lashes to keep from being blinded, she
heard footsteps ascending the stairs. The
sound forced her into action. She quickly
composed herself and approached the
staircase. Jeffers ascended the steps. He
saw her approach and waited for her to
join him. He bowed, dutifully, and then
somewhat confused, his gaze dropped to
her neck. He lifted his brow.
“My Lady — ”
She ignored him. She brushed past
and began to descend the staircase, not
caring that he’d seen the necklace around
her neck or that she was being impolite
by cutting him off as he’d begun to
speak. The man was Percy’s valet. He’d
been privy to the truth. He’d known
Percy was Thomas all along. He’d
witnessed her disgrace and had made no
concerted effort to conceal his surprise
at her discovery.
He must have gotten over his shock
because he raced down the steps and
caught up with her. “His Grace sends his
most humble apologies,” he said.
“He does,” she replied blandly.
“He cannot accompany you to this
evening’s entertainment at Convent
Garden.”
“Oh?” Was she to be given a
reprieve?
“He hopes you will forgive his
pressing business and asks that you not
scold him unmercifully.” Was Jeffers
trying to explain Percy’s deceit? If so, he
was too late.
“It’s a wife’s duty to scold her
unruly husband, is it not?”
Jeffers wasn’t fazed. “To make
amends,
His
Grace
has
made
arrangements for you to attend
La
Duenna
without him.”
“Without him? Why, that would be
scandalous!”
“Captain Guffald will be arriving
shortly to play your escort.”
At the bottom of the stairs, Jeffers
finally said, “I believe the two of you
are already acquainted.”
“Indeed,” she answered. “We are.”
She could not help but notice the
butler’s censor. Was he remembering the
morning of Guffald’s visit? Was he
aware that she knew Guffald had been a
deliberate conspirator in her husband’s
masquerade?
Jeffers could not possibly know the
riotous avenues of her thoughts, the
scandalous expletives she wanted to rain
upon him. There was nothing nobler than
a man who served two masters. That
Jeffers held Percy’s confidence, in the
face of certain scandal, proved the man
quite adept at his position in Percy’s
household. No. She could not fault the
man, as much as she wanted to throttle
him for his involvement. He, at least,
had been counted upon to keep a secret.
She had only one choice available
to her. “When your master returns,
inform him that I appreciate his concern
for my happiness. His offer of Guffald’s
assistance is greatly appreciated.”
Constance smiled a knowing smile.
Guffald had been her only refuge when
she’d tried to escape the Striker. She’d
kept his secret, that he’d come to her aid,
only to be pushed back by the weather. If
not for him, she and Mrs. Mortimer
would have fallen from the ship to their
deaths. Perhaps he could be prevailed
upon to take her back to Throckmorton.
Jeffers attempted to speak. “You
must — ”
The outer bell rang.
“Answer the door, Jeffers,” she
ordered.
Jeffers
reacted
instinctively,
answering the summons with an agility
she least expected. “Good evening,
Captain,” he said, permitting the
gentleman entrance. “Lady Blendingham
is prepared to accept your escort.”
Guffald crossed the threshold, took
off his hat, and bowed. He rose, and then
moved his gaze over her figure as she
stood at the bottom of the stairs. His
quick intake of breath proved she’d
succeeded with her toilette, achieving
the effect she’d hoped to solicit from her
husband. The gown she’d chosen cut
scandalously low and the bodice had
been lined with thin lace, accentuating
her swelling bosom and drawing
attention to the locket she now wore
temptingly between her breasts. Earlier
this evening, she had hoped to sweeten
Percy’s appetites, distract him from the
truth about her baby, but now that she
knew who and what he really was, she
no longer cared. She had her mother’s
locket, the one thing she could not live
without. The locket and what she had on
were all she would take with her from
this place.
Constance smiled at the captain,
knowing any small encouragement she
offered went against decorum. She was a
married woman. If she arrived at the
Opera House without her husband, she
would face disagreeable snippets from
the ton, in all possibility complete
ruination. But there was no turning back
and she did not intend to see
La Duenna.
She
meant
to
leave
Percy,
the
Blendingham peerage and a proper
living, namely a surname for her child,
behind. She could not forgive what
Thomas or Percy had done. Toward that
end, she armed herself with the strength
it would take to continue the masquerade
of a duke’s wife, just a bit longer. She
stepped forward and accepted the
captain’s hand.
The gallant officer bent low,
placing a chaste kiss upon her gloved
fingers, hesitating longer than tolerable.
His eyes strayed, caressing her gloved
fingertips, languidly moving up her arm,
toward her breasts as he raised his head.
Constance inhaled nervously. Guffald’s
interest was unrequited. There was
longing in his gaze, a look she’d seen
before. But the intensity in his gaze had
grown. And for the first time, she knew
how she could escape.
