Page 104 of A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Heirs

Honoria motioned him forward and plucked the rectangular paper from the silver salver.

The Muckraker!

As Honoria scanned the contents, her hand rose to her throat. “Oh, dear.”

“What is it?” Juliana scooted closer and craned her neck to get a glimpse of the horrible scandal sheet.

“It mentions the king’s death, of course.” A frown creased Honoria’s brow. “But it says the Duke of Clarence is rumored to abdicate and refuse the crown but questions the source.”

“You’re not upset about that, are you? What else does it say?” Juliana gave a little tug to Honoria’s arm.

“There is quite a lot about last night’s ball.” Honoria’s gaze shot to Juliana, an apology lurking in the green depths of her eyes.

“Tell me.”

Nodding, Honoria read.

“Last night, the Duke of Burwood hosted an engagement ball for his sister and Mr. Victor Pratt, which proved to be most eventful. Among the guests was a Mr. Miles Grey, the proprietor of the gaming hell,The Knave of Hearts.As if the attendance of such an unsavory character wasn’t enough, it has reached this reporter’s ears that the said Mr. Grey is actually the illegitimate cousin of the duke himself! As if thetonneeded another reason to snub the upstart newcomer.

“The information about Mr. Grey was not the only on dit this reporter received. I have it on good authority from an eyewitness that Mr. Pratt was caught in flagrante delicto with another woman in the duke’s very own orangery. One wonders if the wedding will proceed as planned. Of course, it should be no surprise, as Mr. Pratt already compromised his intended, leading to their forced engagement. It would appear that Mr. Pratt wishes to have his cake and eat it, too. This reporter is curious to see if they disregard mourning etiquette and proceed with the wedding in two days.”

Juliana balled her hands into fists on her lap. “The eyewitness mentioned has to be Lydia Whyte. But Victor doesn’t believe she’s the one responsible for the rag.”

“I would agree. Although Lydia can be a bit, shall we say, scatterbrained, I can’t imagine her being so organized to compile this—tripe.”

“But Honoria, she must either know who is responsible or she at least spread the gossip about Miles to whomever is.”

“Oh, that’s an excellent point, Juliana. Perhaps we should call a meeting of the League.”

Full of energy that amazed Juliana, Honoria jumped up and crossed to the escritoire, penning notes to Bea, Miranda, and Anne.

Alone on the sofa, Juliana gathered her racing thoughts, her gaze fixed on the discarded scandal sheet. Once again,The Muckrakerhad launched a vicious attack, but the League would rise to meet it. Would it be enough?

The wedding would be delayed—barely a fortnight, if they were lucky—but the damage from the gossip rag might linger longer than black crepe on a sleeve.

Still, Victor loved her. He had said so with words and proved it with action.

She touched the silky ribbon in her hair, the one that had once tied back his own, and drew in a steadying breath.

Whatever lay ahead—mourning, scandal, or delay—she would not face it alone.

And that, at last, was enough.

CHAPTER 29

Victor’s skull throbbed, and he snapped the reins of his curricle, urging the horse forward. Lack of sleep exacerbated his already foul mood after reading the reports in that atrocity,The Muckraker.

Although he’d held little hope Lydia would remain silent about what she’d witnessed in Burwood’s orangery, Victor at least thought the news about the king’s death would overshadow any idle gossip. However, the king had been ill for so long, it was hardly a surprise to learn of his demise. It would have served Victor better had his death been sudden and unexpected. Callous? Possibly.

As it stood, the news of the king had scarcely earned a few sentences in the scandal sheet, although Victor noted the perpetrator included the false information about the new king refusing the crown, although thereporterdidn’t put much credence in the possibility. Like Lydia, Middlebury must have spread the rumor to the perpetrator—unless he truly believed the rumor about the Duke of Clarence to be false and intended to throw them off his scent.

Could Middlebury be that clever? Victor had his doubts.

Every bit of gossip intentionally dispensed was included in the rag, save but one.

Missing from the pernicious paper was the information Nash leaked about his bad turn of fortune and possible new investment opportunity.

Odd. But perhaps—not. Maybe Nash was mistaken about Davies having a vendetta against him.

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