Page 76 of A Scandalous Proposition
‘She overheard Fitzroy give instructions for two horses to be prepared for ten o’clock and wanted to know where he was going at such an hour.’
‘Why did she run out of the trees like that when the fighting started?’ Adam asked.
‘We heard that man Reynolds talking. He told his men that the traitorous Spanish woman was bringing you here and that he’d enjoy killing you.’
‘Ah,’ Adam said. ‘She misunderstood what he meant entirely. Florentina isn’t a traitor to England or Spain. Reynolds was talking from a personal standpoint.’
‘And that misunderstanding got her killed,’ Florentina said, dropping her head.
Satisfied that Florentina really wasn’t harmed, Adam made to leave, intent upon riding Rochester home. But Florentina’s eyes had already fluttered to a close. With her head resting on his shoulder, she was close to sleep. He couldn’t bear to disturb her, nor was he comfortable at the thought of being parted from her again. And so Rochester, fractious at the indignity of it all, was tied to the back of the barouche and pranced in its wake as the crowded conveyance made slow progress towards the Court.
Chapter Eighteen
Adam and Lord Madison between them took matters in hand, using their influence to ensure that the events at Langstone Harbour never became public knowledge. Lady Madison and the dowager were hard at work, using their joint influence to secure positions for the refugees. Adam’s prediction about Philippa’s body proved to be inaccurate, and it was washed ashore just two days later.
When she’d disappeared, it was at first assumed that she had gone to London. She had spoken about doing so for some days and was in the habit of taking herself off without telling anyone. But her maid knew nothing about this particular journey and was unable to account for her mistress’s abrupt departure. When she didn’t appear at the Fitzroy town house, the mild concerns expressed by the family became more pronounced. The dowager duchess already knew the truth but James couldn’t be told. His health had taken a turn for the worse, and his wife’s absence barely seemed to register with him. Several times, whilst slightly delirious, he was heard calling not for Philippa, but for Julia.
‘What the deuce was she doing at Langstone Harbour?’ James was totally bewildered when Adam broke the news to him.
‘She may not actually have been at the harbour. You know how strong the currents are around this coast. She could have fallen in anywhere along this stretch.’ Adam pretended to think about it. ‘Perhaps she had decided upon a surprise visit to her father. It’s just the sort of thing she would do.’ James nodded. ‘Well, there you are then. There was a violent storm that night, which might have caused her to take shelter somewhere. But I suppose, unless someone saw her, we will never know for sure.’
‘How did she get there alone?’ James dug his fingers into his thinning hair and scratched vigorously, as though attempting to stimulate his brain. ‘No carriages were missing from here, you say.’
‘Perhaps one of her acquaintances drove her. She had a wide circle of friends in the district.’
‘Well, it’s damned odd.’ James was inflicted with a protracted bout of coughing. ‘I seem to be cursed when it comes to matrimony,’ he said in an aggrieved tone when he recovered. ‘Who knows what she was about. Women take some damned silly notions into their heads at times.’ He let out a long sigh. ‘Still, she had a mind of her own and some queer sorts of friends.’
‘I’m sorry, James,’ Adam said. ‘You don’t deserve this.’ His brother was proving to be remarkably incurious about his wife’s activities. There was none of the genuine grief he’d expressed at Julia’s passing, and he seemed to want to wash his hands of the whole business as quickly as he could. Adam was anxious to oblige him in that respect.
‘Yes, well, I’ll not get myself leg-shackled again. It will be up to you to father the next heir, and to run the estate too. Damned if I have the energy to manage any of those things now.’
‘I shall be glad to. Manage the estate, I mean, if you’re serious about that.’
‘Well, of course I’m serious! Haven’t I told you often enough that it’s what you ought to be doing? But I don’t see how you can take it on and still play at soldiers.’
Neither did Adam. There was only one way he could achieve that ambition and deal with the thorny question of the succession too. That prospect had once seemed decidedly unpalatable and had driven him to purchase a commission rather than commit to it with Philippa. But now it seemed like the most natural thing in the world.
‘Did you hear about King?’ James asked as Adam was about to leave his chamber.
Adam affected surprise. ‘What about him?’
‘He’s left England in a tearing hurry by all accounts for an undetermined amount of time. Closed his estate up and laid off half his long-serving staff so it don’t look like he intends to come back any time soon.’
Adam knew very well that King didn’t. He couldn’t be allowed to get away with the trouble he had caused, and so Adam, armed with information he’d squeezed out of Dennett, had called to see him. It seemed that Philippa’s visit to King’s masquerade hadn’t been entirely her idea. King had wanted her there and had put pressure on Dennett, whose vowels he held, to bring the meeting about. But Dennett had conditions of his own. He was in possession of certain details of a scam King pulled in the hells to enable him to cheat his way to success, thereby supporting his hedonistic lifestyle.
Cheating at cards was the worst sin a gentleman could commit. King had been barred from many houses, due to his terrible reputation, but was still accepted in many more. Being branded a cheat would be the end of him, and they both knew it. King wouldn’t set foot in England again for a decade or more, Adam would see to that, and for such a man as he, that was punishment enough.
Adam went in search of Florentina later that day and found her in the garden of the dower house. She smiled when she saw him approaching, placed the blooms she’d just cut in the basket at her feet and wiped the dampness from her hands.
‘How is the duke?’ she asked.
‘Taking Philippa’s loss remarkably calmly.’
‘I’m glad. It must be very hard for him to lose two wives in such quick succession.’
‘Yes, I dare say it will take a while for the news to sink in properly, and when it does I fear his health will suffer even more.’
Adam picked up the basket, placed her hand on his sleeve and walked her towards the summerhouse.
