A day spent obsessing over those questions did not reassure her. She was not a woman to go mad about a man, and yet, here she was, moping because they’d spent one day apart. What a pathetic soul she was, and so she decided to attend the night’s ball with a pleased countenance and a joyful heart.
It did not last. Even before the dancing began, she was approached by Lord Liddican’s mother-in-law. The lady appeared wan with shaking hands.
“Mrs. Hudson, is everything all right?”
“You told me it was done. You told me he wouldn’t come back.”
“No ma’am,” she said gently. “I told you I’d done all I could.”
“But he came back!” the lady cried. “After the vote, he came straight to my home.”
Oh no! Sadie grabbed the lady’s hand and walked her out to the back garden. There were people here, but if they kept their voices down, they had some privacy.
“Is your daughter all right?”
Mrs. Hudson began twisting a handkerchief. “I think so. He said they were his property. My daughter! Property!”
Legally, that was true. Morally, that was ridiculous.
“Where are they now?”
“Safe. I sent them away, but I haven’t the funds to hide them forever. And what kind of life is that?”
The only one possible. “I don’t know what else to do.”
“You killed Mr. Carr.”
Sadie stiffened. “I did no such thing.”
“It is not just for me,” she pressed, suddenly gripping Sadie’s arm. “He has been saying awful things about you, as well.”
She’d guessed as much but hadn’t cared. Except now she considered how her moniker would impact Lord Heath. He worked for Prinny. He had children. What would her reputation mean for him?
“What did he say?” she asked.
“Vile things. To anyone who will listen.”
She winced, but it was no more than she expected. “That has been true for nearly two seasons from one man or another. He is no different.”
“He is different because he is violent. If his slander doesn’t work, he will find a way to hurt you.”
Sadie squeezed Mrs. Hudson’s hand. “Let me worry about that. You take care of your daughter and granddaughter.”
The woman shook her head. “I cannot keep them hidden forever.”
She had no answer to that. And the only one she wanted to discuss it with was unavailable. Imagine, wishing to discuss matters pertaining to Lady Vengeance with a man. And not justa man, but the one who had humiliated her about her first difficulty, the one who routinely cautioned her and pointed out the problems with her plans.
Good God, she really was in love. And now she urgently needed to speak with Lord Heath.
She made it through the rest of the ball with minimal patience. No one else interested her, and so she pleaded a headache and the countess was happy to oblige. But once they were in the carriage headed home, the lady fixed her with a hard stare.
“I expect you have heard Lord Liddican’s slander.”
“Only in the most general terms. I am a scheming Scottish whore responsible for the downfall of all of England.”
The countess nodded. “That is the gist of it. What do you propose to do about it?”
She wanted to go beat the man to a pulp, but Lord Heath’s admonishments rang in her ears. Liddican would only hit back harder later. Or hit someone else, be it his wife, his child, or an unlucky maid.
