Lady Farnsworth admired her sheet of notes, blotted them, then folded the paper and returned to her seat on a divan beside Mrs. Galbreath. She found her reticule and tucked the paper away. “How fortuitous that I found you today, so I could have a map, as it were.”
The “map” had taken fifteen minutes to create. Now that it was done, Amanda wondered how to avoid awkward questions.
“You do know that if it becomes known that you are living in his home there will be no hope for you,” Lady Farnsworth spoke as calmly as if she commented on the weather.
The duchess rolled her eyes. “Really, Dorothy.”
“I feel obligated to remind her. It isn’t done. You know it isn’t, Clara. Langford has outdone himself in his lifelong campaign to shock society.”
“No one knows I am here, except you ladies and the Duke of Stratton. Nor will I remain here much longer. The duke is kindly helping me with a matter that has bedeviled me. It should conclude soon.”
“And where will you go then?” Lady Farnsworth demanded.
“To aid my mother, as I said. I did not lie about that. I have no illusions that my association with the duke will last long.”
“If you needed help, you could have asked us,” Mrs. Galbreath said.
“That is kind of you, but I do not think this is help that you could give anyway. I want you to know that the help was not conditioned on my being his lover, or the other way around. Rather that happened before he knew I needed any help. I had even tried to hide that from him. As to my current situation, it happened almost by accident.”
“It does not sound as though Miss Waverly desires to escape a situation that she regrets,” the duchess said. “It seems we will not be required to rescue her, ladies.”
Lady Farnsworth acknowledged that with a grudging nod. Mrs. Galbreath appeared less convinced. “And if there is a child, what then? Will there be a settlement?” she said. “This may have happened by accident, but there can be the most lasting of consequences.”
When Amanda did not reply, the duchess asked gently, “Would you like one of us to speak with him? Or my husband?”
Lady Farnsworth scowled. “That devil shall not be allowed to take advantage of your ignorance.”
“He is not a devil,” Amanda said. “He is more kind than you know, and would never take advantage. Nor is he keeping me. Would I be wearing this dress if he were? I am a temporary houseguest and I do not require any settlements. Now, please, do tell me how the next issue of the journal progresses. I have been wondering about it and am glad to have this chance to hear about it.”
The ladies launched into a spirited account of the next issue and its contents.
* * *
“I have news about the man behind this, perhaps.” Gabriel spoke into the night and broke the quiet peace. “I have debated whether to tell you because the thread is very thin. Too thin to follow.”
“Any thread is better than none.” Amanda pulled up her legs and turned to face him. “You must tell me now. It would be cruel not to.”
“Do not make too much of it.”
“Tell me, damn it.”
“Amanda. What language.”
“Tell me or you will hear far worse.”
“I have the name of a man who claims items like these were stolen from his land. It fits with what I know about their source. There was a private auction when they came to London years ago. Their provenance was ambiguous. Provenance means—”
“I know what it means. It is the history of an item or work of art. Who owned it previously, back through time. If no one knew the provenance of the brooch, for example, how could this man prove it belongs to him?”
“He can’t. The quiet sale, however, suggests something suspicious about how the brooch was procured. So his claim may have merit.”
“And so . . . he may have decided to get his property back by any means, even if it meant having someone steal it back for him.”
“That was my thought. He lives in the general area where Brentworth was told the hoard had been found. Devonshire. So it is possible he saw his opportunity.”
“Are we going to go there?”
“It is tempting, but I would prefer if the thread were a bit thicker. It could be a chase after nothing. It would be easier if we had some indication of where your mother is. I would hate to travel to Devon only to learn later your mother is in Northumberland.”
