Page 68 of Romanced By the Orc

Not once in her life had Diana fainted. Nor had she ever feigned doing so. Yet now she felt unsteady, as though Reginald had struck her.

It was only her good fortune that Albion then affected a loud and decidedly unsubtle yawn. Its rudeness stunned even the Regent, who remained silent alongside Sir Reginald. But only for a moment. His Royal Highness then snickered, causing the would-be courtiers in the little circle closest to him to join in.

“Oh! Blast it. Do forgive that impertinence, Reg,” Albion said in his laziest drawl. “It is only that I struggle to stay awake at the mere mention of that chap.”

“Your obsession with the Phantom really does grow wearisome, Reg,” the Regent added.

Reginald tried, and largely failed, to hide his distaste for her husband. “You have no use for the man, Lord Albion?”

“Use of him or not, haven’t we all tired of that name? The Phantom’s pudding that the chef sees fit to serve at my club. The hat that some clever fellow on Bond Street named after the gent. Yet I’ll go straight to the devil if I didn’t purchase one myself!”

“Really,” His Royal Highness said, interested as ever at matters of a gentleman’s style.

“What a racket, I say! And all to cause the ladies to swoon.”

“I think we ladies are made of stronger stuff, husband,” Diana murmured.

“I promise you this, Reg,” Albion said, uncharacteristically ignoring Diana while slapping Reginald on the back so hard the fiend winced. “I shall not fight the tide. What is the human saying? When in Rome? So I daresay we must embrace the ladies’ outlandish attachment to the Benevolent Phantom. Stuff it all if this very conversation doesn’t inspire a verse. I should retire to a private corner to commit my thoughts to paper.”

“Can’t stop the muse from stalking you, eh, Albie?” the Regent said.

“Quite. But that shan’t stop us from taking a turn at Faro in good time, will it, Prinny? Lord Mandeville agreed I should lend to the evening’s entertainments as banker. In the meantime, I shall see if Mandeville’s chef has deigned to include an ode of his own to that dratted Phantom fellow in his selection of desserts and hors d’oeuvres. Might you do us both the honor of keeping my wife company, Reg?”

“It is indeed an honor, Lord Albion.”

“Capital!” And with a swift kiss on her hand, Albion left Diana with Sir Reginald while he and the Regent, along with their little group of toadies, attended to the far more critical matter of having a bite to eat and some fun at the Phantom’s expense before retiring to the gaming room.

A lady she’d known from the time before her scandal with Nigel Halman walked by, the ostrich feather on her headpiece dipping along with the slight nod of her head. Diana managed a smile. She had to content herself with knowing that Albion’s family protected her. No one wished to offend the orcs. Lady Margaret, who had hurt his brother, Duncan, had only done so because she deemed the messy incident a misunderstanding.

Causing trouble for the wife of Lord Albion Higgins was a different matter altogether.She prayed Reginald Addington understood as much.

“I was hoping we might have a word alone,” he said. “Now is as good a time as any.”

Gone was the smug man she remembered from Lady Talridge’s supper party.His eyes darted back and forth nervously. He seemed gaunter. He was about to ask her about the Phantom. Deep down, she had to allow that the question caused her to burn with curiosity.

But she would not cower to Reginald’s crude request. She was not his marionette to be manipulated. “Pray tell,” she said.

“Have you had any luck in discerning the identity of our Phantom?”

Diana let out what she hoped was a haughty laugh. He was but a fly buzzing irritably along the inside of a window frame.She was a Lady of the Hidden Realm, not to be trifled with, a sensation bolstered by her choice of attire for the evening.“You are so deluded as to think I shall agree to be your spy? To destroy an honorable and courageous individual?”

“If you do not, do you believe your sister will forgive your intimate connection with her fiancé?”

“I’ve no desire for my sister to learn about this letter to Nigel. If one such exists. But no matter. I’ll handle it as best I can.”

“You don’t care if your husband knows as well? Knows what sort of woman he married.”

She gulped down a little cry before restoring her composure, standing straighter in her Orcan gown.

“Clearly, you understand nothing of the Hidden Realm, Sir Reginald. Affairs between men and women are far different there. Your threats are hollow, as are your principles.”

He rubbed his hands together as though the knuckles were sore and needed soothing. Likely, he was itching for a pinch of snuff.

“I think you will help me,” he said quietly. “For your sister’s benefit.”

“Did you not hear a word? Show her the letter. Our relationship will withstand the blow.”

“It is most charitable of the Sisters of Benevolence to conduct their missions of goodwill to Chamberly. After the Phantom started meddling in his affairs, the Duke of Rostin transformed into a most dangerous man. Unstable, yet fully in charge of his duchy and now of the Free State of Chamberly. Even a mission of mercy could run afoul of Rostin. Who knows what might happen.”

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