Relishing the role of judge, Sir Stephen sonorously demanded that the guilty party render himself up for judgment.
“Here now,” said Lord Middlethorpe.“It could quite well have been one of our absent members.”
This was true, but the men all looked at each other with humorous suspicion.
“If he is here,” said the marquess, who seemed to have a hard head for drink and still be in complete control of his faculties, “he should confess his sins forthwith.”
There was a moment’s silence, and then Nicholas rose to his feet—quite steadily, Eleanor was interested to note—and bowed to the company.
“’Twas I, my friends, ’twas I.”
This struck the other men as hilarious, so much so that Lord Darius fell off his chair.Nicholas’s rueful smile was acknowledgement of the situation, but Eleanor, who was still reasonably sober, saw a peculiar look in his eyes, as if he were reassessing her.
This evening was perhaps not going according to his plan.If so, she was the puppet who did not move to his strings.She felt a tremor of alarm, but there was also a stirring of excitement.She had spent her younger years dreaming of that godly boy in the garden, imagining him coming to rescue her from her plight.How strange it all was.
Nicholas spoke to her and his expression was now completely friendly, as if the previous emotion had been an illusion.“You, my dear Eleanor, had carroty plaits and a missing tooth.I thought you very weak-spirited.My apologies.”
She replied, “For my part, I cast you as a hero, even if you did draw blood, but I could never remember what you looked like at all.I suspect because I was such a watering pot at the time.”
Sir Stephen broke up this exchange.“Ain’t good enough!Must be a penalty to pay.Not only did he break the vow of silence, he injured this lovely lady!”
“I can’t accept the second charge, Steve,” protested Nicholas.“At the time we all thought girls the lowest creatures on God’s earth.”
“That,” drawled the marquess, “makes offering her membership even worse.”Eleanor saw a humorous challenge flash between Nicholas and the marquess.She suspected the latter was the least likely to dance to her husband’s tune.
The marquess’s words caused drunken nods from around the table.
“Don’t see the boiling in oil, though,” drawled the marquess.“Need a damned large pot.”
“Can worms eat someone alive?”queried Mr.Cavanagh with a frown.“Now, snakes maybe…”
“Can’t get snakes in London,” pointed out Viscount Amleigh.
“What about the torments too horrible to mention?”asked Mr.Cavanagh.
“Name one.”
“Almack’s,” broke in the marquess, surely one of the greatest prizes on the marriage mart.
There was a groan of assent at this from all.
Silence descended.Eleanor hoped the matter would now be forgotten, but the marquess turned mischievous blue eyes on her.“My dear lady, I think you must adjudicate and set the punishment.It is said women can think up more hideous torments than men.”
“But I have no desire to visit hideous torments on anyone,” she protested.“Least of all my husband.”
“Fie on you!”he teased, eyes twinkling.“Remember his earlier slight.And though you did not actually take the oath, you became a member of our company and should abide by its rules.”Eleanor discovered he had a way of trapping her eyes that made her hot all over.
“Luce,” said Nicholas dryly, “remember she’s spoken for.”
She looked at her husband in alarm; he did not appear angry, but a challenging glance did flash between the two men.The marquess laughed.“Can’t blame me for trying.Here I am, honor bound to marry, and all I ever meet are simpering ninnies … In the respectable way, of course.”
“I was going to ask the last time Blanche simpered,” said Amleigh, then cast a horrified look at Eleanor and went red.
Eleanor could guess who Blanche was.Another French whore.The marquess was not discomposed, however, and said, “Never, thank God,” He turned back to Eleanor.“You still have to choose a punishment, dear lady.”
Eleanor looked around helplessly.Apart from that brief and surely unnecessary intervention, Nicholas was standing back to let her solve this for herself.She glared at him.He saw it and grinned at her.If there had been a pot of boiling oil to hand, she would have dumped him in it willingly.
It was Lord Middlethorpe who came to her rescue.“Luce, you ask too much.A woman needs to hate to be cruel.I have a penalty to suggest.”A mischievous smile twinkled in his eyes as he said, “As Nick violated our rules, he can no longer be a member unless he undergoes the initiation ceremony again.”
