Page 99 of The Secret of Flirting
Gregory stood backstage at the assembly hall, his stomach in upheaval and his heart racing. Hart wasn’t here, despite having sent a message earlier saying he would arrive there soon. Where the devil was he? Something must have happened. And if he didn’t get here in time...
“My lord, they’re ready to begin,” a servant said.
Damn. He would have to stall the proceedings somehow.
But that shouldn’t be difficult. The conference had been full of boring speeches on the importance of keeping Belgium neutral. Surely he could manage one of those.
With a steadying breath, he walked out onto the stage. And that’s when he saw her. His love, sitting in the audience with her trusting gaze fixed on him.
Three days without her had only firmed his determination not to fail her... or his mother or any of the other people dependent upon him. In those three days, he’d learned much, uncovered much, and even spoken to Wellington, who’d confirmed that Danworth had made a trip to Calais around the time of Aurore’s poisoning. It had been clear that Wellington had never been involved in any of this, and Gregory had promised not to drag him into it.
So Gregory was better prepared than he had been before. But that didn’t mean everything would go smoothly. And if Hart didn’t come...
He refused to worry about that right now. This would work. He wouldmakeit work, damn it, with or without Hart.
He began by thanking the delegates and their candidates, stating how important this matter was, and in general stretching out the time. As he talked, he noticed Danworth looking smug and certain, as if he’d guessed that Gregory was stalling... except that Danworth probably thought Gregory was merely putting off the inevitable.
Then the doors in the back of the hall opened, and Gregory spotted Hart with a young woman.
Gregory stared in disbelief. It couldn’t be.
“My lord!” Hart called out, ignoring all protocols. “Before you proceed, there is someone here who must speak.”
Everyone turned toward the back of the room, and several gasped. Because standing there, dressed in a resplendent gown, was a woman who could have been Monique’s twin, if not for her pale, sickly countenance. And her less-than-prominent chin.
His heart swelled with relief. “Princess Aurore!” he announced. “Please, do come to the stage!”
With a regal manner, she swept up the center aisle, and the room erupted into whispers and furtive glances at Monique, who sat serenely, as if she’d expected this great surprise. Even Danworth looked startled, along with most of the delegates.
As Princess Aurore came to join Gregory at the podium, he stood aside to give her the floor.
“Thank you, Lord Fulkham,” she said with a kind smile for him. “And I must beg the pardon of the delegates. I would have been here sooner, but I have been very ill. A couple of weeks ago, someone attempted to poison me and very nearly succeeded in killing me.”
After a collective gasp sounded in the audience, she went on. “In my hour of need my second cousin, the famous actress Monique Servais, was kind enough to step in for me.” She gestured to Monique, who acknowledged her with a smile. “Fortunately, Lord Fulkham, recognizing the dangers of having the work of this conference thwarted by a villain, concocted a plan. My cousin would take my place here while I recovered. And in the meantime, his lordship would try to discover who the assassin was.”
Gregory released a breath. Thank God the princess had been willing to go along with their rewritten version of events. Though she would have been a fool not to, since it exonerated her people as well.
It also really started the delegates murmuring.
“From what I’ve been told,” she went on, “my poor cousin Monique has since endured two attempts onherlife—first in London and then at Lord Fulkham’s estate, where he’d taken her to try to protect her from harm. Fortunately, his lordship was finally able to discover who the assassin was. Lord Fulkham? Will you tell us what you learned?” She moved aside.
Gregory couldn’t help noticing the sudden tension in Danworth’s face. “Thank you, Princess. In the past few days I have found out that only one man from the conference—other than the princess’s retinue, of course—was in Calais during the time of the poisoning.”
He narrowed his gaze on his enemy. “The prime minister’s private secretary, Mr. Danworth.”
As the room erupted into shocked cries and horrified whispers, Danworth jumped to his feet. “Howdareyou, sir? What possible reason could I have had to poison Princess Aurore?”
“You wanted to put your good friend Prince Leopold in the position of king of Belgium in exchange for being offered a position in his government.”
Gregory shifted his stare to Leopold. There was no mistaking the shock that crossed Leopold’s face. “What?” the man cried and jumped to his feet. “I swear I had nothing to do with Mr. Danworth’s actions!”
If Gregory hadn’t already suspected as much, he might have dismissed the prince’s assertions. But as it was, he nodded to the prince. “Would you like to speak, sir? To defend yourself?”
“I most certainly would!” Prince Leopold marched up onto the stage. “Mr. Danworth, my friend there, if you can call him that, promised to use his influence with the prime minister on my behalf. And yes, in exchange I promised him a position in my government in Belgium, should I be fortunate enough to become king.”
When that started another murmuring among the crowd, he added, “But I wouldneverhave countenanced assassination! I thought he meant only to speak to the prime minister. And perhaps to make his case to Lord Fulkham, a member of his club, which is what he promised. I had no idea—”
“This is all nonsense!” Danworth cried. “I never attempted to assassinate anyone. And how are we even to know that this... Servais woman is actually the cousin of Princess Aurore?”
