grace, my lords and ladies and Inspector Stapleton, but
Master Hal has a visitor.”

“I’m not receiving anyone right now,” said Hal. 

Heskiss cleared his throat.  “It is Lady Mary
Broxton, Lord Henry.”

“Lady Mary?” said Hal, with genuine surprise.  “What
is she…”

Before he could ask the question, Lady Mary stormed
into the room, as angry as anyone he’d ever seen.

“How dare you, you miserable blackguard,” she said,
right before she punched him in the jaw.  She pulled back her hand immediately
afterward, wincing.

“Heskiss, do be so kind as to bring some ice,” said
Jane, as she approached Lady Mary to look at her hand.

“I’ll not take a kindness from any of you,” said
Lady Mary.  “Lord Henry Kellington, you’ve ruined one of the dearest people
I’ve ever known and if I were a man I’d call you out.  My father would have
done so, had Melanie not feared for his life.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Hal.

“The blasted wager.  And the…the lies you’ve been
telling about taking Melanie to a…to a bawdy house.”  Lady Mary blushed.  “How
could you?  She trusted you!  We all did.”

The color drained from Hal’s face.  “Lady Mary,
please.  Tell me what’s going on.”

“I’m sure you know.”

“But perhaps, Lady Mary,” said Lynwood, “it would
help the rest of us if you explained why you are here.”

Lady Mary hesitated for a moment, then told them
about Mrs. Seton’s visit.  Her mother had sent her out of the room shortly after
the woman had arrived, but Mary had listened in.  She tried to comfort her
cousin afterward, but Mel had been inconsolable.

“I must go to her,” said Hal.  “Lady Mary, did you
take your father’s carriage?  Allow me to escort you back.”

“I’ll do no such thing, you blackguard!  And I
didn’t take his carriage.  I didn’t want my parents to know I was coming.”

“You cannot walk back to the house unescorted and I
am going there straightaway.”

“Not with me, you’re not.  I would rather fall prey to
pickpockets than accept any help from you.”

“Liam,” said Hal, already on his way to the door. 
“Please ensure that Lady Mary is escorted home.  I must go now.”

Liam nodded to the young woman, as Hal left.  “Lady
Mary, please allow me to see you home.”

The enormity of the circumstances seemed to hit Lady
Mary, as she realized she was on her own in the intimidating Duke of Lynwood’s
home.  But instead of backing down, she raised her chin.  “I’ll not accept your
help, your grace.”

“Will you accept mine?” asked Jane kindly, as she
held a bowl with ice that Heskiss had given her.  “I should like to check your
hand to ensure you have not harmed yourself.”

Mary turned to Jane and her eyes widened.  As a
sheltered young lady of the
ton
, it was likely the first time she’d seen
a woman in the late stages of pregnancy.  “I…that…I mean,” she blushed.

“Please sit down, Lady Mary,” said Jane.  “That way
we can both be seated and I can check your hand.”

Too polite to refuse the request, Mary took a seat
on the settee that Ned gave her.

“Lady Mary,” said Lizzie.  “The next time you hit
Hal, do not put your thumb inside your fist.  You’ll do more harm to yourself
than him that way.”

“What makes you think I’ll hit Lord Henry again?”
asked Mary, clearly confused as to why they were being so kind to her.

“Because everyone hits Hal more than once,” said
Lizzie.  “How do you take your tea?”

*                    *                    *

Hal was running through the streets like a
Bedlamite, but he hadn’t wanted to wait for the carriage.  He had to see Mel as
quickly as possible.  He had to explain.  Though he wasn’t sure just what he
would say that would make her any less angry.

When he reached the Earl of Heffner’s house, he
pounded on the knocker.  The door was opened by the butler Finlay, whose
expression darkened when he saw Hal.

“I must see Miss Sutton,” said Hal.

“The lady is not at home,” said Finlay.

“I will see her, whether she’s receiving or not,”
said Hal as he pushed past the man.  “Please tell her I am here.”

Finlay looked like he’d rather lay him out flat. 
But before he could make a move, the Earl of Heffner came out of the library,
then looked up to see Hal.  His expression turned murderous.  “You!” he said. 
“How dare you come here?”

“I am here, sir, to beg for the forgiveness of Miss
Sutton and your family, as well as to ask your permission to marry her.  Then I
shall ask the lady if she’ll have me.”

The earl was momentarily speechless.  Then he
sternly motioned to his study.  “In there,” he ordered.