Page 54 of Presenting Miss Letitia (Once a Wallflower 1)

As if in response, Brandon’s arm came round her shoulders. “But I can’t arrive at the Willard’s door in the middle of the night,” she murmured.

“Mrs. Willard is more than happy to take you in. She is a pleasant woman, is she not?”

“I met her only briefly. I hate to impose.”

“None of this is your fault.”

“I’ve had the most dreadful Season,” Letty said almost to herself. “I wouldn’t want another like it.”

“Another? Then you might stay in London?” Brandon’s voice began to sound strangely hollow as if he was far away.

“I don’t know…” Warm beneath the rug he’d tucked around her, Letty gratefully leaned her head against his chest and closed her eyes, while the juddering carriage took them away from the dreadful carnage.

“Letty?” Brandon’s soft voice reached her. It was too soon. She wanted to go on like this for hours.

“Yes?” She opened her eyes. They’d stopped in front of a townhouse she recognized as the Willard’s. A lady in evening dress waited on the porch. “There’s Mrs. Willard,” she said, surprised. She had not expected to see the lady until the morning.

“She will look after you,” Brandon said again.

“I’m such a nuisance,” she said. “Will you come in, Brandon?”

“No. I’ll return tomorrow to see how you fare.”

After the footman put down the step, Brandon lifted Letty down. They stood on the pavement as his concerned, blue eyes met hers. “You need rest, sweetheart.”

Letty nodded numbly.

The elegantly dressed Mrs. Willard greeted Brandon informally like an old friend.

“I’ll leave you in Mrs. Willard’s capable care, Letty,” he said.

Strangely bereft, Letty watched the horses pull away from the curb.

“Come, my child. You are all done in.” Mrs. Willard’s soothing voice eased Letty’s discomfiture as she placed an arm around her and drew her into the house.

“I am most dreadfully sorry to have disturbed you,” Letty said.

“Nonsense. No one goes to bed until very late in Town. We are not long returned from a party and prior to that, the opera.”

“We had tickets for the opera, Arietta and I.” Letty gulped, and tears ran down her cheeks.

Mrs. Willard offered her a scented h

andkerchief. “More will come out about this, I imagine, although we may not get to hear the whole. We women do not. It’s not a world we are often exposed to, because our brave, honorable, gentlemen work hard to protect us from it. I am so very sorry indeed, my dear, that you have been hurt. You liked Lady Arietta, didn’t you? So did I. But I’m afraid our loyalty to her was sadly misplaced. Now, up to bed with a hot drink and a bedwarmer at your feet. You’ll feel ever so much better tomorrow.”

She tried to save me, Letty wanted to say as a need to defend Arietta tightened her chest, the words hovering on her tongue. But what good would it do? She wiped her tears and followed Mrs. Willard up the stairs. “I must write to my uncle and Aunt Edith. They will be distressed at the news. My aunt especially. She placed me in Arietta’s care after she became too ill to sponsor me. And because she’s in Cumbria, she won’t be able to attend the funeral. But I shall go.”

“Women do not attend funerals, and certainly not young women. You need to rest, my dear. We’ll talk tomorrow,” Mrs. Willard said, her firm hand on Letty’s arm guiding her into a bedchamber.

Brandon wearily entered his townhouse, his relief so profound he could almost taste it. Letty, safe at last with the Willards. It was possible that she might decide to stay for the rest of the Season should her uncle allow it. But the horrible experience she’d witnessed tonight had left her badly shaken. He now knew her well enough to be confident the spirited young woman would rally, given time, but Lady Arietta’s betrayal, and how she had died would leave its mark.

With a deep regretful sigh, he acknowledged his involvement in Letty’s life must end. An agent had no business dallying with a debutante. A wife weakened a man’s resolve. All his thoughts were channeled into protecting her. And there would be children, even worse. At least he’d managed to keep his head and not gone with his rampant emotions. She must be left to find her feet, and enjoy a lighthearted time in London, if she chose. And perhaps meet the man she would marry. He ran up the stairs as his mind skittered away from that possibility. It would be a lucky man who married Letty. The fellow better be worthy of her.

The next day, Brandon met Willard in his office where they discussed the events of the previous night, and how matters now stood.

“So, Lady Arietta was working for the French?” Brandon asked.

“She was enamored of Pierse, but we’ve discovered nothing to suggest she passed secrets to the French. The fire’s gone out of Pierse. He is talking. We’ve determined that he first met the lady through her husband. Pierse must have subsequently pursued her after Kendall died. He used her for his own ends while he worked for Fraughton, who was perhaps the only member of the gang of four who had political leanings with a view to incite revolution. Pierse is merely an opportunist who offers his services for hire. A violent man, and is suspected of being behind Kendall’s death and that porter’s death in France.”

---