Page 64 of A Duke's Sinful Bargain
He recognized her voice. Every fiber of his being knew that it was rude to ignore when a lady was calling out to him, but he could not stop. He had to speak urgently to Lady Pentor. Leaving Lady Genevieve without a satisfactory audience, he continued to rush until he reached his destination.
He found Lady Pentor engaged in conversation with a group of guests. With a polite bow, he waited until she focused her attention on him.
“Your Grace.” She smiled at him warmly. “I hope you are enjoying yourself?”
“In your company, always, Lady Pentor.” He smiled back.
“Oh, you flatterer, you.” She chuckled, her big bosom swaying gently as she did so.
“I apologize for the intrusion into your conversation,” he continued, his voice dipped in charm. “I require some information, if you please.”
“If I can help, gladly.” She nodded.
“Thank you,” he replied. “Will Sir Rupert be joining us this evening?”
Lady Pentor thought about it for a moment. “I do believe he has received his invitation, but I have not seen him here this evening. And I’ve come to the conclusion that the man is rather punctual. If he were planning to come, he would already be here.”
“Has he written back to inform you of his arrival this evening?” Alexander asked.
“No.” She shook her head. “I do not require written responses to my invitations, Your Grace. It is enough to know that one is invited.”
“Of course,” Alexander mused, wondering if there would be any point in waiting longer for the man to arrive or if it would be easier just to end his search for the time being, leaving everything for the following day.
A flicker of curiosity sparked in her eyes as she asked a question of her own. “May I ask why such an interest in Sir Rupert?”
Alexander was ready for this question. He conjured a faint smile with calculated ease. “I find myself in need of his counsel on a particular matter. You see, he came to see me recently with some business propositions, and I was hoping to delve more deeply into them this evening.”
“Ah, you gentlemen! Always with your work,” she said playfully. “One should rest a bit and enjoy oneself, you know.”
“I wholeheartedly agree.” Alexander smiled with a courteous bow. “But men will always be men, Lady Pentor. We can sneak in some business talk through any occasion.”
“That you most certainly can!” She chuckled with much glee, and he politely waited for her to finish.
“However, my knowledge of his current residence is somewhat outdated. Could you kindly provide me with that information?”
Lady Pentor seemed intrigued by his request. She first tilted her head, then she spoke. “Why the urgency, Your Grace? I am certain that if you do not see him this evening, he will call on you one of these days.”
“Yes, but, um… you see, I plan on taking a short trip out of London.” Alexander said the first thing that popped to mind. “Also business related. I would hate for Sir Rupert to think me impolite, or even worse, not interested in his ideas.”
“Well, yes, that does make sense.” She was finally seeing eye to eye with him, which made Alexander release a sigh of relief. “Sir Rupert is staying in Chancery Lane,” she divulged.
“I see.” Alexander nodded.
That made sense. Chancery Lane was known for its proximity to the legal district, and if a solicitor had approached Anna, he could have easily been sent there by Sir Rupert. It was all starting to make sense. Only two questions remained—the most important ones. How did Sir Rupert know all this, and who was funding him?
“Thank you, Lady Pentor.” Alexander smiled. “Your help has been invaluable, as always.”
“I am glad to help, Your Grace,” Lady Pentor assured him. “I’m just wondering why you didn’t ask Lady Genevieve. I saw you speaking to her earlier this evening. If anyone would know whether he would be attending the ball, it would be her.”
Alexander felt as if someone punched him in the gut. “Lady Genevieve?”
“Why, yes,” Lady Pentor seemed slightly confused. “When I hosted my tea party with the two of them in attendance, along with Lady Ravenscroft, I could see they were on rather friendly terms. And if I’m not mistaken, I do believe someone told me that they were spotted strolling through Hyde Park together. Chaperoned, of course, but still. You being a childhood friend of Lady Genevieve’s, I simply assumed you would have asked her first.”
Alexander smiled even more broadly this time. “I did not know that, Lady Pentor. If I had, I would have asked Lady Genevieve myself.”
In fact, he was now planning to ask her a million questions regarding her involvement in all of this, but not at the ball. She would have a chance to escape easily, even unnoticed. And worst of all, she might warn Sir Rupert that he was onto him.
No. This had to be done carefully. Alexander had to plan the whole thing. He had to get them all under one roof…hisroof. There, they would not be able to escape the hand of justice, and he would be more than happy to deal it.
