Page 90 of My Kind of Scoundel
Whatever her troubles, Lord Wrotham had caused them.
“A man attacked me in my yard and forced me to deliver secret messages.” Eleanor shivered at the memory. The fiend’s grip had left bruises. “I was given books and told to hide notes behind the bookplates. Every volume in Lord Wrotham’s library bears the same plates.” She went on to tell a harmless lie. “I enquired at the printers. It’s an exclusive design.”
The lady swallowed hard. “That has nothing to do with me.”
“But it does. You borrowed theVampyrefrom Pickering’s library, aware the note was inside.” She hadn’t loaned the other books, probably because her suspicions had been confirmed. “You knew Lord Wrotham had hurt me and wanted to be sure. You know why, yet you let me live in fear. Don’t expect sympathy when we’ve been hurt by the same man.”
That’s when recognition dawned.
When a terrible sense of foreboding churned in her stomach.
The dreadful certainty that something wicked had unfolded.
“What if Lord Wrotham hired men to hurt Miss Franklin?” A picture of the scene flashed into her mind. Now she thought of it, there was something organised about the chaos. “She was bludgeoned with a candlestick. If she doesn’t recover, your fiancé as good as murdered her.”
As if about to wretch, Lady Lucille slapped her hand to her mouth. “No. Anna does not deserve this. None of us do. She risked everything to tell me the truth.”
“It’s about timeyoutold us the truth,” Theo said, joining Eleanor. “This game has gone on for long enough.”
It took Lady Lucille a moment to recognise Theo. “Game? Do you think I gain any pleasure from this? If the truth comes to light, I will be transported.”
Eleanor gasped. “Transported? What have you done?”
The lady hung her head and cried. “I’m guilty of nothing but naivety. I’m like all the other foolish chits who believe titled men are moral.”
Theo released a weary sigh. “Despite our differences, we’re willing to help you.”
She looked at him through teary eyes. “Unless you plan to kill Lord Wrotham, I see no other way you can help.”
Kill Lord Wrotham?
Her situation must be dire.
“We’ll not commit a crime.” Eleanor glanced at Theo. She had everything to live for now. Every reason to believe they could be happy. “But Mr Chance and his brothers could use the information against Lord Wrotham. He does not need to know it came from you.”
Theo cursed under his breath. “If I find out Wrotham hurtMiss Darrow in her yard, he’ll not walk without the aid of a stick.”
The lady sniffed back more tears. “Why would you want to help me when I used you so cruelly? Wrotham hates you so much he relished stealing me away.”
“We met twice,” Theo said, his tone indifferent. “I had selfish reasons for wanting to court you, too.” He reached for Eleanor’s hand and clasped it tightly. “But I’m in love with Miss Darrow. Love has a way of softening one’s heart.”
Eleanor’s heart swelled in her chest.
Theo wasn’t ashamed to voice his feelings.
“Whatever you have done, my lady, it’s helped us to realise what we mean to each other.” She couldn’t help but smile. “But we must put this dreadful business behind us. We have all made mistakes.”
Lady Lucille looked at them with utter astonishment. “I encouraged Anna to steal your diary and the book hidden beneath your floorboards. She took the spare key from the drawer, had a copy made and entered the night you went to the Olympic. You have every reason to despise us both.”
“I’m sure you were quite desperate at the time.” Eleanor wanted to feel a burst of anger, a rage to make Lucifer quake, but she didn’t. “Though I cannot understand why Anna would upend furniture and pull everything off the shelves.”
“That wasn’t Anna,” the lady declared. “She swears the rooms were like that when she arrived.”
“But I was away for two hours at most.” She had gone straight to the Olympic and had arrived home to find the place in disarray. “Whoever it was must have been looking for my diary.” Why hadn’t Mr Franklin seen anything? Hewas forever watching the street. “Was it Anna who pushed me down the stairs?”
The lady frowned. “Why would Anna want to hurt you?”
Eleanor’s head throbbed. But at least she knew who had been rooting under the floorboards. “The question we need to ask is, who hurt Anna? Mr Franklin is pedantic when it comes to protecting his property. He’ll be annoyed he didn’t confront the blackguards.”
