“Nearly under my very nose.”
Fiona settled a look of dismay on her face, wishing Lady Welkins would hurry up and mention her blasted companion’s name. She had enough woes of her own without listening to this drivel. “This is outrageous. And you say she was never arrested?”
“No. I dismissed her immediately, of course, but that seemed entirely too mild a punishment.”
“Of course it does. I only ask, you know, because my nephew hired a new governess for my daughter, and oh, it would be so awful if we had to send the dear girl away.”
“I’m sure you have nothing to worry about. That devious Miss Gallant would only choose a household with a wealthy man present for her to seduce.”
Finally. “Did…did you say Miss Gallant?”
“Yes. Alexandra Gallant, that—”
“Oh, no. Miss Gallant is the name of my niece’s companion.”
Lady Welkins looked truly shocked. “Surely not!”
“It’s true! She’d been living at Balfour House for the past month. And—Oh, no!” Fiona put her hands over her mouth as though holding in a shriek.
Her newfound bosom companion tugged at her arm. “What? What is it?”
“Just in passing, I thought Miss Gallant might have designs on my nephew. I didn’t take it seriously, but now—Oh, my! Do you think she might do harm to dear Lucien?”
“Is your nephew wealthy?”
Fiona nodded. “He’s the Earl of Kilcairn Abbey.”
“The Earl…Surely he must have heard of Miss Gallant’s reputation.”
“My nephew is very stubborn. If he did know, he may have thought to reform her, or even that the rumors were unwarranted.”
Lady Welkins stood. “They are very much warranted, I assure you. She pursued Lord Welkins relentlessly, and when he finally and definitively refused her advances, I know she pushed him down the stairs—and then I think she may have strangled him. The physician said it was his heart, but William was as large as a bull, and he was only just fifty.”
“But no one saw her do it?”
The widow sank back onto the couch again. “No. You see how devious she is.”
“I must go at once and inform Lucien!”
Grabbing her arm, Lady Welkins forced her to remain seated. “If you do that, she’ll only escape again. You must observe her. Or better yet, let her catch sight of me. That might startle her into a confession.”
“You would help me with this?”
“It would be my pleasure.”
Fiona smiled just a little. “My daughter’s birthday celebration is in just a few days. I will see that you receive an invitation.”
Lady Welkins smiled back at her. “That would be wonderful.”
Alexandra sat at the music room pianoforte and played her father’s favorite dance tune. “Mad Robin” frolicked through the candlelit room, chasing away the near-silence of the huge house. Rose and Fiona had thankfully retired early, and Kilcairn had abandoned them for his office hours ago. Even rakes had paperwork, she supposed.
When she’d left Lady Welkins’s employ, she’d thought—and hoped—never to see the woman again. Margaret Thewles, Lady Welkins, had every right to grieve for her dead husband; Alexandra felt bad enough about that herself. But to suddenly turn a man whose lecherous activities his wife had complained about daily into a saint was ridiculous. And to turn Alexandra into a murdering whore just to retain her own standing and avoid some mild embarrassment—that was unforgivable.
If Lady Welkins hadn’t begun her tirade about Alexandra, no one in London would have had cause to give her—or her husband—a second thought. Perhaps that was why she’d made such a stink. At least people knew who Lady Welkins was now.
She tried to calm herself. Even though Lady Welkins had come to London, there was little reason for them to meet. With just over six months gone since her awful husband’s passing, she wouldn’t be able to dance, so she had little reason to accept any invitations to the same soirees Rose delighted in. That was some comfort, anyway. And with Rose’s birthday only a few days away, the odds of Lady Welkins making trouble before Alexandra left for Miss Grenville’s Academy were quite small. Or so she hoped.
“You play beautifully.” Lucien’s soft voice came from the doorway. “Something else for which I should thank Miss Grenville?”
