“And opportunity, then, to search for this missing document,” Beatrice breathed as Lord Surrey’s eyes rounded. “Might I suggest also that, in some discreet way, you go to Lord Turnhill’s solicitors and confirm just how many pages they gave to Lord Turnhill? That would confirm for us all that there is a missing page.”
Lord Surrey ran one hand over his chin, his eyes glinting. “I do not like the thought of you being in any sort of danger.”
“We will do it together, all of us,” Lord Warwickshire said, making Beatrice smile at his encouragement of her idea. “If this document must be found for you to be free of this entirely, then that is what we will do. We will find it.”
Getting to her feet and entirely unable to stay back from Lord Surrey, given the concern in his eyes, Beatrice reached out for him. “You need not be concerned,” she said, quietly as if everyone else in the room had suddenly faded away leaving only the two of them together. “We are so close to the end, Surrey, so very close.” She smiled up at him and watched as the fear left his eyes. “We will soon be able to stand together, with you free from what has tied you to another for so long.”
“I can hardly wait for the moment I can declare to thetonthat I am now courting the lady I truly care for,” he murmured,as heat curled in Beatrice’s core. “Very well, then. If you are insistent – ”
“I think we areallinsistent, nephew,” Lord Welton said, as Beatrice blushed at the smile on the gentleman’s face. “We all want to see you happy.Bothof you.”
Lord Surrey took in a deep breath. “Then let us hope we can find this document,” he said, pressing Beatrice’s hand. “So that our happiness can finally begin.”
17
Please be careful, Beatrice.
The silent plea echoed in George’s mind as he watched Miss Williams and Lady Norah walk, arm in arm, through the ballroom. George had been caught by Miss Burnley almost the moment he had walked into the room, and thus, he was now standing in conversation with her, her father, and another gentleman named Lord Montrose. He was doing very little talking, but Miss Burnley did not seem to care, chattering away to Lord Montrose as he stood, mute, beside her.
The plan for this evening was a simple one. Miss Williams, Lady Norah, and Lady Welton would make their way, somehow, to Lord Turnhill’s study and search for the document there, with Lord Welton standing guard in the hallway. Lord Dorset and Lord Warwickshire would look elsewhere, for the document itself might be hidden away in another part of the house, whilst George, much to his disappointment, was to stand in the room and do nothing at all. That was not entirely true, he supposed, for he was to ensure that Lord Turnhill remained in the ballroom. In addition, he was, somehow, to mention that he had not known about the familial connection between Lord Turnhilland Lord Neath so that he might witness the gentleman’s reaction. They were not certain of the family tie as yet, but it would be worth saying all the same, simply so he might see how Lord Turnhill responded.
It is somewhat dull to stand here and do nothing more than speak,George thought to himself, as Lord Montrose asked for Miss Burnley’s dance card.I should much rather be out searching for that document.
“I do think he is an excellent fellow,” Miss Burnley remarked, as Lord Montrose walked away. “He has offered to stand up with me for the polka, is that not generous?”
“Very generous,” George murmured, looking away from the lady whose delighted smile quickly faded.
“You have not asked me to dance as yet, Lord Surrey,” she pouted, as Lord Turnhill clicked his tongue in obvious displeasure. “I do wonder when you are going to acknowledge the connection between us and – ”
“Thereisno connection between us, not as yet,” he stated, his gaze shooting back towards her as she frowned. “I understand that you very much wish there to be and that your father’s intention is for us to wed but there is no engagement as yet, Miss Burnley. If you wished to accept the attentions of another gentleman, then I assure you, I would have no difficulty in accepting that.”
“ButIwould,” Lord Turnhill interrupted, his eyes flashing with a sudden anger. “Goodness, Lord Surrey, whatever are you doing speaking in such a way? You know very well what the expectation is. It is only your insistence on having the documents checked over and over again that delays the inevitable! Your father took one look at the documents and accepted them. I am frustrated indeed that you have been unwilling to do the same as he.”
A curl of anger rose in George’s core, his jaw jutting forward, and he narrowed his gaze a fraction as he returned it to Lord Turnhill. “My father sent the documents to his solicitors,” he said firmly. “It is clear to me that he did not only read them once and then write to me at that very moment!”
“Yes, he did,” Lord Turnhill scoffed, his own anger evident in the flash of his eyes and the way he balled his hands into fists. “I stood there and watched him write the letter to you! Lord Neath was – ”
George’s eyebrows shot upwards as he saw Lord Turnhill begin to stammer, with Miss Burnley catching her breath in astonishment.
“Lord – Lord Neath?” she repeated, as George looked from father to daughter, his whole body suddenly alive with a renewed energy. “Father, you told me to stay far from our cousin, so why would you then have him in your company?”
“Cousin?” George’s eyes shot wide as he held Lord Turnhill’s eyes, but the gentleman could only remain steady in his gaze for a moment or two. Thanks to Lord Turnhill’s anger and Miss Burnley’s openness, the question about the connection between the two men now became clear. “That gentleman is related to you?”
“He is only a distant relative,” Lord Turnhill replied, his words tripping over each other as he waved one hand, vaguely. “But – ”
“He is a cousin, father.” Miss Burnley’s face had gone white, but her eyes were hard. “Why is it that you insisted I stay away from that gentleman, citing his cruelty and ill temper, only for you to be in conversation with him?”
“And why have that conversation when my father was present also?” George asked, as Lord Turnhill began to stammer, sweat breaking out over his forehead. “I do not know this Lord Neath. I am not well acquainted with him, and my father did notever mention him. Why, then, would you have him in company with my late father?”
Lord Turnhill pulled out his handkerchief and mopped his brow. “You must understand, your father and I were in conversation about the documents, and Lord Neath arrived most unexpectedly. It was not arranged!”
“But you said you saw my father write to me at that very same conversation,” George replied, filled with both confusion and anger. “How could he do so if he were atyourtownhouse rather than his own? He would not have had his seal, and I know for certain that the letter was sealed with it.”
Lord Turnhill’s mouth opened and closed and then opened again. Then, he closed his eyes and shook his head wordlessly, struggling to find the right words.
“Father?” Miss Burnley, her voice soft with either surprise or confusion, put one hand on her father’s arm. “Please do not say that Lord Neath is involved in the engagement between me and Lord Surrey?”
George’s eyes rounded. Miss Burnley was asking all of the questions that he himself had intended. Would she be more likely to garner the truth from Lord Turnhill than he?
