Page 109 of A Duchess to Fight For
He told them that Hobart and a few of his men went to Portsmouth to find any documentation if it exists, that he was released without being charged.
Then he told them about Louisa. No one was allowed to see her, her room had been quarantined, and Harold turned away from seeing her. Both Cecil and Kent groaned.
“I know, I know. She is going to be in her room for at least three weeks. He will think he’s being turned away because of the threats, and he’ll want retribution.”
Cecil commented, “He’s not going to be happy when he sees you coming and going.”
“That’s why I decided to go in through the back door. I’ve been leaving through the back of my townhouse as well. He doesn’t need to know what I’m doing and where I’ve been.”
Kent asked, “What can we do?”
“Just keep an eye out and act like you don’t know anything. If he can’t get to Hobart or me, he might try to fish for information from you. He’s probably waiting for me outside since he knows we eat dinner here every evening.”
Kent said, “I’ll bring my carriage around the back and take you home. Slide the panel down to cover the crest.”
Percy laughed. “I need a carriage like yours.”
“It’s useful. Let me tell my footmen, and I’ll be right back.”
Cecil turned to Percy, “He’s in heaven. He loves doing this kind of thing. He loves using his sliding panel.”
Percy shook his head. “I’ve come to appreciate his game.”
Cecil looked into Percy’s eyes. “I hope Louisa pulls out of this well. I hope for all of your sakes Hobart comes back with what you need, and soon.”
*****
“My patience is at an end, Percy. Leave, or I expose Hobart and his family along with him,” Harold said. He seemed to materialize outside Percy’s townhouse door when Percy left it to go for a run.
“Then do it, Harold. Who is stopping you? Spread it far and wide while Louisa is on her sickbed and her father and uncle are keeping vigil. I’m sure the ton will think you quite the hero for your actions during the family’s difficult time.
“I hear you stand across the street from their townhouse and watch the doctor come and go every morning. Have you noticed they’ve taken the knocker off the door? Have you also noticed that they are turning away all visitors? Don’t be a fool, Harold. You’ll never get within one hundred feet of her if you ruin her family while she’s ill.”
Harold looked rattled. “I didn’t know. What does she have?”
“I am not at liberty to say,” Percy said, then walked away.
Percy smiled as he walked away from Harold. The man wasn’t cut out as a strong-armed bully. He was free of Harold for a few days, but Harold would go home, lick his wounds, and figure out his next move.
God, Percy hoped that Hobart would come back from Portsmouth soon. The longer Hobart was there, the more Percy believed they would not find what they needed.
*****
It had been over a week since Louisa fell sick, and word was beginning to spread among the ton. There had been two balls, neither of which Louisa attended, and a few of her friends had come to visit her and been turned away.
Because of the close relationship with Percy, Cecil and Kent were approached often about Louisa’s health and Percy’s whereabouts. Percy asked them to say, yes, she was ill, but she was expected to be back on her feet soon. Cecil and Kent shrugged when others asked what she had. They shrugged when they were asked how long she would be missing from the ton activities.
Cecil and Kent were amused at the frenzy of talk about Louisa. The members of the ton exchanged their knowledge of Louisa’s sickness. Tongues were wagging. “Well, I heard she . . .”
Emma, Gertie, and Inez became very popular all of a sudden because Cecil and Kent were the only two who seemed to know anything. Emma and Gertie were more used to fielding inquiries as partners to Cecil and Kent, but it was new to Inez.
At every new ball, she was approached more often from members of the ton hungry for news of Louisa. Their newfound interest brought Inez into contact with gentlemen who wouldn’t ordinarily notice her. Suddenly, men whispered to one another in corners of ballrooms wondering about the size of her dowry.
Being found attractive by the opposite sex was a double-edged sword, one Inez was not used to wielding. Having no experience with men except for the balls she attended during the season, gentlemen thought her an easy target. Her naïveté didn’t dispel that conjecture. Emma and Gertie pulled her aside if they saw predatory gentlemen showing too much of the wrong kind of interest. But Inez didn’t read people well and believed what every rogue told her on the dance floor.
One of the first gentlemen to show her interest was Harold Newton. He had been a friend to Cecil and Kent throughout the season, so she thought he was a safe match for her.
Ordinarily, this would be true, except Percy had told Cecil and Kent about his interest in Louisa and what he was willing to do to get her to marry him.
