Page 47

It was not usual for a peer of the realm to drive to London’s Opera House late in the evening in a curricle drawn by a pair of fine bays, still less to do so at reckless, breakneck speed.

Nor was it at all the done thing to leave such a two-wheeler waiting right outside the august institution – minded by a reluctant and most self-conscious gentleman who was trying very hard to be expressionless as he waited and not entirely succeeding – while one dashed inside, hatless, pushing through the crowd willy-nilly and shoving a handful of guineas into the hand of the protesting attendant.

That puzzled individual, who had barely recovered from the recent excitements of Runners, accusation and arrest, eyed the Major’s tall, muscular frame and agitated mien, and decided that discretion was the better part of valour.

He stepped promptly aside to let him pass, but pocketed several of the excess guineas for himself, as no more than his due.

Marcus stood just inside the entranceway, panting, brushing his dishevelled, auburn locks out of his eyes and using his superior height to survey the scene around him, first swiftly and then more slowly.

She wasn’t here, or not that he could see.

But then she’d surely be disguised, probably in a plain domino, just one among many.

She could be anywhere in the huge building.

Or worse, she could already have been exposed to some terrible insult, or tricked somehow into leaving.

He must find her and make sure she was safe.

There was no time to dwell on what else Lady Wyverne had told him, to wonder if it could possibly be true. He had to find her directly.

Some tiny part of his watchful soldier’s mind told him that the people around him were surveying him with great interest, and whispering about him, and no wonder, as he was dressed in ordinary day clothes and boots, not sporting any sort of fancy costume nor even a concealing domino, and clearly in a state of great emotional turmoil.

He could not know that they had already been greatly entertained, and were hopeful for more enjoyable scenes that they could gossip over afterwards.

She wasn’t here; he was almost certain of it.

He had to go deeper into the building and look for her, and pray he was not too late.

But which way should he turn in this enormous theatre?

It would be all too easy to miss her. She surely wouldn’t be dancing, not of her own free will, not after receiving such an alarming missive, but she could be in any of the many boxes on different levels, or in one of the corridors that led away on either side, or in the supper room, supposing there was such a place.

Marcus cursed, for the first and probably the last time in his life, his complete and lifelong lack of interest in opera.

He’d never been here before, had strenuously avoided coming here, and yet if he’d know the place, he might be more confident of finding her.

But he must choose a side to start searching…

He went left, since he had to go somewhere, moving through the staring crowd with muttered apologies, but he had not gone five yards before a hurrying young woman in a black domino collided with his chest. He looked down, impatient with this fresh delay, and then froze. Incredibly, it was her.

‘Amelia!’ he cried. ‘My God, I have found you! Are you well?’

She looked up at him in astonishment. ‘I… I am. I was just leaving. But what in heaven’s name are you doing here, Marcus… my lord, I mean.’

He reached out, almost unconscious that he was doing it, and held her by the shoulders, as if to assure himself that she was real.

Having once made certain of that, he did not let her go – perhaps he could not.

‘Your grandmother sent me a note in desperate haste. She said that you had been tricked here by Lavinia, that she was sure she meant to do you harm once more, and that I must come to rescue you. Of course I rushed here immediately, almost out of my mind with worry. But was it untrue – some devilish ruse?’

‘No,’ she said shakily, ‘no, it was all true, though I have not the least idea how my grandmother of all people came to know of it. Lavinia had set a trap for me – she had arranged that my stepmother, Rosanna, the actress, should be here, and meant to use her presence to destroy my reputation forever in a huge public scene that nobody could fail to notice. Some of the Friends were here with Lavinia to watch, so they could spread the gossip all the better. But Rosanna had instead made another plan with Mr Pennyfeather – I am sorry if I am not explaining it clearly; it is all so fantastical – and Lavinia herself was exposed, and then – yes, I see you stare – arrested! And I have something even worse to tell you…’

He was astonished, and could hardly take in the full import of her words.

‘What has Pennyfeather to do with it, and how could he have enough evidence to take her in charge? I can’t make head or tail of this, my dear.

’ He was still holding her, he might never let go, and the crowd perforce had to part around them, with many a curious glance.

Marcus and Amelia were oblivious to them, and to their muttered comments.

They could have been quite alone in some quiet, private place, not surrounded by dozens of curious and noisy onlookers.

‘I’m not surprised you’re puzzled; I was too. I still am. He has been investigating her all this time, he said, and discovered at last who pushed me, and that she had been blackmailed and threatened into it by Lavinia, out of fear for her own safety. But Marcus, there’s more…’

‘I hope there is, my dearest!’ Now that he knew she was unharmed, now that she was warm and real under his hands, the rest of it, including Lavinia, didn’t matter – and he could turn to the revelation that had broken on him like a glorious dawn.

‘The Dowager Marchioness told me you had been lured here because you thought I was in terrible danger, and you needed to save me. Is that true?’

Amelia blushed adorably and looked down. ‘That was what the note said, to make me come here. It was a trick, of course, and I knew as much as soon as I saw it. I’m not a complete idiot.’

‘You’re wonderful in every respect. I shall plant a facer on anyone who dares to call you an idiot. You knew it must be a trick then, and yet you still came.’

She had no answer for that. Something was clearly troubling her, and he had a vague notion that she was trying to tell him some fact or other, and that it was probably important.

He would gladly hear it later, but just now, one thing alone had possessed his mind to the exclusion of all else.

‘My darling, my angel, the note I received said you came here because you loved me.’

She was instantly scarlet. ‘My grandmother said that? Sophie must have… I’ll kill her!’

‘I don’t care whether you do or whether you don’t just at this moment.

But with all my heart and soul I need to know if it is true.

I’ve never asked anyone a more important question in my whole life, nor been so desperate to hear an answer, and at the same time terrified, in case that answer is not what I hope and long for. Do you love me, Amelia?’

‘Do you want me to?’ Her lovely face was a mixture of confused emotions, and her eyes were full of tears, but he thought a smile was breaking through despite all that.

‘No, my love, it’s much worse than that – I need you to.

Because I love you desperately, and I had thought there was no hope…

I have been so miserable, knowing you planned to break with me at any moment and thinking that for your own sake, you probably should.

Damn it, woman, answer me in plain words before I lose my senses entirely: do you love me? ’

She was smiling; he was almost sure. A teasing little smile that made his heart leap and the blood pound in his veins. ‘What will you do if I say yes, Marcus?’

‘Next week I’ll marry you, as soon as a licence can be got, but just now, I’m going to kiss you very thoroughly, here in the vestibule of the Opera House with all these people watching.’

‘Very well then, my lord, it’s true. Yes! I do love you. I love you terribly, and I’ve been miserable too. I realised it long ago. And I’m still going to kill?—’

But she never finished her murderous sentence, because Marcus seized her in his arms and claimed her mouth hungrily, and she responded with equal enthusiasm, her arms sliding up around his neck.

He lifted her quite off her feet and held her tight, and a small cheer went up from the surrounding crowd.

Some of them broke into applause, though the embracing couple were quite oblivious to it, entirely absorbed in each other.

One of the most enthusiastic watchers said breathlessly to her friend, ‘Is it always like this here, Alice? Because it’s so much better than the play, and it’s not even eleven yet. What do they do for an encore, and when can we come again?’