Page 66 of The Truth Serum
“Maybe my lady’s maid?” Monsieur stressed. “She was attacked by this vermin!”
“Attacked?” Nate said, his brow arching. “It was her idea.” That was the truth, though he knew it sounded like a peevish boy’s excuse. He’d wanted to hide in the servants’ stairway and take his chances on escape. It probably wouldn’t have worked, but he’d been willing to risk it.
“Of course you would say that,” Monsieur muttered. He turned to Ras. “And now you and I must figure out what to do about this mess.”
Understandably, Ras was completely at a loss. “What to do? Is the woman harmed?”
“No,” Nate said.
“Oui! Yes, she is! She is overwrought. She is crying. She is—”
“Where?” interrupted Becca. “Where is the girl? She must say if this was her idea.”
Monsieur shook his head with a very loudtsk, tsk. “You English think that all foreign girls want your attention. I tell you—”
“I have some experience with distraught girls,” Becca interrupted. “I can speak carefully with her.”
A girl? Heidi Frid was in her forties and was no wilting child. Of course, an older woman could be overpowered. But in this case, she had been the one who had pulled him on top of her.
“No! No!” Monsieur cried. “My wife takes care of her.”
Actually, his wife was probably interrogating Frid to see if there was an opportunity to exploit here. This was a verytransactional household from top to bottom. He just hoped that Heidi’s loyalties to the cause against Napoleon—and the coin Benedict provided—outweighed whatever Madame was offering.
Meanwhile, Becca folded her hands in front of her skirt. “So this is a liaison, monsieur. Nothing more, nothing less. I fail to see why it is a messhorrible.” She exactly mimicked his French words.
“What if she is pregnant? What will she do then?”
“She’s not,” Nate grumbled.
“You do not know that!” Monsieur cried. “Either way, her good name is destroyed. There must be recompense.” He looked straight at Becca. “Surely you understand that, mademoiselle. Especially after the baron’s actions the other night.”
Becca frowned at the man. “Fletcher told me you thought it funny. That you laughed at my outrage because gentlemen in their cups cannot be held accountable for their actions. Did my brother lie?”
There seemed to be an extra amount of tension in her words, but Nate couldn’t pursue the topic. Not with Monsieur blustering as he waved his hands about.
“No, no! He exaggerates my words. The baron suffers for his actions, I am sure. The embarrassment is profound, yes?”
She arched her brow. “So we should let Lord Nathaniel’s embarrassment be profound, yes?”
Good lord, the woman was brilliant. She was neatly twisting Monsieur’s words around to get Nate off the hook. Unfortunately, Nate didn’t want to get off the hook just yet. If he did, he would have already sauntered away. He would never have let Monsieur call for Ras. Still, he felt a surge of pride at her defense of him.
But he couldn’t let it stand.
“Becca,” he said gently. “Please, let it go. Take Kynthea and—”
“Yes, yes,” Monsieur agreed. “The ladies should go.”
Meanwhile, Ras had crossed to Nate’s side. While Monsieur was busy trying to convince the women to depart, the duke spoke in a low whisper.
“What do you want me to do here?”
“He wants to extort money from you.”
“I’d guessed as much.”
“Let him. But demand to be part of the investment.”
That was a big leap, not explained in the short words that Nate whispered. But Ras was a smart man. Hopefully, he would catch on.
