Lord Scoundrel Dies (27 page)

But the uneasiness was not entirely sated by
logic. Really, what could be amiss? Now if it had been some male
leading Harry away, it would be a different story but it had only
been Olivia Messingham…

Olivia Messingham of that damned serpent
bracelet. The identity of Harry’s companion jarred just as much as
the meeting he had witnessed.

‘Why are you standing there gawping at that
tree?’ The familiar voice of Talisker sounded at his elbow. ‘No,
never mind. You probably have an excellent reason. Have you seen
Harry?’

Charlie turned to Lord Talisker gratefully.
Here was just the man to tell him what a fool he was.

‘She went over there.’

Talisker looked in the direction Charlie
indicated and raised an eyebrow. ‘Why?’

‘No clue. She was with Miss Messingham.’ He
looked at Talisker, waiting for him to accept this information
without comment but the look on his lordship’s face was anything
but reassuring.

‘Olivia Messingham?’

‘Yes. Do you think –’

But Talisker did not seem
inclined to think so much as
do
for he gripped Charlie’s arm, pulling him forward.
‘Come on!’

‘You don’t really think
that something is wrong? I mean… Miss Messingham?’ Charlie
protested, but went anyway, perfectly willing to look like a fool
if need be. ‘A female? A
debutante
?’

‘Never underestimate a female, Lampforth.
It’s probably nothing but I want to be sure. I told her… it’s
dangerous to take on something this risky. One cannot tell how
people will react, if they think you know their secrets. I just
hope… Oh hell, never mind. Let’s just find her!’

Aubrey was surprised to discover that he was
anticipating the end of the mad scheme that Harriet Honeywood had
dragged him into. He wasn’t sure when it hit him that, after they
had returned their respective items, their business together was
technically done. But it had, all of a sudden.

And the knowledge depressed him.

He had been sitting in the garden frowning
absently at the colorful beds his gardeners had been creating,
wondering why he felt an unusual heaviness inside, when his
solitude was broken.

‘Do you have a particular objection to
hollyhocks and zinnias?’

He turned his head to look at Celeste, a
golden vision in Cerulean blue. ‘Is that what they are?’

‘Indeed.’ She sat beside him, propping her
chin in her hand to regard him with an angelic gaze that did not
fool him for a moment. ‘Why are you looking so pensive?’

‘I’m not pensive. I’m just… enjoying the
hollyhocks.’

‘Indeed,’ she repeated and Aubrey sighed
inwardly. Celeste was working up to something. ‘May I ask a
question?’

‘If I could think of a way of stopping you,
I would,’ he assured her earnestly. ‘But I have long since reached
an understanding that you will do whatever you wish.’

‘Don’t be beastly. I am merely curious. When
are you planning on making an offer for Miss Honeywood?’

He blinked at this and frowned. ‘Isn’t that
my business?’

‘Good heavens no. Whatever made you think
that? It’s everybody’s business. I think sooner rather than later
would be advisable, don’t you? You are rather causing a stir,
chasing after her so blatantly. She’s not one of your flirtations,
Aubrey dear. She’s a very nice young lady and her family has every
right to anticipate that you’ll come up to scratch in the not too
distant future.’

Her words caught him off guard although he
knew she had a point. Had known, since pursuing Harriet so ardently
over the past week, that he was causing tongues to wag. Actually,
he had been behaving like a complete fool. He had told himself that
it didn’t matter but truthfully, he of all people knew that it
mattered very much. While he had initially been intent on driving
the girl to distraction – a pastime that he found exceptionally
enjoyable – he had also set up an expectation that he had finally
discovered his viscountess.

‘Marry her?’ he said slowly, more to himself
that Celeste.

‘Oh no,’ Celeste said firmly. ‘You are not
going to cry off from this, my lord. Why, all the world thinks that
you’re on the brink and an announcement is imminent. If you back
away from her now then you will cause immeasurable distress for the
girl.’

He looked at her, smiling faintly. ‘You like
her?’

She smiled, blue eyes twinkling. ‘It is a
curious thing but she grows on you in the most delightful way, does
she not? I know that Edward feels that she would make you an
excellent wife, as well.’

