Page 15 of Her Honorable Viscount (Noble Pursuits #3)

CHAPTER 15

M agda did not take Dot’s news particularly well.

It had been a few days since Edward and Fitz’s meeting, and Dot knew she had to inform Magda and her clients before her engagement was announced, as much as it pained her to do so.

“You cannot do this,” Magda said, crossing her arms over her chest and shaking her head. “You were meant for this work.”

“That may be so,” Dot said. “But perhaps I am meant for something else, too.”

“Being someone’s wife and mother?” Magda said, lifting her generous brows. “Many people are meant for that. And for more.”

“Not where I am from,” Dot said sadly. “You must understand, Magda, I wouldn’t have left this for anyone that didn’t mean something to me.”

“Are we talking about the same man? That one that was here with Adelaide?” Magda said. “He didn’t seem anything special to me. In fact, he seemed far from special. Uptight, thin-lipped, judgmental, stuck?—”

Dot held up a hand, not wanting to hear anymore.

“I know how Lord Mandrake can come across,” she said. “Trust me, I thought the same of him at first, as well. But the more time I spent with him, the more I discovered about him. He hides so much of himself. He cares much more than he lets on, and he does understand me, even if it does not appear so from the outside.”

“He is making you give up everything you have worked for.”

She sounded like Eliza. It made Dot uncomfortable, for it was what she told herself sometimes. But she had come to this decision herself, even if it had been for Edward.

“I know, Magda,” she said softly. “But I will still see through the clients I have. I need you to know that I am ever so grateful for all you have done for me and all that I know you will continue to do.”

“Dot—”

“Please, Magda,” she begged, “do not make this harder for me.”

Magda sighed, pushing away from the cabinet she had been leaning against and walking over to Dot, surprising her when she wrapped her arms around her. Magda was warm with her patients, comforting, but she was not particularly given to showing her own emotion.

“I will miss you, Dot,” she said, patting her on the back. “You have been like a daughter to me, in a way. I suppose I should have known this would happen. You’ve taught me a lesson.”

“Which is?”

“That the noble stay noble. It is not often you come down to our level, but at least now I know that some of you are not as bad as I had assumed.”

Dot laughed at that, remembering when she had first met Magda and then later approached her with her proposition. Magda had been reluctant to take her on, and rightly so. But Dot had proven herself, repeatedly showing up, asking her to teach her all she knew and diligently applying herself.

Finally, she had agreed, and Dot had begun her practice.

“I will never truly leave you, Magda. I will visit you as often as I can.”

Magda snorted as though she had an assumption of what that meant, but Dot continued. “Will you come with me to see the women today?” she asked. “Then they can come to know you and we can see which cases you will take.”

“Very well,” Magda patted her shoulder and released her. “Off we go.”

“Thank you,” Dot said, her gratefulness for so much more than Magda’s acceptance.

“Whatever happened to the young servant girl?” Magda asked as they walked between houses.

“Lucy? Lord Mandrake offered employment to her and Mrs. Adams. Last I heard, Mrs. Adams has met Lord Mandrake’s housekeeper and accepted a position while they are waiting until the baby is old enough for Lucy to join her.”

“With the baby?” Magda said, surprised. “I cannot believe he would welcome both.”

“It’s astonishing, yes, but that is the kind of man Edward is – even if you would never think it upon meeting him,” Dot said with a small smile.

“These poor young women,” Magda said, making a tsking nose. “Impregnated by noblemen and then punished for it.”

“What do you mean?” Dot asked, stopping their forward progress and turning toward Magda, urging her to the side to avoid anyone running into them.

The narrow, cobblestone Soho street around them hummed with activity. Tall, weathered buildings stretched above them, their upper stories leaning slightly over the road, their windows framed by faded shutters.

Sunshine filtered through the haze of coal smoke, casting uneven shadows as street vendors called out to passersby, offering roasted chestnuts, bright ribbons, and cheap trinkets amidst the clatter of hooves and cartwheels.

Dot ignored it all as she focused on what Magda had just said.

“Why do you think that a nobleman fathered Lucy’s baby?”

“Dot. Who else do you believe the father was? She is keeping it secret, and the other servants swear it wasn’t any of them. I would bet anything that it was the lord of the house. I have seen many babies come into this world, and I can tell you that this would be far from the first time I’ve seen this situation.”

“Lord Carroway?”

Dot’s eyes widened as she pictured him.

He was handsome, she supposed, although not a man she would ever be drawn to. She recalled the gossip of the marriage between him and Lady Carroway, although she had been too young to truly understand it.

Lord Carroway had been considered quite the catch, from what she could remember her mother saying. Lady Carroway had come with a significant dowry – one that Lord Carroway’s family had apparently needed more than anyone had initially realized.

Dot wished that was a secret she could use to prevent Lady Carroway from spreading hers, but everyone already knew it, and it wasn’t exactly out of the ordinary.

“If only we could find proof,” she said insistently. If Lord Carroway truly was the father of a maid’s baby, could that be enough to at least keep Lady Carroway from sharing her secret? If nothing else, maybe Lord Carroway would provide something for the girl to help her make her way in the world while raising the baby.

And did Lady Carroway already know the truth?

“What would you need proof of?” Magda asked.