Jeffers
coughed,
his
censor
galvanizing her into action. Constance
felt the weight of a cloak draped about
her shoulders. She wrapped her fingers
around her mother’s locket and held it
tightly, closing her eyes, praying to God
to give her the strength to leave behind
the men she’d loved. Yes, she could
admit it now. She’d loved Thomas and
Percy, both equally and yet differently.
Jeffers opened the front door and
held it at the ready. For an awkward
moment, Constance thought she should
race up the stairs and wait for Percy
until she could confront him and he
could explain why he’d deceived her.
But as her hand left the locket and
became enveloped in Guffald’s, she cast
that idea aside.
“Lady Blendingham,” Guffald said,
her name slipping out of his mouth on a
sweet caress. “May I escort you to the
ends of the earth?”
“Thank you, Captain,” she said,
“but I only have need of reaching
Convent Garden.”
He winked, exuding his charm.
Then the smile left his eyes as his gaze
dropped to her breasts. “By the bye,” he
said, “I see you have finally found your
locket. Did you have difficulty locating
it?”
“Yes,” she admitted. “As a matter
of fact, I’ve only just discovered its
whereabouts.”
He smiled, his teeth flashing white.
“I can see the object has brought you
peace of mind.”
Peace was not what she felt. “I
have been at odds without it,” she
admitted truthfully. Her eyes flit to
Jeffers’s face as the captain swept her
toward the door. “Do thank my husband
for finding my necklace.”
Jeffers stood as solid as one of the
statues in the garden. Guffald’s next
words, however, caused the man to
blink. “Pass along my regards to
Blendingham.”
Jeffers bowed. “I shall relate your
message, Captain.”
Guffald patted Jeffers on the
shoulder as he ushered her out the door.
“That’s a good man.”
• • •
townhouse, soaked through and through.
A deluge had forced his retreat after
hours of searching for signs of Burton’s
participation in a deal with the
Delrina
Gray
. The cargo aboard the ship
practically proved Burton held the key to
Celeste’s death. Word had previously
come to him by way of Jacko and Ollie
that one of Burton’s servants had been
sighted at the landing on the west end of
town, hawking items from the recent
sinking
of
the
Arboreal
.
When
questioned about how the man had
acquired the merchandise, he’d fought
desperately to evade his men. Reacting
on instinct, he and his men had chased
the tyrant to a literal dead end, where the
man had found a dagger in his gullet.
Still
breathing
when
they
had
approached, the thief eagerly purged
himself of his sins, giving an eyewitness
account of Burton’s involvement.
Baroness Chauncey had not led him
astray. He owed a huge debt for her
vigilant guard over Burton’s household
affairs, his comings and goings.
Percy’s gut clenched. The news had
been grave indeed. Throckmorton had
unknowingly betrothed Constance to a
man who took great pleasure in beating
and raping his servants. The power
hungry despot had been willing to kill
anyone in his way as he sought out the
young with a perverse, insatiable
appetite, making no aristocrat his match.
Frustration fueled Percy as his eyes
surveyed the empty foyer. His greatcoat
dripped water onto the marble surface.
His
mind
raced
with
newfound
knowledge. Had Celeste fallen prey to
Burton? Were the carriage accident, his
father’s illness, and her death, a ploy to
get back at him for convincing his father
to speak out against Burton’s lobbying
for control over the House of Lords?
What of Constance’s near miss with the
fiend? The mere thought of Burton
bruising his wife’s perfect breast
enraged him.
He slammed his gloves down upon
the floor and growled. Jeffers would
want to cosh him, but he thought no more
of it as he beat the raindrops from his
sleeves and removed his coat.
“Jeffers!” he bellowed. He listened
for an answer, but the house was eerily
quiet.
Highly unusual.
“Constance!”
Where was cook, the servants?
Jeffers, especially, seemed to always be
around whenever he entered the house.
“Jeffers!” he howled.
Footsteps thump, thumped on the
second floor. He looked up and yelled,
“Constance?” Knowing full well that
Burton would continue to make good on
threats against all those he loved, Percy
bolted up the stairs, taking two steps at a
time. He intended to make sure his wife
was safe.
Jeffers stuck his head over the
banister when he was half-way up the
staircase. “Your Grace,” he said.
“Where have you been?” Taking in
the man’s unusual dishevel, he asked,
“What has gotten you into such a state?”
Jeffers stared down with frantic,
apologetic eyes. “Your … G-Grace,” he
stuttered. “She found it.”
“Who found what?”
“Her Ladyship,” he explained.
“Where is my wife?”
“Gone, sir.”
What had happened to addle
Jeffers? The man never used the
informal address of sir. “Gone where?”
“I received your missive and — ”
Percy held up his hand and
interrupted the disturbed servant. “Stop!
What missive?”
“The note you sent confirming that
Guffald was to accompany Lady
Blendingham to the opera in your stead.”
“I sent no such note,” Percy
growled. He scanned the foyer. The
house suddenly took on an emptiness that
didn’t need to be explained. Urgency
filled every fiber of his being.
“When she left wearing the locket, I
— ”