‘Does he?’ Aubrey said doubtfully.

‘He wants you to be happy. We both do. And
Miss Honeywood seems to make you very happy indeed. It’s just an
observation, of course. But I think I know you well enough to know
your heart.’

He knew that what she said was true. Being
with Harriet made him very happy. She did not stir the customary
feelings he felt with previous females he had been attracted to but
instead she made him feel… what, exactly? Energized. Entertained.
Alive. He recalled the way her lips had parted in surprise when he
had kissed the inside of her wrist, remembered the sudden heat the
touch of her soft skin beneath his mouth had generated. No doubt
about it; Harriet Honeywood stirred him in every imaginable way. He
could not believe that he had waited so long to taste that soft,
pink mouth, to pull her into his arms and kiss her senseless…

‘Aubrey?’ Celeste sounded a little bemused.
God knows what the expression on his face must be. He flushed a
little.

‘It’s true, isn’t it? I can’t go back
now.’

‘Go back? What do you mean?’

He grinned and shook his head. ‘The only
problem, of course, is getting her to agree to marry me.’

His sister-in-law looked
shocked. ‘Agree to… Aubrey, are you saying she doesn’t
want
you?’

‘Probably not,’ he said cheerfully, rising
to his feet. ‘But believe me when I say that I will change her
mind. Harry can be hellish willful but even she must see that I
have compromised her far too much to not do the deed. Why, she
could hardly hold her head up again if I abandon her now.’

‘I don’t think the
situation is quite as bad as
that
,’ Celeste said tartly. ‘I
thought Miss Honeywell was eager for your suit but if she is not
–’

‘She will be,’ Aubrey interrupted her with
absolute confidence. ‘Let me reassure you on that point. Harriet
Honeywell is going to be my wife.’

The decision saw him head to the Mountford
‘picnic’ with an enthusiasm that had nothing to do with the
promised entertainment offered. He had searched without success for
Harry until he encountered Lampforth.

‘Why are you standing there gawping at that
tree? No, never mind. You probably have an excellent reason. Have
you seen Harry?’

It was then that he learned that Harry had
gone off with Olivia Messingham. He had immediately felt uneasy.
Why the devil would she go off with the girl that she had returned
that bracelet to? The one who was so vague, that Harry had declared
her a peculiar girl…

Why would she wish to speak to Harry in
private?

He had no reason to be alarmed. It wasn’t as
if Miss Messingham were dangerous. But… what if she were? He
remembered that red rose beside the head of Lord Sutton. Not for
one moment had Aubrey ever anticipated that Sutton’s killer might
be a woman but why not?

People would go to any lengths to keep their
secrets, if they were desperate enough.

He might be overreacting. He might be quite
mad for feeling so anxious.

But to hell with it.

He had to find Harry.

Chapter Eleven

Harry had been bemused when she caught sight
of Olivia Messingham at the side of the marquee, gesturing her over
with a surreptitious urgency that was rather surprising. Harry
glanced at Lady Mountford, in conversation with the most absurd
creature she had seen since coming to London. The woman was so
engrossed that Harry had thought that her opportunity was nigh so
it was a little irksome that Olivia Messingham should suddenly
decide on a tête-à-tête.

Perhaps it will only take
a moment,
Harry thought optimistically as
she made her way to the girl’s side.
And
then I shall slip around the back and put the pin in her
reticule.
Or somewhere on her ample person.
Lady Mountford was wearing a complicated gown that seemed to
involve yards of ruched satin in a bilious shade of green. It
clashed horribly with the purple lounge she reclined on but it
might just have enough ruffles and folds to disguise the addition
of a jeweled pin, which would be discovered later, hopefully by her
maid.

Slipping through the chattering crowds,
Harry smiled at Miss Messingham enquiringly. Rather surprisingly,
the girl reached out and took her by the arm.

‘Please. I must talk with you.’

Harry blinked, surprised. ‘Of course. Is
something the matter?’

‘Not here. I don’t want my mother to see
me.’ Olivia glanced around quickly, her eyes skimming the crowded
marquee.

