Page 14 of The Truth about the Lady (Whispers of the Ton #6)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

S amuel took in a deep breath and set his shoulders, looking all around the room for Lady Hyacinth. After last evening, he had returned home but had not retired, instead choosing to sit down and consider his feelings and what it all might mean.

It had been a somewhat terrifying few hours as he recognized that all that he had once thought and expected of matrimony might be entirely wrong. Lord Elledge’s expression and explanation of his marriage left Samuel with a sense of longing rather than a bad taste in his mouth, as it had done before.

And in the center of it all sat Lady Hyacinth.

Samuel’s heart was filled with an anxiety that he could not simply push away. It had grown with every minute that he had spent at this soiree, desperate to see her so that he might pull her to one side and tell her what was on his heart. He could not continue as he was, pretending that his feelings held no significance. Instead, he was going to have to be honest with her about it all, about his former thoughts on matrimony, about his feelings at the present moment, and much to his upset, his foolishness as regards the riddles. That had brought a dark cloud to his mind for he feared what her reaction would be when he told her the truth about them but it had to be done. He could not hold a lie between them. The riddles he had placed in The London Chronicle had brought him no response, not thus far anyway, which meant he had no choice but to tell Lady Hyacinth the truth, and, thereafter, everyone else. Whether it would cost him his pride or not, Samuel knew what he had to do – and recognized that it was his own foolishness that had brought him to this point. Everything could change for him in this one evening, though for good or for bad, Samuel did not know.

There she is.

A light smile played about his mouth as he took in the young lady, barely giving a glance to either her sister or to Lord and Lady Coatbridge. Lady Hyacinth had lowered her head just a little whilst Lady Rose lifted her chin and looked all around the room, clearly delighted to be in amongst company.

“Now, who is it that you are looking for?”

Samuel wrinkled his nose as Lord Sunderland leaned into him, though it was not out of any sort of friendliness that he did so. “You cannot be so heavily in your cups already, surely?”

“You did not answer my question.” Lord Sunderland chuckled, his eyes half closing as he staggered back one step. “Tell me, who is it that you are looking at? I can tell that you were fixed upon some young lady and yet – ”

“I am, in fact, wondering if Lord Elledge is yet present, for he was meant to be joining us this evening,” Samuel interrupted, having no intention of telling Lord Sunderland anything. “He and I have some matters to discuss.”

Lord Sunderland chuckled but it was not a pleasant sound, making Samuel wince inwardly. He pitied the young ladies present this evening, knowing full well that his friend would try and capture the attentions of as many as he could… even though most of the young ladies present would be repulsed by him, Samuel was sure.

“I am determined to find a new flirtation this evening,” Lord Sunderland said, with a wide grin. “I have grown tired of Lady Helensburgh.”

With a frown, Samuel threw a glance at him. “Lady Helensburgh?”

“It is better that you do not know,” Lord Sunderland answered, seeming to try to draw himself up. “Needless to say, she and I have become weary of each other and it is better now for me to find someone new.”

“Then go and do so.” Samuel, eager to go and speak to Lady Hyacinth, made to step away, only to see Lord Sunderland’s beady eyes following after him. With a sigh, he moved away from Lady Hyacinth’s direction, forcing his steps towards the door. Fully aware that Lord Sunderland would be watching him, Samuel made his way out into the hallway and then into the music room, thinking that he would stay for only a few short minutes until Lord Sunderland had grown tired of his foolish game and become distracted by something – or someone else.

“Lord Thorne, good evening.”

Samuel, seeing Lord Jedburgh and a few other acquaintances, nodded. “Good evening to you all.”

“We are speaking of the riddles in The London Chronicle. Your hard work, yes?”

Not sure what he ought to say for the desire to say that yes, he was responsible was no longer present, Samuel only shrugged.

“You have certainly taken us all by surprise with these last two,” came the response from another gentleman. “I thought they were all on the same theme but the answers to these two were very different!”

Samuel frowned, having very little idea as to what the gentlemen were talking about for he had not seen the riddles in The London Chronicle that day. “You were displeased with them?”

