Page 415 of From Rakes to Riches

“What did I offer to do?”

“You wanted her address, so you could dump mud in her bed.”

“Ah, yes, I knew how to win a young girl’s heart.”

She felt tears sting her eyes. He really had. Maybe that had never gone away.

“Well, I didn’t take you up on it, and it’s a good thing, because here is Miss Prudence Perry in person.”

“Did you invite her?” David asked.

“No, and they seemed quite embarrassed to bring her. I wonder why.”

They were distracted by the Staplehills, the next guests to arrive, but Victoria found her gaze wandering often to the Perrys.

Before dinner, Victoria moved through the crowd in the drawing room, never stopping to converse for long, feeling the need to make sure everything was running smoothly.

As she passed a gathering of younger wives, she heard a voice call, “Victoria—Lady Thurlow! Might I have a moment of your time?”

Victoria pasted a smile on her face for Prudence and allowed herself to be pulled near the windows, away from everyone else.

Prudence smiled nervously. “I just wanted to apologize for my parents’ behavior. I have no idea why they insisted I come tonight. They even made me cancel my own plans to accompany them.”

“Miss Perry, as I told your mother, it is no inconvenience. And I’m glad we have the chance to become reacquainted.”

Prudence nodded. “Maybe that’s the reason they wanted me to come. I confess I have little memory of you, but then again in those days, I was mostly concerned with my wardrobe.”

Her manner seemed embarrassed, and Victoria found herself relaxing. Maybe what she’d built up into this terrible, humiliating assault was really the antics of a spoiled girl, as young as she herself had been. Perhaps Victoria wasn’t the only one who’d matured.

The women were waitingfor the men to emerge from the library after dinner, when they heard the sound of raised voices echoing from the entrance hall. Victoria tried to stem the tide, but everyone rushed to the corridor to look over the balustrade.

Mr. Staplehill was trailing Mr. Perry, who was striding away from him toward the stairs.

“I don’t know why you’ve taken such offense,” Mr. Staplehill said in his very young, pleading voice. His face went pale.

“When you have a daughter, you’ll understand,” Mr. Perry said. He started up the stairs then came to a halt when he saw all the women staring down at him speechless. His face reddened. “Mrs. Perry, Prudence, we need to leave now.”

Prudence gasped. “But Papa, the dancing hasn’t even begun yet!”

But her mother took her arm, and both headed downstairs. Victoria followed them, sending the butler for their wraps.

David met them at the door. “Perry, don’t leave. Staplehill is a young pup and doesn’t think before he speaks.”

“It’s all right, Thurlow,” Mr. Perry said. “I’ll be at the meeting when the announcement of the consolidation will be made. Nothing will keep me from that.”

He left with his wife and daughter. Victoria gave her husband a worried look, but then she swept back up to the drawing room to tell the orchestra to begin.

Hours later,when everyone had finally gone home after the dancing was finished, Victoria spoke briefly to the servants about their duties cleaning up, then she went to look for David in his study. She leaned her head inside and saw him sitting behind a massive desk, account books spread out in front of him. The light of a single oil lamp sent his shadow monstrously large against one wall of the study. Even his eyes sparkled in blackness, but for the pale blue centers. He sat back and motioned her in.

“I didn’t see you leave the party,” she said, sitting down across from him.

“I was walking people to the door.” He smiled at her. “You were quite the success. Thank you.”

She smiled back. “I’m happy to help you.” When he remained silent, she knew she could not. “So what happened between Mr. Staplehill and Mr. Perry?”

He stretched back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. “Something very foolish, from what I could see. Staplehill needs to be the center of attention. In a dull moment, he brought up something about a girl who’d allowed herself to be compromised. It happened a year or two ago; it all ended well. I have no idea what set Perry off. But he was offended for the girl and her family, and he let Staplehill know about it.”

“Could this cause problems for your railway?”

---