Page 33 of The Viscount's Forgery
“Follow the hackney in front,” Eugenia instructed the driver. “And be quick about it!”
Much to her relief, the driver seemed eager to do as she had asked, moving away before she had even had the chance to sit down properly. With a jolt, the breath a little knocked out ofher, she sat back and closed her eyes. “There is something amiss, certainly.”
“Which is a good thing, is it not?” Lady Amelia asked, as Eugenia opened her eyes to look at her. “It means that we know thereissomething going on, something nefarious.”
“We can be fairly sure that the painting is to be exchanged in that hackney,” Miss Trentworth agreed. “The way it came to a stop directly beside that man tells us there was someone inside, directing him to do so.”
Eugenia nodded, her heart still hammering. “Yes, that is so. Which means we are very close indeed to finding out the truth.”
“But how shall we see who else is in the hackney?” Lady Amelia asked, as Eugenia tried to think quickly as to what they ought to do. “We will miss it, surely, for the man will step out of the hackney and up into Lord Suffolk’s house, and then the hackney will pull away.”
“Lady Isobella is waiting there,” Miss Trentworth said, slowly, “though she will not have any awareness of what is happening, so she will not look inside.”
Licking her lips, Eugenia gripped the edge of the seat and then leaned forward. “I have an idea.”
“We must hurry.”Eugenia climbed down from the hackney, relieved that her plan, thus far, had worked. The hackney driver had been instructed to take them to Lord Suffolk’s townhouse, just as fast as he could. His eagerness to please had been made more than apparent when he had pushed the hackney to the other side of the street, moving past not only the hackney in front but also Lady Rosalyn’s carriage! They had paid the driver extravagantly and were now waiting for the hackney with the painting to approach. They could not be sure that the hackney would stop exactly at Lord Suffolk’s townhouse, but ifit deposited the man nearby, Eugenia had to hope that Lady Rosalyn would see it and would follow the hackney thereafter.
“There is Lady Isobella.” Eugenia waved one hand at her friend, who was standing opposite Lord Suffolk’s townhouse, talking to someone. She caught Eugenia’s eye and nodded but did not move, clearly contented to remain where she was.
“I think I should stand on this side of Lord Suffolk’s townhouse,” Lady Amelia suggested, her words spinning out of her quickly. “If the hackney stops there, then I will be able to see who is inside.”
“And I will go to stand directly in front of it,” Miss Trentworth stated. “Eugenia, if you would move a little further up the street, then one of us, I hope, will be able to see who is inside.”
Eugenia nodded and moved quickly, fully aware that it was entirely improper for a young lady to be standing alone on a London street, but finding herself heedless to such things. Her only thought was on the hackney and whoever was within. She wanted desperately to find out the truth for Lord Suffolk, wanted to know who it was that had been forging his paintings so that he did not have the things he had spent his coin on –and, if she could, for what purpose they had done so.
Her lips pressed tightly together as she drew in a long and steadying breath, closing her eyes for only a moment as she clenched her fingers tightly into fists. Opening her eyes and releasing both her hands and her breath, she saw a hackney approaching, slowing down as it came near to Lord Suffolk’s townhouse.
It drove past Lady Amelia, then slowed even more though it continued past Miss Trentworth and the entrance to Lord Suffolk’s home. Her heart in her throat, she watched as it drew near to her, her breathing quick and fast as it finally came to a stop only a few steps from her.
The door opened, and a man stepped out. He looked behind him, nodded – and Eugenia acted before she could think. Hurrying forward, she put a smile on her face and exclaimed aloud.
“Oh, do wait a moment!”
The man with the painting stepped back, his eyes wide.
“I have been waiting for a hackney,” Eugenia told him, taking hold of the door and opening it wide. “I thank you. I – oh, do excuse me!”
A gentleman looked back at her, his eyes a little wide.
“I did not realize there was someone else inside,” Eugenia said, stepping back and putting one hand to her heart. “Forgive me.” She offered him a smile, her eyes darting to the paper-wrapped parcel propped up on the other side of the hackney.
“But of course, it is no trouble.” The gentleman returned her smile, though she could hear the hesitation catching the edge of his words. “If you would close the door, I will be on my way. I am sure another hackney will be along very soon.”
“We are acquainted, are we not?” Eugenia tilted her head, studying him.
“I – I do not think – ” The gentleman’s light smile slipped. “I do not think we are, no.”
It came to her in an instant. “I saw you speaking with Lord Suffolk recently,” she said, managing to keep her tone nonchalant. “I wasveryrude and stole him from your conversation. Though you must remind me of your title, for I feel quite ashamed I cannot recall it!”
There was no way for the gentleman to escape her question. His lips opened and then closed again, only for Eugenia to arch an eyebrow.
“Lord Marchfield,” he said, sounding a little strangled. “Now, if you will excuse me – ”
“I must beg of you not to inform anyone that I am out in London without either a chaperone or my maid!” she exclaimed, trying to laugh as she stepped back. “Good afternoon, Lord Marchfield.” Closing the door, she demanded silently that her smile remain as the hackney pulled away, thinking that he might still be watching her. It was only when it left her far behind that Eugenia let her smile crash to the ground, a long breath escaping her in a whoosh.
“Who was it?” Lady Amelia grasped her arm, the other bluestockings all coming towards her at once. “The man with the painting has gone inside, and I think we must go to see if the painting has been exchanged or not.”
“I think it has been, given what I saw,” Eugenia said, feeling suddenly weak and tired. “That gentleman inside is a friend of Lord Suffolk’s.” Grasping Lady Amelia’s hand, she looked all around at her friends. “It was Lord Marchfield. The man who has been cheating Lord Suffolk, the man who has been exchanging his paintings for forgeries, is none other than Lord Marchfield.”
