Page 66 of The Book of Lost Stories
‘Very well.’
‘I suppose you did not keep the rest of the sweetmeats?’
‘No, I saw them put on to the kitchen fire myself. Sammy – Nell’s page – was very aggrieved, for he has a sweet tooth, butI have promised to buy him some for himself. I suppose it was not the fault of the sender that there was one bad fruit among them.’
‘You don’t know who sent them?’
‘No. I thought—’ She broke off. ‘No, I don’t.’
‘Perhaps you should receive such gifts in future with caution,’ he suggested. ‘Now, would you like to return to the ballroom?’
She shuddered. ‘No, I feel I have had quite enough of being brave, and wish nothing more than to go home. But I do not know if Nell will want to leave so early.’
‘Not if she and Harry are still in each other’s pockets,’ he said bluntly.
Alys sighed. ‘I had hoped their resolution would have held. Can you not persuade your friend of the unwisdom of so openly showing his regard for Mrs Rivers?’
‘No more easily than you can persuade Mrs Rivers of the unwisdom of her course,’ he said. ‘They must make their own decisions, but I will make this one for you: that you are going home, and under my escort.’
The men who served under his command in the Rifle Brigade would have recognized that tone of voice and obeyed, just as Alys found herself doing. She feltmuchtoo tired to object.
*
‘What have you done to your lip, Nat?’ Bella asked curiously.
‘Never mind that,’ he snapped, tired of endlessly repeating the same story of a broken wine glass. ‘Listen, the old man is so taken with Alys that even the news that she writes scandalous books was not enough to sink her in his esteem.’
‘How do you know?’
‘He pretty well told me so, and is as eager as ever to match me with her – except that I have just asked her to marry me and she has made it very clear she will not.’
‘Oh!’ Bella said, glanced doubtfully at his face and looked away again.
‘My uncle’s likely to cut me off without a shilling unless I get rid of her.’
‘Get rid of her?’ Her blue eyes dilated. ‘You don’t mean … youcan’tmean—’
‘No, no, nothingfatal! But I have a plan to ruin her, so that she can never come back and ingratiate herself with the old man again. I will probably need your help.’
‘Of course, for there is no saying that if he starts to favour Alys even more, he may cut me out as well. But how do you mean to do it?’
‘Drug her and put her on a ship bound for America. When she wakes, it will be too late for her to return, and by the time she does so, rumours will have been long circulating that she has run off with a lover.’
‘Which lover, Nat? I do not know of anyone she’s been seen much in company with, other than Lord Rayven!’
‘Thereisno other lover, Bella,’ he said impatiently. ‘But once the rumour goes round, no one will believe that. By the time she returns, her reputation will be in ruins and our uncle will have nothing more to do with her.’
‘Tell me what I must do,’ Bella said eagerly.
25
Come to Grief
She could not doubt Sir Lemuel’s grief at finding his wife dead in such dreadful circumstances, for, despite his chilly manner, he had shown by many small attentions his affection for her. Indeed, Drusilla had often marvelled at his patience with the irrational fancies that afflicted Lady Grosby and caused her to shrink away at his approach fearfully.
Death or DishonourbyORLANDO BROWNE
It was with some trepidation that a servant woke George Rivers late next morning, although it was not so much the urgency of the letter in his hand that caused him to brave his master’s wrath, but the coins that had accompanied it.
