I fought back a sigh. “Yes, it was indeed a tragedy.”
A small sound that reminded me of a dying walrus broke from Oliver. I glanced over my shoulder to find Rose and Oscar dancing, heads close together while they spoke. The two of them together were a whirlwind, and even though I’d thought aboutthrowing Oscar overboard more than once for the way he spoke to her, she loved him to a fault.
“Mr. Smith?” the older woman was saying.
This time, Oliver pinched my shoulder before releasing his hold on me. He may have been used to playing puppeteer in parliament, but he would find I was not so easily managed. Niceties and small talk were a plague.
I turned my gaze from Rose, regretting the loss of her immediately, to find Ruby Hardy’s eyes locked on mine, a small smile on her mouth. Her friend, however, was nervously fanning herself with a tri-colored fan painted with lilies.
“I’m sorry, Lady Buxton, you were saying?” I asked.
She huffed out a breath and painted a false smile on her face.
“I was saying, it must have been a shock when you met Captain Edmonds.”
I nodded. “I would say so.”
A few more well-dressed aristocrats gathered nearby.
“Oh, how wonderful,” Lady Buxton chirped. “Mr. Smith, you must allow me to introduce you to lord and Lady Colton as well as Lady Hetherington.”
I nodded and exchanged pleasantries, answering question after probing question with as much ambiguity as I could manage. Oliver hadn’t pinched me in several minutes, which meant I was probably succeeding in some capacity. I would have said it was all going as well as could be expected except when I glanced over my shoulder again, it wasn’t Oscar dancing with Rose, but my father.
All pretence evaporated amidst the rushing of icy blood in my veins.
I made to step away, but Ruby threaded her arm through mine.
“If you’ll excuse me, I promised my mother I would steal him at the first chance. You know we couldn’t say anything, but Rosehas written so much about Mr Smith that we were all eager to officially meet him tonight,” she said.
I let her pull me away, but my eyes were locked on Rose and my father. He was surprisingly spry despite his rotting soul. They reached the outside of the dance circle, and Rose caught my eye, a subtle shake of her head.
“She’s fine.” Ruby said beside me, “You should know I agree with Oliver and that he should shoot you and throw you into the sea, but my sister is more important.”
She stopped walking and stepped in front of me. For only a moment, I tore my eyes from Rose to see the eldest Bailey sister glowering up at me.
“If my sister or brother hangs because of you, I will ensure your suffering is long and beyond even your wildest comprehension. Do you understand?”
So she knew the truth of it. More than that, I appreciated her candor. I doubted such vengeful words had ever left her painted lips, but that they were in defense of Rose was hard to ignore.
“And who else shares your sentiments?” I asked.
Ruby’s face relaxed a fraction. “Only Oliver and I. To everyone else, you are what they believe you to be. It would kill our parents if they ever found out, which means they cannot. Do you understand?”
I wondered what it was about the Baileys that produced such strong and capable humans. Though my time in society was limited to hiding in the woods learning how to pass as a gentleman, I’d never once met an aristocrat with the same kind of passion and fierceness that this family possessed in a single finger.
“I understand,” I said.
Rose probably only briefly considered how this would impact her family if it fell to shreds. In the end, she thought she could strong-arm me into living. James Allan watched Rose and myfather dance with a cold fury dripping off of him. How long before he demanded to see the marks on Oscar's and my chest? I half wished he would. At least it would put an end to this, but at what cost to Rose?
Not to mention that she was right that there wasn’t enough to ruin my father yet. My hands were bound in more ways than one, and all because I couldn’t stay away from her.
“Lord Hastings, have you met Mr. Smith yet?” Ruby asked.
And so it went that I was fed to the lions by my own volition.
Billy would have laughed himself hoarse.
Chapter seventeen
