Page 86 of House of Thorns
She didn’t have a choice. Truly. “I’ll hurry back,” she promised.
Then, she rushed away, ignoring the host of patrons calling out her name.
Mr. Pitt was nowhere to be found. She nearly ran back to Deborah, just to ensure her cousin’s safety, but once she neared Florinda’s dressing room, the unmistakable sound of angry voices caught her attention.
Startled, she reached for the knob, but the door flew open beneath her touch.
A woman stood there, angry—nay, furious. Her hair loose and in disarray.
Olivia’s mouth dropped open, and then she gasped, “Louisa.”
Louisa Hamilton glared back at her, her nostrils flaring as she placed her hands on her hips. “This, this strumpetdaresto singmysongs?” she asked, her voice rising in a crescendo. “This ismyconcert.Mysongs.”
“Toss thistoadto the street,” Florinda spat from behind the mountain of roses filling the room.
Olivia blinked.
Some of the vases lay broken on the floor and the flowers crushed.
Louisa tossed her head and craned her neck over her shoulder. “Better a toad than a grunting pig—and with the looks of one, as well.”
It was then that the candlelight caught the locket hanging about her neck.
Olivia’s throat closed.
There was no mistaking it. Her mother’s necklace.
With one swift jerk, she yanked the locket from Louisa’s neck. “Where?” Olivia gasped. “Where did you get this?”
Louisa screeched. “Have you gone mad?” Furious, she waved a paper in front of Olivia’s face. “This ismyconcert, and I have the contracts toproveit.”
Olivia held still. The contracts. The stolen contracts. She snatched them from Louisa’s hand. “Where did you get these?”
“Lord Randall gave them to me, and the necklace, as well,” Louisa retorted in near hysteria. “He told me what you were up to. How you betrayed me…”
Olivia was no longer listening. The blood rushed to her ears. Lord Randall. Suddenly, the pieces fell into place.
He’d paid for his music with the bent shilling. There weren’t two, after all. And the contracts and her mother’s necklace? He must have broken into her house. Had he watched her that night through the window, when she’d taken the box out from beneath the floorboard? She shuddered.He’d followed her home.
Then, the letter. Deborah’s letter. He’d been there that day. Lord save her, he hadn’t shown up at the cemetery the night of the dinner. He’d known Deborah hadn’t left the house,because he’d been there, standing amid the trees.He’d clearly enjoyed torturing Deborah…and all the audacity he possessed, in asking her grandfather for her hand?
She shuddered. The blackmailer wasn’t Mr. Pitt, at all. It was Lord Randall. No doubt, he’d written the letter in such a fashion to throw them off the scent.
Then, with a gasp, she remembered.
Lord save them all. Lady Kendrick. She’d seen him herself, escorting Lady Kendrick on his arm.
Olivia whirled and ran down the hall.