“Nothing I suppose,” Dot said quickly. Magda would have enough responsibilities to take on without learning about this particular secret. “I just feel for Lucy, that is all. It’s a difficult situation.”

“That’s one way to put it,” Magda muttered. “Ah, here we are. Next stop.”

As they knocked on the door to see the woman, Dot told herself to focus on the task at hand, but she was already thinking about the next steps with Lady Carroway. She had to extricate herself from her grasp one way or another, preferably before she married.

It seemed she just might have discovered a way forward.

“Lord Mandrake?”

Edward looked up from his work to find his housekeeper standing in the doorway of his study. Mrs. Adams was behind her.

“Yes, Mrs. Yates?”

“The young maid is here – Lucy. You do not need to meet her, but we wanted you to know that she is now in the house, along with her baby.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Yates,” he said. “If they need anything, please see to it.”

“Very good, my lord.”

They were turning to walk away when he heard another voice from down the corridor – one he was much more interested in.

“Did you say Lucy had arrived?”

“Lady Dot!” That must have been Mrs. Adams’ exclamation. “She has joined us here, yes. Thank you again for finding this placement for her.”

“Do not thank me. Please thank Lord Mandrake. Actually, Mrs. Adams, could you come to speak with me and Lord Mandrake for a moment, if he has time for us?”

He would always have time for Dot. This, however, should be interesting.

“Of course, my lady.”

Edward waited impatiently for Dot to step through the door. She was dressed today in a most becoming lavender gown, Mrs. Adams behind her. The servant was a short woman with a round, welcoming face, one that instantly put him at ease and reminded him of comfort.

“Lady Dot, lovely to see you,” he said formally, for Mrs. Adams was present. “Mrs. Adams. How is Adelaide?”

Mrs. Adams had been given the duty of seeing to Adelaide’s care. He didn’t envy the woman, for Adelaide had been particularly prone to extremes of emotions – from what he had seen, anyway. He found it best to keep his distance.

“She has not had an easy time of it, my lord,” Mrs. Adams said softly. “Hopefully, as she progresses, she will improve.”

“I should hope so,” he murmured, telling himself to check on his brother and see how he was doing. For a man who had been so content in life without responsibility to suddenly have a future wife, pregnant with his child, he was likely having a time of it.

He waited now, curious as to why Dot had brought the servant into his study.

“Mrs. Adams, I must ask you something that is of the utmost importance,” she said urgently, placing her hands together, the three of them still standing in a triangle tableau. “Who is the father of Lucy’s baby?”

Mrs. Adams’ cheerful expression immediately dropped, her hands twisting together in front of her.

“I couldn’t say, my lady,” she murmured.

“Couldn’t you?” Dot asked, although not unkindly. “You are safe here. No one has any hold over you anymore.”

“Not over me,” she said, looking from one of them to the other in some fear. “But Lucy said it was best to keep this knowledge private. I am inclined to agree with her.”

“I am sure that Lord Carroway already knows that Lucy’s baby is his,” Dot said gently, although the news she so nonchalantly shared startled both Edward and Mrs. Adams. “He will not want anything to do with the child, trust me.”

“He wouldn’t be the only man with bastards running about.”

“That is true,” Dot said slowly, “but the scandal would be that he is named.”

“What are we talking about?” Edward said, looking from one of them to the other, even though he already knew exactly what she was saying. He just had to make sure that he had been hearing this correctly.

Dot straightened and looked at him. “I believe that Lord Carroway is the father of Lucy’s baby, and Lucy isn’t saying anything because she wants to protect him for some odd reason.”

Recognition instantly dawned. They could use this against Lord and Lady Carroway.

“Do we have proof?”

“We do not need proof if it’s true,” Dot said, fixing him with a look. “If they believe we know it for a fact, that should be enough.”

Edward tapped a finger against his chin. It was rather messy, that was certain, and yet… it could work.

“My lord, my lady, forgive me, but does this have to do with Lady Carroway discovering who you are?”

“It does, Mrs. Adams,” Dot said. “I am so sorry. I should not have involved you further.”

“I would be more than happy to help you,” Mrs. Adams said, her gaze narrowing. “Lady Carroway is most cruel. Lord Carroway has a sickening temper, especially in how he treats young women. It’s a blessing not to be working for them any longer.”

“Mrs. Adams, do you believe that Lady Carroway knows that her husband fathered Lucy’s baby?”

“I am sure she suspects it. Lucy isn’t the first maid who that man has taken advantage of. I would like to see both of them suffer for the ill they have caused others.”

It seemed that Mrs. Adams had a thirst for justice. Edward approved.

“What do you think, Edward?” Dot asked, turning to him. “Should I speak to her?”

“I will take care of it,” he said. “Perhaps it’s best I have a conversation with Lord Carroway first. If his wife is doing this to please her husband, perhaps we can stop this right at the head.”

“Very well. Thank you, Edward,” she said, looking at him with gratefulness that he didn’t deserve. He should have figured this out himself. “Mrs. Adams, I would love to see Lucy and the baby, if she would have a visitor.”

“Oh, she would be so pleased, my lady,” Mrs. Adams said, and Dot glanced over her shoulder with a smile for Edward before she followed her out.

Edward was filled with a sense of rightness as he watched her go, knowing that he could fix this for Dot.

That he would do anything to make her happy.

Consider it his first wedding gift.