“Well, tell your brother that I think it’s very fine,” Kitty said. “I wouldn’t mind traveling anywhere in a coach like this.”
“Forgive me, sir,” Cass interrupted, “but we must discuss—”
“Right.” He pulled a letter out of his pocket. “This is from Douglas.”
Cass lifted an eyebrow. “You couldn’t just have given it to me to give Kitty?”
“No,” he said flatly. “Douglas wanted me to put it into her hands personally so I could explain the contents in more detail as well as answer any questions. Since I was returning to England anyway, I was happy to undertake that mission.”
“How intriguing,” Cass said as Kitty took it from him. “I’m dying to know what’s so important that it constitutes a ‘mission.’ ”
She and Cass read the letter together by the light of the carriage lamps:
Dearest Sister,
My sincerest hope is that this finds you well, and that you have not yet met Mr. Lionel Malet—or succumbed to his false blandishments. He is—
“I thought it wasCaptainMalet,” Kitty whispered to Cass. “And what does ‘blandishments’ mean?”
Cass said, “It means ‘flatteries’ or ‘smooth talk.’” Cass shot His Lordship a furtive glance. “And there’s no point to whispering. I’m sure Colonel Lord Heywood can hear you perfectly well.”
The man smiled faintly. “Please call me Heywood. I feel as if I know you both already through Douglas. And through Miss Nickman’s entertaining letters, of course.”
Cass winced. It was harder than she’d expected not to be able to acknowledge her authorship of the letters.
“Then you must call us Kitty and Cass,” Kitty said with a knowing smile for Cass.
“Kitty!” Cass protested.
“Why not? We knowhimalready through letters, too.”
Heywood tipped his hat to Kitty. “To answer your question, Malet was indeed a captain until he was cashiered for ‘conduct unbecoming the character of an officer and a gentleman.’ ”
Kitty leaned up to whisper in Cass’s ear, “EvenIknow that’s very bad.”
Cass nodded. If she remembered correctly, cashiering was when a soldier or officer was stripped of his rank so that he couldn’t sell his commission and then was discharged from the army or navy. Thank heaven for Douglas and his sense of responsibility. Kitty might actually heed her brother’s warnings about Mr. Malet.
Kitty and Cass continued reading, but the rest merely confirmed what the colonel—Heywood—had said:
I am sworn to secrecy on the matter that has destroyed Malet’s reputation among those who know him, but I assure you it is a serious charge. He is not the gentleman he appears to be. So avoid him or you may find your own reputation ruined. At the very least, you may be forced to marry a man who will treat you ill.
My friend Heywood will answer your questions and make sure that Malet does you no harm. Please show Heywood the utmost courtesy as my emissary.
With much affection,
Douglas
“Well!” Cass sat back. “That is quite a letter. Not that it surprises me one whit. I didn’t like Mr. Malet from the first moment I met him.”
Kitty gazed out the window. “It seems to me that Douglas is being overly cautious. I mean, why would Mr. Malet fix onmeto ruin? Or to marry, for that matter? Why not Cass, for example?”
“He’s a fortune hunter, Kitty.” Cass suppressed a sigh. She should have known Kitty would have trouble keeping her secret. “He doesn’t fix on ladies like me,who have no dowries. Just ladies like you who do.”
Heywood frowned. “It’s more than that. Douglas and I are the ones who discovered his perfidy and brought charges against him. In return, he threatened to get back at us by stealing away one of our sisters, both of whom are heiresses.”
Cass’s stomach sank. How horrible!
“Mr. Malet really said such a thing?” Kitty said, clearly as shocked as Cass.
