“Do we take action or stay silent?”
“I think we need to look into this ourselves,” Evelyn said. “Take control. Be cautious but try to determine who is out to make us look suspicious.”
“Controlling the situation would help, but I would not want anyone aware of any interest we might have,” the duke saidthrough pursed lips. He looked sinfully delicious, all brooding and concerned, but Evelyn tried to push that thought away.
“Why not?” she pushed. “It would make sense for us to want to learn more about a situation involving our names.”
“You do not fully understand just what is at stake for me here,” he said, his frustration evident.
“No?” she said, lifting a brow, trying to control her own temper, one that didn’t make itself known very often. “An unmarried woman targeted by scandal rarely recovers from it.”
The duke stilled at that.
“Why are you not married?” he finally asked, and she crossed her arms over her chest.
“The same could be asked of you.”
He snorted. “I suppose. Best leave it be, Lady Evelyn. I believe the best way to proceed is for each of us todiscreetlyinquire within our own circles where these rumors originated.”
“Very well,” Evelyn said, realizing that the duke might not be her best partner. He was too safe. Too careful.
She would do what she could, even if it meant doing it on her own.
“Good day, then, your grace,” she said, departing the room, leaving him behind as she made her way out of the museum, stopping in the second chamber to solve the puzzle that had been rolling around in the back of her mind.
She provided her answer to the puzzle on the way out the door before joining her father, who had been reading next door.
As she entered the carriage, she caught sight of Lady Norwood, a well-known gossip, watching her intently, but Evelyn shrugged. There was nothing to see here, just a lady going about her usual routine.
She wasn’t about to change, nor to bend.
For anyone.
4
Norwood House stood at the edge of Kensington like a jewel set deliberately apart from the busy crowd of London – elegant, yet fairly aloof.
Asher had attended functions here now and then, but he was not close with the Earl of Norwood, who was a rather self-important type of gentleman. Asher distinctly remembered his father being particularly dismissive whenever his name came up, and Asher’s own interactions with the earl hadn’t changed his mind.
The house, however, was beautiful, with bow-fronted wings that offered sweeping views of the gardens. Tonight, it was the setting for a ball.
“I am surprised you wanted to attend tonight, Asher, with all of the rumors as of late,” his sister said from where she sat next to her mother, across from him.
“Best to show that nothing has changed in my life,” he said, even though, deep within, he would rather have remained home for a more subdued evening. But when the invitation from the Earl and Countess of Norwood had arrived, he had realized thatit just might be the perfect opportunity to uncover any secrets that might be hiding among members of the aristocracy.
“I suppose,” Thalia murmured, although she studied him closely, likely knowing there was more to the explanation.
His mother sniffed. “Lord and Lady Norwood just wanted the opportunity to show off their latest renovations,” she said, lantern light shining over her face as their carriage rolled up the drive behind a great many others in line.
As they finally descended onto the drive, the tall front windows framed by ivy provided glimpses of the refined interior, lit by the soft glow of chandeliers sparkling through the glass.
“Well, here we are,” Asher said, leading his mother and sister into the house, greeting their host and hostess, who seemed particularly thrilled to see them in attendance. But then, if any one of thetonwas up on the gossip of the day, it was Lady Norwood, who was surely eager to have more news of the currently renowned Duke of Ravenscar, even if interest in him was now for all of the wrong reasons.
“After a drink, I think I best be off to find the card room,” he murmured to Thalia, who was already craning her neck, likely on the lookout for her friend, Miss Vale Vale. Miss Vale had arrived in London earlier that year as the ward of Lord Eastclere under somewhat mysterious circumstances. Of course, Thalia had been the one to befriend her, never wanting to see anyone left behind.
Inside, the rooms appeared to have been arranged with social strategy in mind. The central ballroom, where most of the guests congregated, dominated the ground floor, its polished parquet floor reflecting the candlelit chandeliers above.
In his search to discover the card room, Asher noted the long gallery of what likely featured ancestral portraits nearby, while smaller withdrawing rooms branched off the main hall. Likely rooms where Lady Norwood could spy on her guests to providegossip for the following day. Asher made a note to himself not to fall into that trap.
