“Lady Roslyn, you swear like a sailor, ride astride, and never laugh at my jokes, but I swear to you that it’s not a lady I want, it’s—”
“Get off that stage, Kenwick. I’ll agree to marry you if only to shut you up!”
The crowd tittered, and Sandrine heard several people whispering about hasty proposals for scandalous reasons.
“You will?” Kenwick’s expression was so stunned that Sandrine had to laugh.
“I will, you big fool.” Were those fresh tears glittering in Roslyn’s eyes?
Kenwick let out a triumphant whoop and leaped down from the stage, grabbing Roslyn’s hand and pulling her through the crowded room.
Sandrine and the Pink Ladies cheered, and there was scattered clapping in the audience. The orchestra played a romantic air and the dancing resumed.
“That was unexpected,” Dane said, appearing beside her.
“Wasn’t it romantic?”
“Not particularly. But I suppose it had the desired result. Where have you been? I’ve been searching for you.”
“I was in the gardens with Roslyn.”
“Please stay where I can see you. I was beginning to be concerned.”
“Still no inkling of who was behind the extortion?”
“I accused Cleveland of it, and he pointed the finger at Piety.”
“Cleveland. You know, that makes sense. He was the keeper of your brother’s secrets. Where is he, by the way?”
“What do mean? He’s recording the donations.”
“No, he’s not.”
Dane whirled around. “Where did he run off to?”
“Dane,” Sandrine said, her heart dropping. “Where’s the lockbox with tonight’s collected donations?”
They both stared at the empty table. Cleveland, the footmen, and the lockbox were nowhere to be seen.
Dane set off at a run, weaving through the crowd, and Sandrine followed close behind. They burst out of the ballroom and onto the drive, only to see Cleveland grabbing the reins of Warburton’s donated curricle and setting off at a breakneck pace, the donation box on the seat beside him.
“He’s making a run for it, Dane. We can’t allow him to abscond with everyone’s money! Think of all the charities that will suffer.”
Sandrine raced to Dane’s curricle and a startled groom assisted her into the passenger seat. “What are you waiting for? We must go after him and retrieve that money!”
Chapter Twenty-Six
A lady moves sedately, always maintaining a calm and decorous demeanor.
—Mrs. Oliver’s Rules for Young Ladies
Cleveland had a lead on them and had Warburton’s finest horses, but Dane was the more expert horseman. “He’s heading for the docks.”
“He might have a ship at the ready. If he makes it aboard, we’ll lose him.”
“I should have questioned him before now.”
“He’s been with your family for a long time.”