“That little termagant!” Her eyes sparkled. “I’m not surprised. The tricks he and Adrian used to pull!” She chuckled to herself. “Drove his father quite to distraction. Served mybrother right, too. His precious rules brought on most of his aggravation.”
“I daresay you are correct.” In the last few days, Neville had learned a thing or two about insisting on too many rules.
“But what of John’s problems?” She placed her hand against his arm. “Have you heard anything yet? I’d like to be of help.”
He never would have confided in her before. But he’d done so last night. And if he was to be the man he wanted to be for Millicent, he’d have to work very hard to make sure he didn’t slip back into bad habits.
Besides, she already had been of help.
“I believe Lord Willard is the man behind the plot against John.” He told her the full truth. “He certainly tried his best to ruin Millicent Wainwright last night.”
“Lord Willard?! But he always seemed like the perfect gentleman.”
“Not to those who know him best.”
“What do you mean, ‘tried his best?’”
“The esteemed Viscount Willard drugged his mother, efficiently disposed of her as chaperone, and arranged to have himself caught alone with Miss Wainwright. Fortunately, Millie had the presence of mind to escape. Then, Harris, the theater manager, Sarah, and I joined together, along with the help of Sarah’s friends, to come up with a plausible way to remove Millie from the theater before anyone could hear she’d been alone with Willard. Thus, Harbury’s illness.”
She stared in shock as she parsed everything he’d said. Finally, she sighed. “I’d expect such subterfuge from Sarah, but you?”
He smiled wryly. “The crisis called for drastic action. Believe me, Millie was in grave danger, else I would not have been so dishonest. Williard had no good intentions. And I hadjust learned that Temperence and Millicent were not his only victims.”
Slowly, his mother nodded. “Well, ifyoubelieve he is capable of such atrocities, then hemustbe capable.”
Her conviction warmed him. He hadn’t known how strongly she valued his judgement.
Or, for that matter, how he much he had desired her trust.
“Drugged Lady Eltenham…” She said thoughtfully. “Lord Eltenham is going to be furious when he finds out.”
“I considered that possibility myself. However, Eltenham strikes me as the sort whose heir can do no wrong.”
“Oh, he is one to close ranks against the outside world. He wouldn’t care a whit how manylawsWillard broke—laws are for lesser men. But disrespecting his mother in such a way? Seducing a gently bred lady in a public place?” Slowly she shook her head. “Eltenham would feel humiliated!”
She was right!
He’d guessed Willard’s public outburst would anger Eltenham, but he’d never considered how Eltenham would feel about Lady Eltenham’s drugging.
Eltenham and Willard were cut from a different cloth. While Neville thought of values as a fact, an unchanging system that held one together, to men like them, being utterly unscrupulous was a God-given right, while being exposed to social disgrace was intolerable.
“Mother, if he was told of his son’s perfidy, do you think Eltenham would call Willard to heel?”
“That depends.” She thought for a moment. “How many people noticed Lady Eltenham’s state?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Those of us who spoke directly with her were chiefly concerned with covering for Millicent and not inclined to spread tales that might contradict our story. Willard’s cronies are sure to have guessed, though. And if LadyEltenham spoke to anyone else after one of those lads escorted her out to the lounge, there may be other witnesses…”
Widespread knowledge of Lady Eltenham’s condition last night would hurt as much as it would help. Then again, Millicent and he would be wedded by this afternoon; that ought to cause more talk and speculation than a night at the theater!
“Mother, can you find out how widespread any gossip about Willard, Lady Eltenham, and Millicent has become?”
“I can, although everyone I talked to this morning was far too concerned about Harbury’s illness to talk about anything else.” She looked away for a moment. “I will pay Lady Eltenham a call tomorrow. Straight to the horse’s mouth, so to speak.”
His chest seized, but instead of giving in to the urge to forbid her, he said carefully, “I would not want you to put yourself in any danger.”
“Oh, I won’t be in danger,” she scoffed. “I don’t know if she will be home to me, of course. But your father and I dined with them on several occasions. Since your father passed, I’ve seen little of either. Brighton is not at all fashionable enough for them.”
“What else have you heard?”