Page 66 of A Lady Most Wayward
Mayhap it was less about being embarrassed by Olivia and more about wanting to keep private things private. Something to ponder later. When she wasn’t eavesdropping on a conversation between her monstrous brother and deadly lover.
* * *
Twinings was bustling with activity. Just as Philippa predicted. No matter what Lord High Chancellor Hardgrave planned, he couldn’t very well murder her in plain sight with so many witnesses.
He rose as she arrived at the table, his manners impeccable.
‘Lady Winterbourne.’
‘Lord Hardgrave.’
‘Please, sit. I took the liberty of ordering a pot of tea.’
Philippa looked at the pot and then back at him. ‘How lovely.’ She could have been commenting on her feelings about dysentery.
‘One lump or two?’ He poised a sugar cube over the cup.
‘None. I prefer my tea as I do my friends.’
‘Bitter?’ The Lord Chancellor smiled with all the charm of an accomplished politician.
‘Strong. And untainted by outside forces.’
‘Ah.’ He withdrew the sugar.
Pleasantries out of the way, Philippa struck first. ‘As delightful as this is, you didn’t invite me for a social call. My demands are simple. Release Hyacinth, promise to leave Olivia alone, turn yourself in for your crimes against the Crown, ensure the Devil’s Sons are dismantled, and I promise to let you live long enough to face the hangman’s noose.’ She stretched her mouth into a calculated smile.
Lord Hardgrave smirked with the smug assurance of a man in total control, infuriating Philippa. Which was certainly his plan. ‘You have much to learn about the art of bargaining.’
‘I wasn’t making a bargain. I was simply advising you on the best course of action for your limited future.’
‘Ah. Well. Let me make a counteroffer, shall I? Turn my sister over to me now, desist in your investigations against the Devil’s Sons, retire to the countryside like a good dowager, and I promise not to systematically destroy everyone and everything you love.’
Philippa examined her nail, feigning boredom. ‘You sound just like every other man drunk on his own opinions. Let me remind you, one needs leverage if they expect to win a negotiation. You have nothing.’
‘I have Hyacinth.’
Confounded bastard.
Confounded bastard who made an excellent point.
‘Surely you wouldn’t harm your own niece.’ But as soon as Philippa spoke, she realised her mistake. Olivia had warned her, but until this moment, she hadn’t been convinced of the depths of his madness. Because he most certainly would hurt his niece. And they both knew it.
‘There are so many ways a young lady might lose her life.’ He dropped a sugar cube in his tea. ‘A tragic illness.’ Poured a dollop of cream. ‘A fall.’ Delicately stirred the mixture with a silver spoon. ‘Drowning while taking a pleasure cruise on the Thames.’ Tapped the spoon three times before placing it gently on the saucer. ‘Of course, those are more pleasant outcomes. She could also be raped. Murdered. Or simply disappear, never to be found again.’
‘You would do this to Hyacinth?’
‘Oh, by then, she wouldn’t be Hyacinth any more. Just a nameless girl in some far-flung corner of the world, being introduced to the myriad twisted desires of wealthy men with endless power and no reservations in exploring their darkest fantasies.’
Bile rose up Philippa’s throat. ‘What if we promised to stop investigating you?’
‘That was only one of my requirements. And why should I believe your promise? The Queen’s Deadly Damsels giving up on their mission? That doesn’t sound like you at all.’
Because it was the very antithesis of every instinct burning in Philippa. But the words burst free without thought. ‘You don’t know me. Return Olivia’s daughter. Desist in your pursuit of her. I will call off the Damsels. Olivia gets her freedom, but so do you.’
‘I thought you weren’t bargaining.’ Hardgrave sipped his tea. His green eyes, so similar in colour and shape to Olivia’s yet wholly different in the madness flashing there, speared Philippa. ‘Why would I do that?’
Appeal to his logic. He might be insane, but he loves himself more than anything else. He doesn’t want to jeopardize all he’s accomplished.
