“That isnotwhat I said. I merely meant that—”
“I’m leaving, Fletcher. But thank you for giving me what I came here for.” Then she stormed down the hall. Hoskins helped her into her coat, and she walked out the door.
Chapter Ten
Lark moved through his club with deliberately slow speed so as to better listen to the day’s gossip. The former Lord Chancellor, also Anthony’s uncle, had given a rather overwrought speech the day before, and that seemed to be the talk of the day. The contents of the speech didn’t interest Lark much, but he was reminded again that Anthony had enough wealth and power to be above the gossip fray, something he’d repeated to Lark many times, and yet he’d made decisions based on keeping himself out of trouble.
He’d done so at Lark’s urging, though. Lark had been the one to insist they end their relationship so that Anthony marry, and now here they were. Given all that had transpired in the last year, Lark had no deeper regret than pushing Anthony away so that they might not find themselves at the ends of nooses. Perhaps Anthony’s powerful family and his money could buy his way out of trouble, but Lark had convinced himself that no amount of wealth, fame, or power would prevent the crown from hanging sodomites--not if he had enemies lurking about. As he’d learned last year, before his would-be blackmailer met an untimely end, all it would take was someone he'd angered in the past learning his secrets to end everything.
He found Anthony sitting alone by the fire.
Something in his chest seized.
Lark approached slowly. He sat in the chair across from Anthony without saying a word, but the movement must have caught his eye, because Anthony looked over.
“Lark.”
“I am somewhat surprised to see you here.”
“Henry is with Mrs. Church. I needed to get out of the house and talk to my peers. Slow night, though.”
“Rotherfeld is holding a dinner party tonight to show off his fiancée, so Fletcher and Hugh are there. I have not the foggiest where Owen has gone tonight.”
Anthony looked surprised. “Rotherfeld is engaged?”
“You are out of the gossip loop, I see.”
“I’ve been otherwise occupied.”
“Yes. Well, Rotherfeld is engaged to Fletcher’s dear friend, Lady Louisa Petty, and Fletcher is beside himself about it, so that has been entertaining in its own way.”
“Rotherfeld is engaged to Lady Louisa?” Anthony tilted his head as if this were mystifying.
“What of it?”
“Lark… I hesitate to say this but…”
“Tell me.”
“Rotherfeld…that is, Fletcher has feelings for Lady Louisa? Why did Fletcher not offer for her?”
“I think he did not know his feelings until she was engaged to someone else.”
“If he has romantic feelings for her, perhaps an intervention is called for.”
“Oh, believe me, I’ve tried, and Fletcher is quite insistent he merely wants Louisa’s happiness. If she loves Rotherfeld, he will not intervene—”
“No, I mean… I do not believe Louisa would be happy with Rotherfeld.”
Lark regarded Anthony for a moment. Lark suspected he did not want an answer to his next question, but he said, “What makes you say that?”
Anthony sighed. “It’s been…years. Before I had so much as a conversation with you. But he and I…”
“Please say no more.”
Anthony nodded. “I haven’t spoken to him since we ended things, aside from niceties here and there as necessary, and the affair itself was brief. We never…that is, it was physical but not emotional, our involvement.”
Lark rubbed his chest. “I’d really prefer not to hear the details.”
