‘
Where is James?
’
demanded
Madeleine,
returning from her chat with
Lydia Armstrong.
‘
Do not tell me he has gone
to the card
-room with that hideous man Lovell.
’
‘
H
e has not
,
’
replied the
d
owager
defensively.
‘
He had a little business to attend
to
.
He will be back shortly.
’
‘
Hmm
,
’
huff
ed Madeleine, crossing her arms over her chest.
‘
He
is not at all attentive to me
this
evening
. In fact, he is so grumpy he has quite put me
in a bad humour. I would wager, Viscount,
’
she
peered
seductively at the man through a fan of
dark
lashes,
‘
that you would not treat a lady so.
’
While Madeleine
flirted with the v
iscount, and the
d
owager
exchang
ed
pleasantries with another matronly figure, an uneasy feeling
wriggled its way under Eleanor’s skin r
egarding James and the note.
Whilst no one was paying her any attention
,
she
pu
t down her plate
with the untouched lobster patty
and
walked nonchalantly towards the door
.
Unfortunately, t
here was no sign of James in the entrance hall and
she had no idea where
he
had intended
to go. At a lack of any better ideas she decided
to explor
e the ground floor
first. She turned a corner and made her way down a brightly lit corridor in which it appeared the
ir hosts
had attempted to cram as many family portraits, side tables and artefacts as they possibly could.
Sudde
nly, from around the corner, Eleanor
heard
approaching
footsteps and
the s
wishing
of
skirts.
Her
bloo
d ran
cold and her
heart
began to race
.
Whoever it was, she
had a strong presentiment that
she
did not wish
to encounter them. The door
to her left was
slightly
ajar.
Without wasting a moment, she pushed it open and s
lipped in
to an
ostentatious
drawing
-room
crammed with yet more of the Illingsworths’ valuable possessions
. S
he quickly assessed the best place to hide.
A large
armoire
stood in a dimly lit corner,
with a narrow space between it and the wall. Eleanor squeezed into the space at exactly the same time as the swishing skirts entered the room.
T
he skirts continued their swishing as their wearer paced the marble floor
. Eleanor stood stock-still, hardly daring to breathe. She did not have long to wait
before the woman’s identity was revealed – the moment a second person entered the room
.
‘
Good evening, sir,
’
said Felicity Carmichael.
‘
You!
’
spat an obviously surprised
James.
Eleanor stifled a gasp. What on earth did Felicity Carmichael want w
ith James now? Surely the girl
hadn’t come up with yet more ridiculous threats.
‘
But of course,
’
tittered F
elicity.
‘
You didn’t actually believe your little d
uchess would dare to meet with you again
, did you
?
’
James said nothing.
‘
However, before we begin our discussion proper,’ continued Felicity imperiously, ‘
I should point out
that I do not care to be kept waiting.
’
‘
Well,
I beg your pardon,
’
replied
James,
his tone dripping with sarcasm, ‘but
I am afraid that
the call of
nature
comes before any of your wishes
.
’
Eleanor
dared to sneak a peep at the scene
.
She watched as Felicity,
in an u
nflattering amber gown, bustled
over to the door
and turned the key in the lock.
‘
Wh
y on earth are you
locking the door?
’
asked James
, running a hand through his hair.
Felicity tossed
her ringlets
.
‘
I do not want to be disturbed,
sir,
’
she replied, depositing the key down the deep cleft between her full breasts.
‘
What I hav
e to say is for our ears only
.
’
‘
Oh, really?
’
snort
ed James,
placing his hands on his hips.
‘
I think perhaps what you actually mean, mad
am, is that you do not wish
anyone else to overhear your
patheti
c blackmailing attempts.
’
‘
There is no need to be facetious, sir,
’
sai
d Felicity, sauntering over to a sofa
by the window with
a row of neatly
placed cushions. Eleanor watched as the girl randomly scattered the cushions about both the sofa and the floor.
Then, turning to James,
she said,
‘
Please do forgive me,
if I sit down. It is not recommended that a woman in my condition stands for long periods of time.
’
An incredulous expression spread over James’s face.
‘
A woman in your condit-
What on earth are you-?
’
Felicity lowered herself on
to the sofa and smoothed down her skirts.
‘
I
t would appear, sir,
that you have
fo
rgotten our conversation at my come
o
ut ball
. T
he conversation in which I informed you of my second plan.
’
‘
Ah, yes,
’
smirked
James
, thrusting his hands into his
pockets and regar
ding the ceiling as though deep
in thought.
‘
The plan where you claim to be carrying
my
child.
’
Felic
ity flashed him a triumphant
smile.
‘
The very same
.
And this evening I merely wished to inform you that I
have made impressive progress with
that plan
. So
impressive, in fact,
that
we shall be
in a position to announce
our betrothal
in a matter of weeks
.
’
James snorted incredulously
.
Felicity ignored him and, still smoothing down
her skirts, continued with her speech.
‘
I have given the matter careful consider
ation
. Events have occurred in such a timely
fashion that we shall make our announcement at the masquerade ball at Almack’s at the end of the month
. J
ust after the unmasking at midnight would be so r
omantic, don’t you agree
?
’
James gave a hollow laugh.
‘
If
you think for one moment
that anyone will believe you, then you are gravely mistaken.
Besides, even if
you did get me down the aisle, I would not lay a finger on you and
,
within a few months
,
you would be exposed for the fraud that you are. Unless of course,
’
he adde
d, slapping a
hand to his forehead
,
‘
you intend to say, after a reasonable amount of time, that you have simply lost the child. Well, I can assure you
,
madam, that by that time th
ere would be so much gossip flying around
that no
one would believe that story either.
’
Felicity smiled seren
e
ly.
‘
Oh, I a
m in complete agreement
, sir
.
Which is why I actually
am
now with child
. A
nd
,
when
it is born, everyone will assum
e it is yours
–
merely
arrived a little
earlier than expected.’
James’s mouth twisted into a contemptuous sneer.
‘
If you expect me to believe
that
,
then you must think I have windmills in my head.
’
‘
Oh, I can assure you,
I do not think that at all,’
informed Felicity evenly
.
‘
I would not wish for a husband who was not exceedingly clever.
’
‘
To be honest, Miss Carmichael
,
’
snarle
d James,
‘
I do not give a
flying fig for your requirements of
a husband. Now
,
if you will excuse me, I have nothing more to
say on this absurd
matter.
’
Still holding her breath,
Eleanor watched as he marched to the door and turned the brass knob. Reali
zing
it was s
till locked, he swung around
.
‘
I should be grateful, madam,
if you w
ould unlock the door at once.
’
‘
Ah, yes. The door,
’
mused Felicity, rising from her
chair and sashaying
over to
him
. Stopping directly in front o
f him, she raised a podgy
finger to her lips.
‘
Oh dear.
I have quite forgotten where I put the key.
’
James
fisted his hands
.
‘
I can tell you exactly where you put it,
but
wild horses would not dra
g me there to retrieve it
.
’
Felicity smiled beatifically before adjusting the top of her gown so that it was askew and pulling several clips from her hair, causing sections of tight ringlets to hang disorderly. James watched in amazement as she then b
egan banging frantically upon the door
.
‘
Help! Help!
’
she shouted.
‘
What on earth are you-?
’
Felicity tossed him a disarming smile over her shoulder.
‘
Oh, don’t
worry. You will soon see.’
A minute or so later,
after some scuffling outside, the
door was whi
pp
ed open and the Duke of Swinton appeared in the doorway, followed closely by Lydi
a Armstrong and Lady Illingsworth, who was clasping a
bunch of keys in her hand.