Page 42 of A Lady Most Wayward (The Queen’s Deadly Damsels #5)

She knew Callum felt as restless as she did, so she devised a plan to enlist his assistance.

He had brilliantly agreed to help her obtain the perfect costume to infiltrate their meeting.

She could hardly arrive at Twinings in her usual attire or even dressed in the less conspicuous clothes of a maid.

Her brother – and half the beau monde – would recognise her in a flash.

But disguised as she was now in the finery of a young gentleman, her breasts bound, her hair trapped underneath a jaunty top hat, her eyes obscured with a pair of wire glasses, she barely recognised herself.

In an inspired moment, she’d even drawn on a thin moustache.

Reading had given her the idea the night before.

It had occurred to her as she watched him meticulously cut his poached turbot that his features danced between the lines of feminine and masculine.

She wondered if that was why he insisted on maintaining his whisper of facial hair.

But more importantly, she believed she could pull off a similar look, and this meeting between Philippa and her brother was the perfect opportunity to test her theory.

‘Remember, it’s not just your clothes. You have to walk with your shoulders back, hands at your side.

Keep your chin up and look down at everyone.

If someone steps into your path, don’t pause.

They make room for you, not the other way ’round.

’ Callum spoke low as they walked side by side through the teahouse.

Olivia took a shallow breath. The bandage binding her breasts was almost as tight as her corset. ‘There he is. At the corner table by the window.’

Callum paused to scan the crowded teahouse. ‘Right. There’s a table just to his left.’

‘As long as Philippa doesn’t see you, we should be grand.’

‘Me?’ Callum burst into a sharp laugh. ‘It’s you we need to worry about. This is madness. Why did I agree to this?’

‘Because you want to rescue Hyacinth as badly as I do. And you don’t value being dismissed as a nuisance when you are far more valuable than that.’

His neck turned a mottled red as he wound around the crowded room.

Stopping at a table that was diagonal to where her brother sat, he nodded at the seat facing away from the Lord High Chancellor and took the chair opposite.

It was the perfect location, allowing her to listen to their conversation while her back faced their table.

Her brother was busy reading a paper as they arrived.

Olivia nearly collapsed in a heap when he looked up, his eyes – as green as hers, but hard like a stone – making direct contact with hers.

He blinked, dismissing her as easily as he might a gnat.

And to the Lord High Chancellor, she was of no more significance than an insect.

Just another feckless young lordling like half the other patrons at Twinings.

Olivia sank into her seat and breathed a sigh of relief. It was a brief reprieve as no sooner had she ordered tea for the table than the duchess arrived.

No matter where she went, Philippa caused a stir.

Tables grew silent as she passed, then immediately burst into a flurry of whispers.

The Duchess of Dorsett was at Twinings. Meeting with none other than the Lord High Chancellor.

Queen Victoria herself might have caused less of a fuss.

Olivia wondered if she ever grew tired of such constant scrutiny.

No wonder she pulled back her hand last night. The last thing she wants is more attention.

Mayhap it was less about being embarrassed by Olivia and more about wanting to keep private things private. Something to ponder later. When she wasn’t eavesdropping on a conversation between her monstrous brother and deadly lover.

* * *

Twinings was bustling with activity. Just as Philippa predicted. No matter what Lord High Chancellor Hardgrave planned, he couldn’t very well murder her in plain sight with so many witnesses.

He rose as she arrived at the table, his manners impeccable.

‘Lady Winterbourne.’

‘Lord Hardgrave.’

‘Please, sit. I took the liberty of ordering a pot of tea.’

Philippa looked at the pot and then back at him. ‘How lovely.’ She could have been commenting on her feelings about dysentery.

‘One lump or two?’ He poised a sugar cube over the cup.

‘None. I prefer my tea as I do my friends.’

‘Bitter?’ The Lord Chancellor smiled with all the charm of an accomplished politician.

‘Strong. And untainted by outside forces.’

‘Ah.’ He withdrew the sugar.

Pleasantries out of the way, Philippa struck first. ‘As delightful as this is, you didn’t invite me for a social call.

My demands are simple. Release Hyacinth, promise to leave Olivia alone, turn yourself in for your crimes against the Crown, ensure the Devil’s Sons are dismantled, and I promise to let you live long enough to face the hangman’s noose.

’ She stretched her mouth into a calculated smile.

Lord Hardgrave smirked with the smug assurance of a man in total control, infuriating Philippa. Which was certainly his plan. ‘You have much to learn about the art of bargaining.’

‘I wasn’t making a bargain. I was simply advising you on the best course of action for your limited future.’

‘Ah. Well. Let me make a counteroffer, shall I? Turn my sister over to me now, desist in your investigations against the Devil’s Sons, retire to the countryside like a good dowager, and I promise not to systematically destroy everyone and everything you love.’

Philippa examined her nail, feigning boredom. ‘You sound just like every other man drunk on his own opinions. Let me remind you, one needs leverage if they expect to win a negotiation. You have nothing.’

‘I have Hyacinth.’

Confounded bastard.

Confounded bastard who made an excellent point.

‘Surely you wouldn’t harm your own niece.’ But as soon as Philippa spoke, she realised her mistake. Olivia had warned her, but until this moment, she hadn’t been convinced of the depths of his madness. Because he most certainly would hurt his niece. And they both knew it.

‘There are so many ways a young lady might lose her life.’ He dropped a sugar cube in his tea.

‘A tragic illness.’ Poured a dollop of cream.

‘A fall.’ Delicately stirred the mixture with a silver spoon.

‘Drowning while taking a pleasure cruise on the Thames.’ Tapped the spoon three times before placing it gently on the saucer.

