Page 7 of Fatal By Design
She had not thought she’d see him again so soon. She hadn’t been ready. He was just as handsome as ever—that hadn’t changed. His rich, dark brown eyes still pierced; his strong jaw and full mouth still lent him a masculine beauty. His attire hadn’t changed either, really. Perhaps he appeared a little more refined in new clothes that he had not been given to wearing as a Bow Street officer, or maybe she was only making that up in her head. Hugh had always dressed like a gentleman.
And yet, hehadchanged. How could he not have? He was a viscount now. Something about that gave Audrey the strangest sense of loss. It made no sense; she could not account for it at all. She had not lost him. Gracious, he’d never been hers to begin with! But she had still sensed a gulf between them when he’d entered the drawing room earlier. An unfamiliar, cold expanse that had made her shiver. She was grateful their first meeting occurred among several other people, and though she did not wish ill on Millie’s driver or maid, or Millie herself, she was also glad that she and Hugh would have something on which to focus their attention, their conversation.
Perhaps then they would not have to discuss Philip.
How was she supposed to tell him the truth? Opening her mouth and beginning her confession seemed as daunting as scaling a mountain, its peak lost in stormy clouds. She could not even begin to think how she would say it. And if she did, wouldn’t that only transfer the burden of Philip’s secret onto Hugh’s shoulders? Not for an instant did Audrey think he would reveal Philip’s crime, for it would negatively impact her, and Hugh had proved in the past that he would go to great lengths to protect her. But how could she ask him to keep this secret?
The creak of a floorboard registered a moment before his voice cut through the muffled quiet.
“This could be a dangerous place.”
Audrey spun around as he emerged from the corner of the aisle. Three such aisles cut back from the mezzanine balcony. Each aisle had a private reading alcove, complete with a chair or sofa, footstools, and a desk and lantern. Her favorite alcove provided a small round window that overlooked the lawns and the lake. But for this meeting, she’d chosen the more private, inner alcove.
She shook off her nerves with a shallow exhalation and tried to appear collected. “What is so dangerous about a library?”
He entered the alcove, the lamp Audrey had lit providing enough light for them to see by. Hugh kept his hands in his pockets, his relaxed posture only highlighting how bothered she felt in comparison. “I have no doubt that at least one debutant arriving for the house party will attempt to lure some unsuspecting eligible lord here,” he replied.
Hugh’s lips turned into a coy half-grin. Audrey met it, and with a shake of her head, continued with the plausible entrapment scheme. “And have a cohort stationed nearby to just…happen upon them?”
Such a thing could transpire. To be sure, ithad. A lady’s reputation could be ruined just by being found alone in such a private place with a man, and the man would then, out of honor and duty, be expected to make her an offer.
“Be wary of conniving ladies,” she said, but though it was meant to be playful, the moment she said it, her stomach dropped.
One lady in particular suddenly rushed to mind: Lady Veronica Langton. The fresh-faced debutante was the daughter of the Earl of Kettleridge and just out of her second Season. She was also the woman rumored to be recently connected to Viscount Neatham.
The spike of jealousy had Audrey cutting her eyes away from Hugh. Ever since Genie had mentioned that Lord and Lady Kettleridge had accepted the invitation, along with their daughter, Lady Veronica, Audrey had been struggling to keep her envy in check. Most times, she failed.
“I’ll be on my guard,” he replied lightly, but when she kept her lips sealed, he must have sensed their banter had finished. “You know something more about the incident on the road.”
Good. This was firmer ground. “I held the coach’s doorknob, yes, and I saw them—Millie and her maid—being taken. A man was asking about a ring, demanding Millie to hand it over.”
“And did she?”
Audrey shook her head. “She said she did not have it, and she didn’t appear to be lying. She was terrified, in tears of distress, I—” She stopped to draw a breath, her chest suddenly tight. “I have never seen her in such a state before.”
Millie had always been coolly unaffected. Even when their father and brother died, Audrey had not seen her shed a tear. Certainly not when her husband had died, either.
Hugh moved toward the small writing desk tucked into the corner of the alcove. The high polish of the honey amber wood gleamed in the lamplight. This small space truly was the perfect spot for a tryst. And if the whispers she had heard from Cassie when she’d visited Greenbriar the previous month held any truth to them, Lady Veronica might hold designs for one with Hugh during the next fortnight.
The Neatham scandal had produced a reaction that was the total opposite of that which Audrey and Philip had endured after Philip’s wrongful arrest. Instead of being delegated to the list of deplorables, the new Viscount Neatham had become an object of curiosity to both the ladies and men of the ton. His background fascinated the ladies, his former blackguard status slightly exhilarating. His handsome looks surely drew interest as well.
“You’ve no idea how many ladies I’ve overheard discussing how coarse his hands must be,” Cassie had said with a roll of her eyes as she and Audrey had been playing backgammon in June. She’d lowered her voice so that Michael, reading in a chair across the room wouldn’t hear. “Or how coarse he is in other ways.”
Audrey had gaped at her younger sister-in-law, not so much appalled by her comment as she was by the women Cassie spoke of. Calling him coarse, treating him as if he was less than the other men of their acquaintance, and yet desiring him for such shallow reasons, had infuriated her. Ladies like the ones Cassie had overheard would certainly see Hugh as a catch for his wealth and titlenow. But they would have turned their noses up at him before.
Cassie had also related that one young lady and Hugh had been seen together at a few dinner parties in London. Cassie had not known to curb her tongue; she wasn’t aware of Audrey’s feelings for Hugh, or his for her. Though, as the months slipped past, their last meeting in the kitchen of his Bedford Street home—when they had both confessed to feelings that were not going to simply go away—had started to feel more and more like a hazy dream. Had things changed for Hugh? He’d said he was not in the market for a viscountess, but perhaps this Lady Veronica had appealed to him in some way…
Audrey closed her eyes and breathed deeply. This was no time to fall into the spiraling thoughts that had so recently plagued her.
“Are you unwell?” Hugh’s voice reached her, and she snapped her eyes open. Concern hardened him as he inspected her, toe to crown.
“No, I’m…I’m fine. Truly. You were saying?”
“I wasn’t saying anything. Neither were you.” He stepped away from the desk, toward her, but then held still. “These last months must have been difficult for you. Audrey, I’m sorry. I—"
“No.” She blurted it out before she could think, before she even knew she was speaking.
He frowned. “No?”
