“You won’t move on him because you care more about smuggling than the death of my father?” Esme burst out, then pushed her hand against her mouth. In her upset, she had lashed out against not only a man who was trying to help her, but one who had a great deal more power than she did.
But Willowby’s expression only gentled. “I care a great deal about the death of your father and the threats against you. With your help, I hope we’ll be able to catch him foreverymisdeed your cousin ever committed.”
“Help you how?” Finn asked.
“If he wants your partnership, Delacourt, your investment, to the point that he’s willing to threaten the faceless lady he thinks is your lover, then his desperation may be at a peak. I’d like for you to invite him here, discuss it with him. Let Diana and I be close by, or another agent he might not recognize take part in the discussion.”
“I’ll do that,” Finn said without hesitation.
“No,” Esme said, turning toward him. “This man killed my father, caused his death in a barbaric way. I don’t ever want you near him again!”
“Love,” Finn began. “If he’s gone, none of us will be in danger anymore. You, me, anyone else he’s taken in through the abuse of your father’s title.Thatis worth the risk.”
When he said that, she knew it was true. This was to save him, as much as herself. She drew in a shaky breath and looked at the Willowbys. “You’d protect him?” she whispered.
“With my life,” Willowby answered without hesitation and with such confidence that Esme immediately believed him.
“Very well. I cannot argue,” she said.
“Diana and I will go now and make some arrangements. May we return early this evening, after the party has ended, and we can decide how to best proceed?”
“Of course,” Finn said. “Speaking of the party, I would wager it’s on the edge of ending now. I’ll go down and say goodbye to my guests, not leave the impression of anything odd happening, just in case there are prying eyes watching.”
“Good idea. I’ll go down with you,” Willowby said.
“I’ll follow,” Diana said with a smile for Esme. “But I’d like to say a private goodbye to Esme.”
Esme stiffened and glanced toward Finn. “To me?”
“Yes, if that would be agreeable.”
“Of course, Your Grace. Diana.”
Willowby held out a hand to Esme and when she took it, he held it firmly. “On my life, I shall do what I can to make this right. For you, as much as for your father or anyone else.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
The two men departed together, with only a brief backward glance from Finn, and that left Esme with Diana. The duchess tilted her head. “Take a breath, I promise I won’t bite.”
Esme did so and realized afterward that she had hardly drawn one since the duke and duchess entered the chamber together. “You and your husband are so kind,” she said at last. “I will be forever in your debt.”
“You are in no one’s debt,” Diana said. “Now then, when this is resolved, what do you plan to do?”
Esme shook her head. “I don’t rightly know, to be honest. I was stripped of all financial support. I’ve saved a moderate sum from my own work, but it wouldn’t be seen as a fortune by anyone. I would hope the next Marquess of Chilton might provide my living back to me, or at least a portion, given the scandal. If he did, I think I would…I would leave London.”
Diana held her stare a moment. “Leavehim.”
Esme shut her eyes. There was no need to clarify who Diana meant. “Hewould have me stay. Marry him, even.”
“You don’t want that?” Diana asked.
“I wouldn’t belong here anymore,” she whispered. “I’ve seen and done too much to be accepted. I fear I’d drag him down if I stayed.”
Diana nodded slowly. “I felt that way once. I wasn’t of your world, not ever. But I loved Lucas and he loved me. Enough that I knew the pain of losing each other would far outstrip the pain of facing any problems with acceptance within Society.”
“But there were problems,” Esme said. “There must have been.”
“At first,” Diana admitted. “I can’t lie and say that the scandal surrounding your disappearance will probably be nothing compared to the one that will stir back up with your return. But there are a tight group of friends who welcomed me with open arms. You’ll have that, as well. Me, for example. And I think there are others who genuinely feared for you during your absence. True friends. Family. Like Marianne.”
