Page 105 of Rescued from Betrayal
The fire of jealousy turned to a flame of joy. She was his, not Lord Caraway’s, and there was nothing anyone could do to change that.
The last strains of the violin ended and Nathaniel jumped into action. He gestured to the door when he reached Lord Caraway; the man nodded and led Melior from the room. In the hall they all stopped.
“Mel, give us a few minutes to get in place in the study before you enter the billiard room. Also, the louder you can get Lady Edith to speak, the better.”
She nodded, her gaze flicking to Javenia who had exited the crowded ballroom, Algenon close behind. In the dim light of the hall, Melior appeared pale. She swallowed so hard her throat vibrated with the effort.
Nathaniel wished she did not have to go through with this. Lady Edith would not hold back her venomous words when she realized how Melior had double crossed her.
“What if I entered the billiard room instead, Mel? Perhaps I could get her to confess.”
Melior shook her head. “It has to be me. I am the only one who will anger her enough to loosen her tongue.”
“She’s right, Nate,” Al said.
Nathaniel knew he was right, but wished to God he was not. “All right. Let us be off then.” He resisted the urge to look over his shoulder at Melior as two images warred for precedence in his mind. One of Melior’s eyes filled with love, and the other of her face turned down in regret.
Something suddenly tugged at his mind and he could not push the thought away. What sort of power would Lady Edith possess to force Melior into cooperating with her scheme?
Eddie and the duke stepped out of the shadows near the study, their appearance like ghosts in the night. The same dark feeling from the ballroom licked at his soul and he had a feeling LordCaraway would not be the only one who did not like what he heard tonight.
Melior took a deep breath as Javenia rubbed her arms.
“You can do this,” her friend whispered.
Conjuring a smile solid enough to be believable exhausted Melior. But she did it, if only to get Javenia to leave her to the horrid task she had before her.
Reassured, Javenia tiptoed across the hall to a darkened sitting room where she would wait until needed.
Lifting her shoulders and tilting her chin, Melior prepared to do battle. Slowly she turned the knob in her hand. The door swung open easily and quietly. A small candle burned on the edge of the billiard table in front of her. Melior frowned. Did Edith not know that wax could ruin the carefully crafted surface of the table?
“What are you doing here?” Edith hissed from one of the dark corners.
“He is not coming.” Melior was proud of the way her voice held steady even though imposing doom enveloped her heart.
“What?” Edith stepped out; her beak-like nose more pronounced in the dim light. “Why not?”
“Because you need to stop reaching above your level, Edith. There are any number of men who would be happy to have you without having to be trapped into a marriage.”
“That is rich coming from you,Mellie.You always did think yourself so much better than the rest of us.Melior means superior,”she said in a mocking tone. “Now look at you. The wife of a lowly baronet. I would have rather you’d been completely ruined with no prospects, but I suppose marrying a poor man who despises you was nearly as satisfying.”
“He is not poor, nor does he despise me, Edith. You have failed on both points.”
“Then perhaps I should tell him howyouplanned to trap Lord Caraway. Who was the failure there, Mellie dear?”
The words rang in Melior’s ears, the ones she’d dreaded and yet knew had to be admitted for her guilt to be absolved. But they could not stop here. She needed Edith to say more, to admit her own guilt.
“Me.” Melior’s knees began to shake. Her admission had been quiet, but she had no doubt the men beyond the door had heard it. What was Nathaniel thinking?
Edith’s smirk propelled the rest of the confession out of her. “I admit, I followed my mother’s directives and tried to facilitate a private meeting with him. And while I told myself I was only giving him the opportunity to declare himself, I can see how wrong my motives were. But Edith, I am grateful for my failure. I have learned much, and by some miracle it has brought me the greatest happiness I have ever experienced.”
The triumph on Edith’s face melted away and she growled. “You are lying.”
“I am not. I am happy in my marriage, but what I do not understand is whyyouemployed Mr. Fairchild to ruin me in the first place. Can you deny it?”
“I have no wish to. You deserved it. Without you in the way, Lord Caraway would be free to see all my many fine attributes.”
“What about Agatha and Lady Jane?”