“No, no, not in the least!” cried Lord Jedburgh as the other gentlemen all said the same. “What Lord Frederickson means to say is that your previous riddles all had answers on dark or displeasing things, but these two were not so! The first – the answer truth – was very well written, I must say, and the second, the one that spoke thankfulness – ”

“I took it to mean appreciation,” interrupted another, though Lord Thorne kept his gaze pinned to Lord Jedburgh.

“Thankfulness or appreciation, whatever you wish.” Lord Jedburgh waved a hand. “Those two answers mean much the same thing but again, they were on a very different theme from your previous answers.”

“Indeed.” Samuel’s heart beat hard as he realized that the riddle writer had, yet again, used the riddles to speak to him. The one that said ‘appreciation’ was, mayhap, expressing thanks for his regret and his desire to apologize, but the other, ‘truth’… did that mean that they expected him still to admit the truth to everyone? To urge him to be honest and clear with everyone? Samuel’s stomach tied itself in a tight knot as he thought of what might happen should he do so, wishing that he had the courage and the gumption to do what he knew he ought.

“Lord Thorne?”

Samuel cleared his throat and forced a smile. “I am glad that people find the riddles so amusing still.” He made to turn on his heel, only for another gentleman to join them, his brow furrowing.

“Lord Thorne, good evening.” Lord Elledge’s dark expression was directed straight towards Samuel, making his face flush as guilt crashed over him. “You are speaking of the riddles, then?”

Samuel shook his head. “I was just about to take my leave as there is someone that I wish to speak with, rather urgently I might add.” He held Lord Elledge’s gaze, fully aware now of what he needed to do – and just how little he desired to do it. “Thereafter, I shall come back to speak with you all.”

This seemed to pull some of the darkness from Lord Elledge’s expression and he nodded, as though he were giving Samuel his mark of approval. Relieved, Samuel excused himself and turned away, going in search of Lady Hyacinth.

Strangely, she was not in the drawing room, where he had last seen her with her mother and disagreeable sister. Frowning, Samuel stepped back into the hallway and meandered slowly through it, stepping back into the music room and, thereafter, into the parlor. She was not there, though as he came out of the parlor, he recognized Lady Coatbridge standing talking to a gentleman, with Lady Rose beside her.

Of Lady Hyacinth, there was no sign.

Worry began to niggle in his heart as he made his way towards them both, thinking it a little surprising that Lady Hyacinth had stepped away. Though, he remembered, if Lady Eve was present then there was every expectation that Lady Hyacinth was standing with her.

Mayhap they have gone into the library.

The door was close to Lady Coatbridge and Samuel pushed it open gently, stepping into a fairly dark room, lit only by a few candles and a small fire in the grate. He frowned, a little surprised that their host had thought to make it so dim, only to hear a quiet cry.

Spinning around, Samuel tried to make out the shadows in the darkness, striding forward toward the far corner of the room.

“What is the meaning of this?” Yanking back the curtain that covered the window, Samuel exposed not only the moonlight that came streaming through but also a gentleman standing directly in front of a lady, practically pinning her to the wall. His shoulders dropped as distaste crawled up his spine. “Sunderland, if you are going to begin a new flirtation, do you not think that you could choose a more private place than this?”

“Thorne!”

The voice that reached him was not that of Lord Sunderland, who appeared now to be leaning against the wall, crushing the lady beneath him. Much to Samuel’s horror, he realized that the voice was coming from none other than Lady Hyacinth, the very young lady he had been searching for. Fear tore through him, his heart pounding as he grabbed Lord Sunderland bodily, forcing him out of the way though Lord Sunderland only slumped back against the wall entirely, a lazy grin on his face.

“Lady Hyacinth!” Samuel caught her in his arms as she let out a sob and almost collapsed into him. His heart was pounding with a fury he could not seem to fully grasp, wanting not only to protect Lady Hyacinth but also to grab Lord Sunderland by the collar and shake him until he realized precisely what he had done.

