Page 87 of A Whisper of Desire
The napkin he was unfolding for his lap dropped to the table, forgotten, and his eyes darkened. “She is in London?”
Marisa noted the tension in his jaw and her smile dimmed as her curiosity piqued. “I believe so. She’s just out of mourning, and has decided to spend some time in London. There is still a month left in the season.” She wanted to ask more, but from the look on Hadley’s face that probably wasn’t a good idea. When had she ever listened to her inner caution?
“You know her well? I can’t remember ever meeting her.”
Hadley looked at her and sighed. “You’ll not leave me alone unless I answer, will you?”
Marisa merely smiled politely and shrugged.
“I knew Evangeline several years ago.”
Marisa waited. “And? There has to be more, your reaction to her name a clue.”
“I foolishly gave her my heart, but she up and married a wealthy, elderly viscount. It seemed that a mere poor second son of a duke was obviously not attractive enough for her needs.”
She was sorry she’d asked. It was obvious his hurt still ran deep. “I’m sorry. I will try to avoid her, then. It may be difficult foryouto avoid her, as it would seem she is seeking you out. Lady Evangeline has asked Isobel to acquire your social calendar.”
His mouth firmed, but he said nothing further. She now wanted to meet Evangeline. What sort of woman would give up a man like Hadley to marry an old viscount? Well, a mercenary one, obviously.
It had been an excellent idea to go ahead with the dinner. She actually forgot her troubles, listening to the laughter and chatter round the table. However, sometimes she could feel Maitland’s eyes boring into her from the other end of the table, concern etched behind his stare.
They forwent the formalities of the ladies leaving the men to drink their port alone and settled back into the drawing room.
It was Christian who asked “So where to from here?”
Arend drew out a sheet of paper. “I’ve taken the time to make a list of married earls with living wives. I’ve yet to ascertain the ages of these wives. There are one hundred fifty earls with wives still alive.”
He handed the list to Maitland.
“Let’s go through the list together and see if our combined knowledge can eliminate a few names.”
Everyone agreed with Maitland’s suggestion. He called out the name of an earl, and if anyone knew of the family, they either added the name to a suspect list or crossed their name off.
One name that raised Arend’s suspicions was the Earl of Northumberland, Lady Isobel’s father. “There has to be a reason Isobel was in that carriage.”
“I know for a fact Isobel’s mother is dead. She died when Isobel was a young girl,” Serena stated.
“He remarried.” All eyes turned to Marisa. “Isobel told me she was lured out in her stepmother’s name.”
Everyone started talking at once. The chatter halted when Arend clapped his hands and said, “I suggest we put the earl at the top of our list. I shall personally investigate the Countess of Northumberland.”
The way he spoke sent shivers over Marisa’s soul. He was cold, hard, and dangerously sinister; she would hate Arend ever coming after her. “Isobel is not to be hurt. She is as innocent as I.”
Arend turned on her. “And you know that how? She doesn’t appear to be a simpering lass or a stupid one. For all we know she is the villain or is in on her stepmother’s plan. Why else was she in the carriage?”
“It can’t be Isobel; I’ve known her most of her life. Her stepmother I’m not sure about. Perhaps it is not Isobel’s stepmother and Isobel was planted in the carriage to raise our suspicions and send us digging in the wrong direction.” Portia’s quietly spoken words held some truth.
“Whatever we do, we have to do it carefully. If she realizes we are close to unmasking her, she might leave. Or worse, step up her attack. A cornered snake strikes in panic. I don’t want anyone else hurt.” Maitland looked directly at her as he said the last sentence.
She looked away, tears no longer kept at bay. Portia, who was sitting next to her on the settee, squeezed her arm and said, “We will promise to be careful. I’m sure the ladies will agree that none of us will venture out on our own.” She looked at her husband. “We will follow your directions to the letter.”
By three in the morning, they felt quite pleased. They had managed to whittle the list down to sixty-seven names, a very manageable list. The men divided up the names and each got allocated ten to twelve earls to investigate.
They were also stepping up security at their houses, and the ladies agreed to never go out alone, and only with plenty of guards.
Marisa was tired as she made her way up the stairs to bed. Maitland was seeing the last of their guests out. She could hear a stern conversation with Arend. All she wanted to do was sleep. Today’s events, and tonight’s dinner, had left her both physically and emotionally exhausted.
The house was unusually quiet. Priscilla must have sent the staff to bed. She’d retired about an hour ago.
