Page 27 of The Viscount's Code
“You cannot visit unchaperoned!”
“She is right. You cannot go alone,” her father said. “Perhaps Hope can accompany you.”
“Hope is not a chaperone,” her mother said, staring at her husband in shock. “Why would you suggest such a thing?”
Lord Embury shrugged. “Faith is nearing five and twenty. It is not as though she is some young innocent.”
“Victor!”
“Very well. She is innocent, but not young,” he said, to which Faith snorted, thankfully not insulted. “She could be a chaperone herself.”
“Hope does not need to accompany me,” Faith said, and Hope nearly dropped her fork, so surprised by how much her dismissal stung.
“You do not want me to accompany you?” she asked, and Faith lowered her head as she mumbled the next words.
“It is not that I do not wish for your company, Hope. It is just that we do everything together. Perhaps it is time I do something by myself. I am sure one day soon you will be married and I will be alone, anyway, so I might as well get used to it.”
“Faith,” Hope said, her heart breaking as she saw the pain her sister tried to hide behind her strong mask. “That is not true. You will marry.”
“What if I do not wish to?”
“You know I will always make sure you are well looked after,” the earl said, patting Faith’s hand, “but you must remember, Faith, that I do not have a son. It is why you should marry — in addition to the fact that Hope shouldn’t have to wait much longer. If you choose not to marry, then someday, when I am gone, this will all go to your cousin, William. I would hope that he would take pity on you, but he will have his own family and you can never be certain.”
“I understand,” Faith said, purposefully folding her napkin in her lap. “And I will look after myself. But we do not need to discuss this now. All I am concerned with at the moment is arranging a visit to see Percy. I would not be gone long. Perhaps two weeks at most. I will take my lady’s maid, of course.”
“I will think on it,” the earl said.
“I’d like to leave tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow!”
“Yes. That will give me time to return before Cassandra and Lord Covington’s wedding.”
“Well, I suppose I must think on it much quicker, then.”
“As will I,” said Hope.
She did enjoy Percy’s company, but Percy had always been closer friends to Faith. Hope had a feeling that if she accompanied Faith, she would be spending much of her time alone or tagging along behind the other two women, who would likely be happier without her.
She also wondered how much longer Lady Whitehall planned to be in residence – and just what her father would do if he discovered Lord Whitehall’s plans to take the books away from Newfield Manor. She risked a glance at her father now, wondering if she should say anything. He was her family, after all, and her loyalty should be with him, but then, she didn’t think that Lord Whitehall had any motive for taking the books besides solving the code.
How he would hide it from her father, she had no idea, but Lord Whitehall seemed to be a man who accomplished all that he put his mind to.
As she thought on it, a plan began to form in her mind. One that she knew could ruin her but, if she executed it perfectly, perhaps she could pull it off.
The worst consequence would be that she could be ruined, which would mean marriage to Lord Whitehall. And after all she had come to know about him, it couldn’t be so bad… could it?
* * *
Anthony riskeda quick glance at the library door. He had finally come up with a solution, one that he knew could be his undoing, but it was the only way he could see it forward.
He had to travel to see Reeves, his father’s old friend, but he couldn’t allow the earl to know that he would be taking the books.
He felt nearly sacrilegious doing what he was doing, but he knew it would work.
It had to.
He was just about to start when he sensed a presence in the room, and he swiftly lifted his head to find that Lady Hope had returned. Thank goodness he hadn’t started.