And then, Samuel wanted to plant his fist hard into Lord Sunderland’s frame.

“He pulled me into here before I could stop him,” Lady Hyacinth whispered, her whole body shuddering as her head went to Samuel’s shoulder, his arm about her waist. “I did not realize what he intended until it was too late and there was no one else here. I did not know what to do and he was much too strong for me.”

Samuel swallowed hard as anger bit down at him again. Lord Sunderland had stolen her away, intending to have his way with her regardless of what she wanted – and had Lady Hyacinth screamed, then she would, no doubt, have ended up being forced to marry the very scoundrel who had dishonored her in the first place. He closed his eyes, trying to control himself, only for the door to the library to swing open and three other guests to come into the room.

Samuel attempted to disentangle himself from Lady Hyacinth as quickly as he could but it was much too late. The third guest, a lady, stopped dead and stared directly at him, no doubt seeing him a good deal more clearly now thanks to the moonlight.

“What is happening here?” Her voice was filled with interest rather than concern and Samuel, looking to Lady Hyacinth, felt his whole body tense. Lady Hyacinth had dropped her head and he could hear her ragged breathing. Fog began to cloud his mind, realizing precisely what difficulty Lady Hyacinth now stood in. She was here alone with not one but two gentlemen, which meant that, unless he did something, her reputation would be ruined.

“Is that a young lady there with you, Lord Thorne?” The lady in question came closer, clearly recognizing him though Samuel did not know who she was, or mayhap that was only because his mind was a little fuzzy. “And another gentleman with you also? How… interesting.”

“Lord Sunderland, at your service, my lady.” Lord Sunderland’s speech was slurred and as he tried to bow, he staggered forward and collided with a chair. This altercation caught the attention of the other two guests who had, until this moment, been conversing together, and they too came closer. Much to Samuel’s horror, the door then permitted a good many other guests, all who came in and immediately came closer, perhaps wondering at all the commotion. Samuel’s heart slammed hard into his chest, his breathing quickening with every second. He glanced at Lady Hyacinth, seeing how low she had dropped her head, how rounded her shoulders were as he practically felt her dread and resignation. All Lord Sunderland had to do was open his mouth and she would be bound to him forever, else her reputation would be torn to shreds and she would be left a spinster, shamed and disgraced for the rest of her days.

I cannot let that happen.

“Forgive me, I cannot see you in the gloom.” The words seemed to come from a place deep within him, making him sound calm and almost contented, despite the frantic beating of his heart and the fog still clouding his mind.

“It is Lady Venables.” The lady tilted her head. “Do you have an explanation for this, Lord Thorne? And who is this young lady with both yourself and Lord Sunderland?” She lifted an eyebrow as some of the other guests came to stand directly beside her, making his mind begin to whirl as all the possibilities laid themselves out before him.

“Lady Venables, good evening.” Samuel cleared his throat, put his hands behind his back, and tried to smile. “Lord Sunderland, as you can see, is not in a particularly fit state at present. He is in his cups already and – ”

“Are you trying to state that Lord Sunderland is the reason for this young lady’s presence?” Lady Venables asked, taking a step closer. “That she followed him in here?”

A small, frightened exclamation came from behind Samuel and he half turned, fully aware that Lady Hyacinth must, at this very moment, be feeling nothing but dread.

“No, no, that is not at all what I am saying.” A little afraid that he was making the situation worse, Samuel took in a deep breath and released his hands from where they were still clasped behind his back. There was nothing for it, nothing that he could do, and nothing more that he could say other than this. It was the only choice open to him, the only thing that would save not only Lady Hyacinth’s reputation but also save her from Lord Sunderland.

“Well, Lady Venables, it seems that you have stolen my moment! I thought that we might have the opportunity to share this with Lord and Lady Coatbridge first, but alas, it seems quite impossible.” With a grand smile which, he prayed, covered the fear rushing through him and the worry that was slowly beginning to consume him, Samuel turned and held out one hand to Lady Hyacinth. “Much to my great joy, Lady Hyacinth has chosen to accept my hand in marriage.”