‘Very well. Where shall we –’

‘Out here.’

Harry was a little startled by the girl’s
sudden burst of determination. Olivia had struck her as being
extraordinarily vague but now she seemed distinctly focused. With
her hand firmly on her arm, Harry found herself being led away from
the crowds. They paused beneath a tree and Harry looked at her
companion enquiringly.

‘Miss Messingham? Are you all right?’

Olivia was silent for a moment, then she
spoke, voice abrupt. ‘No. I am not all right. I have been thinking,
since you returned my bracelet to me, how you managed to come by
it.’

‘I told you. I found it in the park.’ Please
God, that she may be excused repeating this little lie. She meant
it for the best, after all.

‘I did not lose it in the park.’

Harry was taken aback. ‘You know where you
lost it?’

‘It was not lost. It was taken from me by
Lord Sutton.’

Well now... Harry’s
thoughts raced. This was a blow, of course, for she had assumed the
bracelet had gone missing, just as the other pieces of jewelry had
done. Now what was she supposed to say? ‘Perhaps
he
lost it?’ she
suggested cautiously. Even to her own ears this sounded
unlikely.

‘I don’t think so.’ There was a silence,
peculiarly intense. Harry began to feel uneasy. Olivia had released
her but she was still standing very close and there was an air
about her that seemed to suggest a great deal of inner turmoil. ‘I
couldn’t find it. I looked everywhere. I thought my stupid maid had
misplaced it.’

‘Your bracelet?’

‘Of course. I couldn’t find it but then Lord
Sutton said he had it. That he had taken it.’

‘He
told
you that?’ Harry was surprised.
‘But why?’

‘I had refused him.’ Even in the dimness
beneath the tree Harry could see the look of distaste that
flickered across the girl’s face. ‘But he had no intention of
offering marriage and once I had discovered that, naturally I
refused him. Why would I have spent any more time on a man like
that if he did not mean marriage? He did not like it when I lost
interest and refused to speak to him anymore so he took my
bracelet.’

‘To what end?’ Although Harry thought she
knew to what end. Lord Sutton had been, after all, an extremely
unpleasant character.

‘Why do
you
think, Miss Honeywood?’ Harry did
not like to speculate. It was too disturbing. Olivia continued on.
‘Anyway, he told me that he had my bracelet and that if I came to
his place then he would give it back. Naturally I agreed. I had to
get my bracelet back, you see. The earl had admired it so much,
said it was such an unusual design. He wondered why I was not
wearing it when we met not long after. I
had
to get it back.’

The earl? Harry was confused for a moment
but then remembered the Earl of Maudsely, who had been pointed out
to her at the theatre and who had apparently, been paying Miss
Messingham particular attention. ‘Well now you have it back,’ she
said soothingly. ‘So it all worked out perfectly well. I wish you
all happiness, Miss Messingham. Now, if you’ll just excuse me, I
must be –’

‘You got it off Sutton.’ The words were
oddly flat, almost without inflexion.

Harry’s uneasiness increased. She considered
what to say next but really, what could she say? Olivia knew where
the bracelet had been and it was not in the flowerbeds in the park.
‘I did not get it off him, but I did take it from his house, along
with quite a few other things,’ she agreed quietly, opting for the
truth. ‘I have been returning the things Lord Sutton took from
others. I certainly did not mean to distress you by telling you an
untruth I just wanted people to have their belongings back.’ Along
with all their secrets, their debts and their dignity.

‘You’re lying!’ The hissed words were
unexpected, especially as the girl had been quite calm up until
that moment. ‘You saw me there. Admit it.’

‘Saw you where?’ Harry was bewildered. ‘I
did not see you at Lord Sutton’s, if that is what you mean Miss
Messingham. When I arrived I saw nobody but… but…’ she almost
tripped on this. She had no desire to bring Charlie into this
conversation. The poor man would shrivel if the likes of Olivia
Messingham took it into her head to discuss the matter with him. ‘I
saw nobody but Lord Sutton, on the floor. I had not realised you’d
been there at all. It is fortunate you left when you did or the
killer –’