This was not entirely true, or rather, it was only brushing the surface of the truth.
But Robin and Howard did not need to know every single detail.
Robin raised his eyebrows. “‘Words were exchanged?’ That could mean anything. That could mean you slapped him across the face and called him a cad.”
“Promises,” Rosalie said crisply. “Promises were exchanged. I fully expected him to approach Papa the following day to ask for my hand. I had given him to understand that the suit would be welcome, at least, on my part. But instead…” She closed her eyes. Oh, but this was painful.
She felt Robin take her hand. “Instead?”
“It turns out it had all been a joke,” she said in a rush. “One of his friends had dared him to do it. There was a wager involved as well. It wasn’t… He didn’t really…”
Robin squeezed her hand. “Oh, Rosie!”
She forced herself to continue. “He pulled me aside a few days later. To rub it in my face. He was… cruel.”
Robin looked wounded on her behalf. “Thatblackguard!”
Howard got straight to the point. “Shall I poison him, then?”
Rosalie blanched. “What? No!”
Howard held her gaze. “Are you sure? Because I know someone.”
“Thank you, Howard!” Rosalie said crisply. “But I would prefer to take a different approach.”
Howard cast his eyes heavenwards and muttered, “Suit yourself.”
Robin was beaming at Howard as if he had just hung the moon. He turned to Rosalie. “Why do you suppose Lord Valentine agreed to marry you, after all that?”
“He is spiteful,” Roslie explained. “One might even say sadistic. I have no doubt that he sees it as an opportunity to torment me.”
Confusion settled over Robin’s face. “But does your marriage contract not contain a clause giving you the right to come livewith Father, or, in the decades to come, with me, if he mistreats you?”
Rosalie waved this off. “I never said he was a clever man. He probably skimmed that particular paragraph.”
“Hmm.” Robin did not look convinced.
“If not poison, what do you need us to do?” Howard asked.
“I tried to explain to Papa that I could not marry him, but he seems taken with the man to an inordinate degree. He ordered me to trust his paternal instinct and give Lucian a chance. I can hardly explain the real reason I can’t marry him!”
Robin’s eyes flared with comprehension. “Father would call him out!”
Howard snorted. “He would rip him limb from limb.” He gave Rosalie a pointed look. “Althoughsomeof us can make these things look like an accident.”
Rosalie rolled her eyes. “Would that we all possessed your talent for subtlety, Howard. Happily, another possibility has occurred to me. You see, I once asked Lysander why he hated him so. And this is what he said…”
She quickly conveyed Lysander’s charges that Lucian had not only manipulated his grandfather in order to increase his inheritance but also hasten his demise.
“If,” Rosalie concluded, “I can show Father proof of this dastardly behavior, he will help me get out of the match. I know he will. I am willing to undertake the investigation. But there are some places I cannot go, and some questions a young lady cannot ask without arousing suspicion.”
Robin’s eyes widened. “But a young man could.”
“Precisely.” Rosalie looked from Robin to Howard. “Here is what I need you to find out.”
Chapter Six
The following morning at half ten, Rosalie found herself loitering on the pavement outside the Beauclerk family’s Mayfair mansion.
