Page 46 of The Truth about the Marquess
Chapter Nineteen
“There is something I must tell you.”
Oliver blinked as a lady sailed into his study, her eyes bright with passion, her voice seeming to echo around the room. It took him a moment to take her in, such was his surprise.
“Lady… Lady Guilford, good afternoon.”
“Yes, yes, yes.” She waved a hand, clearly dismissing the formalities. “As I said, there is something that I must tell you. It is wrong of me to do so, no doubt, but I shall do so all the same.”
A frown pulled at Oliver’s forehead.
“If it is wrong, then I do not want to know of it, Lady Guilford.”
She tutted.
“That is not to say that it iswrong, only that I am sure she would wish to tell you herself but, given the circumstances, she has not been able to do so.”
“Circumstances?” Oliver blinked, his frown lifting. “I am unsure as to what you mean.”
Lady Guilford threw up her hands.
“Are you not listening to me, Lord Edenbridge? This is of the greatest importance!”
Trying all the more to understand, Oliver gestured to a chair.
“Might you wish to sit down, Lady Guilford?”
“No.” She took a deep breath, then lifted her chin. “I am sorry if I appear a little fraught, Lord Edenbridge. There is a good deal of weight in this and that is why I have now come to speak with you.”
“I see.” Not understanding in the least, Oliver put a smile on his lips and silently prayed that the lady might soon start speaking in terms that he could understand. “What is it that you wish to tell me, Lady Guilford?”
She took a breath, then let it out slowly, closing her eyes for a moment as though to calm herself.
“Lord Edenbridge, at your masquerade ball, I believe that you were in conversation with the lady who writes for The London Chronicle.”
A sudden thrill ran up Oliver’s spine.
“Yes, I was. Why, do you know of her?”
The lady smiled.
“I am acquainted with her, actually. That is why I have come to speak with you. I believe that the conversation you were having with her was brought to a rather swift end, leaving it unfinished.”
Oliver nodded, a little surprised at how much Lady Guilford knew.
“Yes, that is so.”
“Might I suggest that you continue that conversation with her?”
Oliver’s shoulders dropped.
“I cannot, given that I do not know who she is, Lady Guilford. Unless it is that you wish to tell me?”
Lady Guilford opened her mouth, closed it again, and then frowned.
“I – I am not sure that it would be right for me to do so. Believe me, Lord Guilford, I came here in the hope of telling you everything, but now that I am standing with you, now that I am in your company, I begin to see that this must be something she does on her own.”
“But you think that there is more that she might wish to say.”
