Page 85 of A Rake's Revenge
The earl gave her a cold look and then nodded abruptly. “Very well. I expect both of you to congratulate me later.”
As they left, Caroline turned to Ann. “You had better leave now while your father is in a good mood. He will not be once I refuse to marry him.”
“I cannot leave not knowing what happened,” Ann replied. “Something is wrong.”
That was obvious, but Caroline curbed her tongue. There was no need to take out her worry on Ann. She looked over the crowd. It had thinned somewhat since some people had decided to follow Tisdale to the Pavilion, but a considerable number were still on the quay, many of them wives and friends of the sailors. Their faces all reflected the anxiety that Caroline felt.
“A sail!” someone shouted.
Caroline spun around and then breathed a sigh of relief. The speck on the horizon was dark. As it grew larger, she could see it was definitely Stephan’s boat, but even though the sails were full, it was not advancing as quickly as Tisdale’s boat had. She shielded her eyes again. It looked as though theLadymight be towing something. As she watched, dots of white sails slowly began to appear behind him, but none of them moved quickly.
An excruciating forty minutes later, the fleet neared the docks, and Caroline could now see broken masts on several boats as well as two empty boats being towed whose decks were dangerously close to the waterline. Crew stood crowded on the few boats that seemed to be intact.
Men rushed forward to catch lines and secure the boats while anxious wives hugged their husbands and cried. Caroline had a hard time constraining herself, but she could see that Stephan had his hands full trying to maneuver theLadyclose enough to the quay that the lines of one of the sinking boats could be tossed without his own getting damaged. It seemed a small eternity had elapsed before Stephan finally was back on solid ground.
“What happened?” Caroline asked as he came toward her.
“I will explain later,” he answered, putting an arm around her shoulders and drawing her close, “but first, I have to get to the prince.”
“Of course,” Caroline answered, putting her arm around his waist, not caring what the curious onlookers thought about the impropriety. “But one of the prince’s soldiers already escorted the earl to the Pavilion.”
“Good, then I will not have to go looking for him,” Stephan answered grimly and then glanced at Ann, standing a short distance away. “I would suggest you wait with the ladies once we get to the Pavilion. What I have to say to your father will not be polite.”
Ann lifted her chin. “I think I need to hear it.”
Stephan frowned, and Caroline placed her other hand on his arm. “I think she is right.”
He sighed. “Do not say I did not warn you.”
As they walked into the entrance hall, Caroline could hear the buzzing of conversation coming from the long gallery. Although she couldn’t make out the words, she could tell the raised voices were excited.
The prince was nowhere to be seen as they entered the gallery, but Caroline sighted Amelia and George standing near the doorway. Jeanette and Melanie were near them. If anyone could fill her in on what the buzzing was about, those two could. “Has the prince already awarded the purse?”
Melanie tittered, and Jeannette snapped her fan open in an exaggerated movement. “Oh, my goodness, no,” she said. “Lord Tisdale has just been arrested.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
“The earl arrested?” Beside her, Caroline heard Ann gasp. “Did someone bring news already of what happened in the race?” Caroline turned to Stephan. “Is crowding boats at the mark and causing an accident a criminal offense?”
“Possibly. It certainly is a civil offense.” Stephan looked at the duke. “Do you know the reason Tisdale was arrested?”
George looked at Jeannette and Melanie warily and then shrugged. “I believe it had something to do with him possibly being linked to fraud that his broker has been involved in.”
The ladies’ eyes rounded, and Caroline shook her head at their expressions. She knew both Jeannette and Melanie were eager to be making the rounds telling everyone else what the charges against the earl were, but they were equally hesitant to leave for fear they might miss another tidbit.
“Dear Lord. I am ruined.” Ann started to cry. “Utterly, totally ruined.”
Jeannette’s and Melanie’s eyes brightened at the realization of this side effect. Caroline was tempted to snort at them. If Ann had been a boy, she wouldn’t be shunned from Society because of her father’s misdeeds. God knew thetonwas full of just such incidences.
Evidently, Amelia was not pleased with the ladies, either. “I see no reason for Miss Tisdale to be cut from social events. I am extending an invitation for her to reside at our residence for the Season.” Amelia affected the marble goddess facade that Caroline was more familiar with and gave Melanie and Jeannette an icy smile. “I assume the sponsorship of a duchess will be sufficient for invitations to events?”
The two gossips stared a moment, their faces paling.
“Of course, Your Grace,” Melanie said.
“I would not dream of excluding Lady Ann,” Jeannette added.
Ann dabbled at her tears with a handkerchief that Stephan had produced from somewhere. “Oh, thank you! Thank you!”
