Page 62 of Fortune Favors the Frivolous
Caroline stepped closer, raising her hand to gently brush his cheek. “Then we would be free.”
“Free,” Henry echoed, the word hanging between them like a precious, fragile thing.
“To follow our hearts,” Caroline whispered, pressing herself against him and resting her hand against his chest. She felt his soft sigh as his arm went about her. “To be together, as we have longed to be.”
His grip tightened. “It seems impossible.”
“No more impossible than arranging for two unsuspecting people to fall in love in a balloon basket,” she replied, smiling.
“When you put it that way…”
With a regretful sigh, Henry set her away from him as they heard footsteps in the passage. “I just fear that Mrs. Pike really will put enough pressure on Venetia to break off the engagement for no other reason than that I am still persona non grata. People look askance at me when I’m at White’s. A mere sniff of scandal is enough to have one blackballed and each time I enter its hallowed precincts I’m in dread of being turned away.”
Caroline put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “The reason they don’t—and they can’t—is that all thisismerely gossip. Sir Frederick has done his best to put the word about that his mysterious lady in blue, this foreign Hungarian princess orwhatever she was supposed to be, was actually a paid actress. I hear some wonder if it was a practical joke.”
“Some might wonder that, but others don’t. According to them, I transgressed during my time on the Continent and they are fully expectant that Venetia will withdraw from our arrangement at the final hour. And Mrs. Pike is fanning the flames.”
Caroline sighed. “I wish Barnaby was called to account. The lies have all but been proved. It’s time for him to say it was just a jest or a cruel joke. Because Amelia heard the truth from the womanhehired to ruin your reputation. And yet Barnaby now studiously avoids you every time you want to challenge him. Does he think he can get away with this? To think he was once your friend.”
Henry shrugged. “I had thought him so. And I’d thought Charlotte would believe in me. But she is quite under Barnaby’s influence.”
Caroline began to pace while she tried to mull over the conundrum. “Clearly Barnaby is in Lord Windermere’s power. I don’t know how or why, but he is playing to what Windermere and Mrs. Pike want.Whywould he sully your name? Well, so that Venetia will break off your engagement, leaving the path clear for Windermere. We’ve essentially established that. But…what is Barnaby’s role in this?”
Henry looked helpless and Caroline ran to him and put her arms about his waist. “Goodness and honor will prevail, my darling Henry!” she cried. “There must be a way of making Barnaby reveal his duplicity.” Raising her head, she said, “I shall make Charlotte trick him into confessing the truth! Yes, that is what I’ll do. And then, tomorrow, at the Celestial Comet Viewing, not only will we push Rothbury and Venetia together so that their attraction is undeniable, your name will be cleared by Charlotte revealing that her betrothed set up it all up as ajoke or a wager. That way, Barnaby will not be embarrassed and perhaps lash out. I really don’t trust him and am so very sorry Charlotte seems to be so taken in.”
“So, now we have Venetia and Rothbury conveniently married off, and my name cleared.” Henry shook his head in mock amazement. “You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you?”
“Not everything,” Caroline admitted. “I haven’t yet decided what I shall wear to our wedding.”
Chapter Thirty-One
The oak-paneled wallsof Brooks’s muted the murmured conversations of London’s gentlemen seeking refuge from home and business. Henry, who had retreated there for a short respite after Caroline’s visit, sat back in a wingback chair, ostensibly readingThe Times.
But he was distracted and worried.
He hadn’t realized how much his conversation with Caroline had rallied his hopes. Despite his skepticism at the time, he now had reason to believe all was not lost. Caroline had a wonderful ability to make him feel anything was possible.
But now, with the balloon ride fast approaching, and so much invested in the almost maniacal maneuvering required to somehow get Mr. Rothbury and Venetia into the basket alone—well, one minute it all seemed like reaching for the stars…
The next, anything felt possible.
Normally, a whisky and reading the newspaper calmed him, but right now, his nerves were on edge. He’d chosen a leather armchair away from the bow window where the greatest gossips gathered, in constant fear of being tapped on the shoulder and politely asked to leave.
The whispers of financial wrongdoing had not gone away, even though there was absolutely no proof.
Just as he was trying to force the worry from his mind, he spied the very man responsible for his tenuous grip on acceptance.
His very own future brother-in-law.
Henry lowered his newspaper slightly, careful to remain unobtrusive as he watched Barnaby enter and look around before his gaze settled on a solitary figure by the window—Edward Rothbury.
For a moment, Henry studied the man. Serious-featured, handsome in a traditional way, with dark hair and a coat from the best tailor. Could this man be Henry’s salvation? Could Venetia suddenly form atendrefor him in less than twenty-four hours when she barely knew him?
With a sigh, he took a sip of whisky. Was Caroline’s infectious enthusiasm nothing more than a pipe dream?
“Rothbury, isn’t it?” Barnaby’s voice carried just enough to reach Henry’s ears. What business could Barnaby have with Rothbury?
Henry raised his newspaper to conceal his watching.
