Page 76 of An Honorable Deception
They exchanged more glances, and Lavinia turned to another pile of papers, pulling one out from the middle of the stack. “Barclay’s crew were in the Rheamses’ home last week, poking about. They copied out Mrs. Rheams’s calendar. As you suspected, she hadn’t changed the time of your meeting. If her husband only looked at that, he’d have thought she’d already met you by the time the thugs found her. Already told you what she knew about Samira and the Empire House.”
Alethia’s nostrils flared. “Had my uncle been in Town and part of the conversation, he would have assured them that he could force my silence as he always had—by threatening Samira and anyone else I loved. But he wasn’t there. So they simply acted to protect their own secrets.”
“It may be a bit worse than that,” Fairfax said. “If it was his taking of Samira that Mrs. Rheams saw, and which put her on the scent of the Empire House, then Rheams and company could well blamehimfor everything—not unduly. They certainly don’t mean to let you tell the tale to anyone else.”
“Which means your mother is very right to insist you stay here,” Marigold said.
“This could be useful, though. We may be able to pit them against one another, bring the house of cards down from within, so to speak. If Babcock—and Barremore, I daresay—discover that there was an attempt on the lady’s life...” Sir Merritt leaned against the mantel, thoughts buzzing through his head.
“But you need me there. Whatever time and place we set, if I do not show up—”
“You will.” Lavinia’s words rang through the room, even and sure. Alethia’s gaze flew back to her.
She ought to have known Lavinia would be her ally. She, more than anyone else, knew what it was to have your own family hold the blame for violence.
Fairfax spun to face her. “She can’t. She shows her face—”
“She won’t.” Lavinia lifted her brows, looked to Xavier rather pointedly, and then held out her arms. “I’ve already done it once. I’ll do it again. He can see me from behind, bring Samira into our trap. By the time he realizes I’m not her, it will be too late.”
“No.” Fairfax looked as though he’d like to storm to Lavinia’s side, but he held himself in check. “It may work for that portion, yes, but Babcock won’t be the only dangerous man attending our little play. If the others think you’re her—”
“We’ll search everyone before they come in.” Lavinia pushed to her feet. “Make certain they have no weapons.We can mitigate the risks, but some are inevitable. And you forget a key point—that it won’t beherface revealed, it’ll bemine.”
Fairfax shook his head. “We’ll use a mannequin. Perhaps a voice recording. We still have the old wax cylinder recorder, don’t we, Marigold?”
“When has a Fairfax ever got rid of anything that brought a moment’s diversion?”
He flashed his sister a grin.
Lavinia huffed. “The voice recording will be useful, don’t get me wrong. But a mannequin will not suffice. Stop being stubborn, Yates.”
“You’re accusingmeof being stubborn? You could be killed!”
“What would it—” She cut herself off with another sharp breath, but Alethia could hear her unspoken words.What would it matter if I was?
Did the others hear it? The silence made her think that perhaps they did. She had no doubt that they would have their ways of answering the words she hadn’t said, words that would be born from years of friendship and love.
But she also knew that sometimes the ones who knew you best were the last people you believed.
Before anyone else could move or speak, Alethia stood, took that single step to Lavinia’s side, and reached for her hand. Gave her the words still echoing in her own heart, quietly enough that the others likely wouldn’t even hear. “Whoever made you think you’re not worth it—they’re wrong. So very wrong. And you let them win when you keep thinking those thoughts. You are precious, Lavinia. And you are needed. By all of us. You must not take any unnecessary risks. Your life matters.”
Lavinia’s fingers tightened around hers. For a pulse, shemade no response. Then her chin came up, emotion gleaming in her eyes. “I won’t be reckless. But Iwilldo everything in my power to save the women trapped in that place and then provide them with a future.” Her gaze moved back to Fairfax, whose jaw was clenched so tight he looked to be in danger of cracking his teeth. “It will work even better than what we already had planned. Think about it—they can think I’m her, at least at first. Lure Babcock into revealing himself. And then when I revealmyself—not as Alethia, the girl they’d already tried to silence, but as the daughter of Lord Hemming, Lords’s liaison to military intelligence and on a dozen committees besides...”
“Leopard stripes.” Marigold pinched her nose. “She’s right, Yates. It’ll be brilliant. They’ll think we have the weight of the Crown behind us. Rheams will go running scared, likely tripping up and confessing the murder of his wife to Vernon or Dunne in conversation. If we’re simply there to witness it, or better still, make certain a trusted member of Scotland Yard hears it...”
All the Imposters’ eyes shifted to Yates while he considered it. Alethia thought for certain he would continue to argue. But after a moment, his face relaxed and he nodded. “All right. Let’s make the necessary adjustments to the plan and get it dispatched as soon as we can to Barclay. He’s going to love us adding yet another wrinkle, I daresay.”
Apparently that was a signal that Alethia didn’t entirely follow, because three different conversations sprang to life among them—costuming, building design, best timing—as they bustled from the library, Lavinia giving her fingers one more squeeze and mouthing a silent thank-you.
Alethia held her spot. They’d be going, she assumed, to the study or little office Gemma had set up, where she’d glimpsed mounds of paperwork when she dared to walk by.She wasn’t altogether certain she’d be welcome there, even if theyhaddropped the pretense. She certainly wasn’t so deeply involved in their planning as to be anything but an annoyance.
She smiled a bit at their retreating forms. “They’re a force of nature, aren’t they? I can scarcely keep up.”
Xavier stood, but he didn’t follow their friends out the door. He reached for her hand, slowly and gently, and rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. His gaze locked on her face through every second. “Do you want to?”
She wasn’t entirely sure what he was asking, even as he darted his eyes toward the door in illustration. She frowned. “To keep up?”
“With him.” The breath he drew looked careful. His gaze so softly probing that it was more invitation than question. “Fairfax is the finest of men. He is willing to move heaven and earth for the sake of justice and righteousness. If you favor him ... I’ll step aside. I do not want you to feel for even a moment as if I’m forcing my attentions upon you.”
