“Perhaps you’re right. Perhaps we should return home,” he said, sounding just as dispirited as she felt. “Things appear hopeless with Anne’s father, and Viscount Adderley is beginning to pay particular attention to her. I should just as soon not have to stand around helplessly and be spectator to their courtship.”
Alex felt a stab of guilt. She had been so caught up in her own affairs that she had neglected to see her brother’s pain.
“How selfish of me,” she exclaimed, slipping her hand over his. “I’ve thought of naught but my own petty problems. Come,tell me why you think things are truly so bleak. Surely you don’t doubt Anne’s feelings …”
Hammerton noticedthe two siblings deep in conversation. He was reminded of the note he had intercepted from Branford, and how it revealed a growing intimacy between the earl and the Chiltons that didn’t auger well for his plans. In fact, it had been a cause for concern over the past few days.
His lips pursed in thought for a few moments, then curled into a calculating smile.
He strolled to where Standish was laughing over a bawdy joke with a group of his friends. Throwing his arm casually over his cousin’s shoulder, he disengaged him from the other gentlemen and steered him toward the back of the ballroom.
“You wish to have Branford removed as an ally of the Chiltons?” whispered Hammerton. “I have an idea. Follow my lead and in five minutes they will be more than happy to stick a knife into the Earl of Branford’s icy heart.”
Moving slowly through the crowd, he circled around and came to a halt near the settee where they were hidden from view by another arrangement of trees …
“What a nasty business,” began Hammerton in a voice dripping with false concern. “I find young Chilton to be a very pleasant fellow, and his sister is charming as well. Someone should warn them of the danger.”
“Surely you exaggerate,” said Standish
Hammerton heaved a sigh. “I wish that was true. To be honest, I would not have thought even such an unprincipled rake as Branford would stoop that low.”
“Just what do you mean?” inquired Standish.
“Making sport with an innocent.”
“No!” Standish feigned shock. “No gentleman …”
“I would not have believed it either if I hadn’t witnessed it myself.” Hammerton lowered his voice just a little. “It’s right there in the betting book at the club. Imagine, he actually wagered five hundred pounds that he could—well, to put it bluntly—mount the poor girl.”
“The blackguard!” exclaimed Standish.
“Quite. But it’s deucedly awkward to broach such a delicate subject to Chilton. I don’t quite know him well enough.”
“Yes, I see your point,” replied Standish.
“Well, I shall try to think of some way to alert him. It would be ungentlemanly to let such behavior go unchecked. I should never forgive myself if the young lady came to any harm.”
With that, Hammerton motioned for them to move off, a look of malevolent satisfaction spreading over his face.
Alex fistedher hands in her lap, her nails nearly drawing blood as they dug into her palms There was a dull roaring in her ears and she found herself wondering if, for the first time in her life, she was going to succumb to the utterly ridiculous feminine weakness of fainting on the spot.
But she had never been one to wilt in the face of adversity, she reminded herself grimly. Her shock quickly turned to a seething anger. She gritted her teeth and imagined slicing up a certain portion of the earl’s anatomy—inch by inch.
“Alex …” Justin’s face was white with concern as he searched for words.
“You needn’t worry that I’m about to fall into a fit of girlish hysterics.” Her voice was under rigid control. “At my advancedage, I have few of the illusions of a young miss and am not so naive as to the ways of the world. If Lord Branford, for whatever reason, wants to play … ”
“We don’t even know if it is true,” pointed out Justin in a near whisper.
Alex compressed her lips as she brushed a lock of hair from her cheek. “I thought it was you who expected the worst from him.”
Justin colored. “It’s just that now I … I just don’t believe he would do such a thing,” he said in a near whisper. “Do you?”
Alex didn’t answer his question. “You know very well that I sought out the earl for my own reasons. I am fully aware of his reputation. If he chooses to amuse himself with his own little games, that is his concern, not mine.”
She forced a smile as Justin’s eyes bore into her. “Ah, I see that Anne is looking for you. I expect you are promised for the next set.”
“But Alex …”