‘Of course, those are more pleasant outcomes. She could also be raped. Murdered. Or simply disappear, never to be found again.’

‘You would do this to Hyacinth?’

‘Oh, by then, she wouldn’t be Hyacinth any more. Just a nameless girl in some far-flung corner of the world, being introduced to the myriad twisted desires of wealthy men with endless power and no reservations in exploring their darkest fantasies.’

Bile rose up Philippa’s throat. ‘What if we promised to stop investigating you?’

‘That was only one of my requirements. And why should I believe your promise? The Queen’s Deadly Damsels giving up on their mission? That doesn’t sound like you at all.’

Because it was the very antithesis of every instinct burning in Philippa. But the words burst free without thought. ‘You don’t know me. Return Olivia’s daughter. Desist in your pursuit of her. I will call off the Damsels. Olivia gets her freedom, but so do you.’

‘I thought you weren’t bargaining.’ Hardgrave sipped his tea. His green eyes, so similar in colour and shape to Olivia’s yet wholly different in the madness flashing there, speared Philippa. ‘Why would I do that?’

Appeal to his logic. He might be insane, but he loves himself more than anything else. He doesn’t want to jeopardize all he’s accomplished.

‘You have far more to gain by making this accord than by waging war with us. Why wouldn’t you agree?’

‘Because she is mine.’ He growled so softly she barely heard him.

‘She has always been mine. Don’t you understand?

Olivia has defied me from the moment she was born, but I will not abide defiance in anyone.

Certainly not my own sister. It’s time for her to learn I control her and everything she does. ’

Philippa shook her head. ‘You don’t.’

He drummed his fingers on the tablecloth. ‘Oh, but I do. You just haven’t realised it yet. Not only do I control her, but I also control you, Lady Winterbourne.’

Philippa curled her lip in a snarl. ‘No one controls me but myself.’

‘Are you so certain?’

She wasn’t. Not at all. Not since she realised her love for Olivia.

She holds my heart in her hands, and I can’t control the depth or strength of my regard for her. I can’t control my thoughts when I’m around her. I can’t control my need to ensure she is safe. I can’t even control whether she will love me back. Or stay with me.

But it didn’t matter. It was worth the risk. Olivia was worth risking everything. Even Philippa’s carefully curated control.

Cedric was still talking. Philippa did her best to refocus.

‘I have allowed you and your Damsels to ferret out the Wolf and the Snake because I wanted to eliminate them. Thanks to your efforts, I now have total control over the brotherhood. You stupidly thought you were pursuing me, but I led you down this path every step of the way. I didn’t strike against you because you were fulfilling certain odious tasks I needed accomplished.

But now it’s time for you to stand down, Duchess, or I shall put you down. ’

‘There is only one person I take orders from, and she wears the crown.’

Hardgrave’s lips twitched as a cold, hard fist of doubt wrapped around Philippa’s chest and started to squeeze.

‘You don’t think she is aware of my actions?

That the Crown doesn’t financially benefit from my enterprise?

That political wheels aren’t greased by the favours I provide?

Silly, Duchess. For such a worldly woman, you are woefully na?ve. ’

Philippa shook her head. ‘I don’t believe you.’ But the doubt grew and developed sharp teeth biting into her confidence. How well did she know the Queen? How well did anyone know another?

Shrugging, Hardgrave sipped his tea. ‘What you believe has very little influence over what is true. Once you have seen me destroy all those you hold dear, perhaps then you will accept my words as fact. Would you willingly sacrifice your friends all for a woman you hardly know? Lord and Lady Killian, Major General Drake and his lovely new bride. Lord Renquist and his maid. Even the Commissioner of Scotland Yard. None of them are safe from my reach, Lady Winterbourne. Surely their lives are worth more than one insignificant woman.’

‘You fucking bastard.’ The words were weak and useless, but they were all Philippa had in the moment.

Tsking, he shook his head back and forth in slow censure that made her want to reach across the table, punch his throat, collapse his windpipe, and watch him gasp his last breath.

‘Such foul words from such a fine lady. Although it makes me wonder. Why do you hold so tightly to my sister?’ Lord Hardgrave leaned back in his chair, his eyes darkening with understanding.

‘Ah. I see. Men seem to lose their heads when given the chance to fuck her, but I had no idea women could be equally stupid.’

‘Be silent.’ Heat washed over her as his insidious words burrowed through her armour.

He leaned forward. ‘I promise, whatever value she holds between her thighs is hardly worth risking your life and that of your friends. Don’t be a fool, Lady Winterbourne.’

Rage swept in, taking with it Philippa’s control.

‘You’ve no idea what she’s worth. Olivia is more important than you could ever imagine.

’ She stood and threw her tea in Hardgrave’s face, the hot liquid turning his cheek red.

Gasps could be heard throughout Twinings as the tearoom went deathly still.

‘Oh dear. I slipped,’ Philippa snarled. ‘Do forgive me.’ But she’d made a terrible mistake. She’d shown the Crow her hand. And now he knew her weakness.

The Lord High Chancellor wiped his face, slowly rose to his feet, and dropped the soiled napkin on the table.

‘I shall expect you to deliver my package by the Queen’s Samhain celebration.

There’s no telling what kind of mischief might occur if the Devil doesn’t get his dues.

’ He turned to walk away and crashed directly into a young serving boy carrying a silver tray.

Cups, plates, a full pot of tea, and several iced cakes tipped from the platter, all of it landing on the Lord High Chancellor’s snow-white vest.

The serving boy’s face turned pale as he unsuccessfully attempted to clean off the mess with a napkin.

‘Get away from me, you idiot.’ The Lord High Chancellor shoved the boy to the floor. Without a backwards glance, he strode from Twinings.

‘That went well,’ Philippa muttered.