Mr. Havisham’s lips twitched. “Thank you, my lord. I dare say I’ll take you up on that offer.”
Bryce turned toward the stairs and waited for Mrs. Havisham to follow before starting up them. They reached the landing in silence, continuing down the corridor to the room in which Eve had been staying. Bryce knocked.
“Come in,” came Eve’s reply.
Bryce reached for the handle, but Mrs. Havisham stepped in front of him, blocking his path. “I believe I can manage from here,” she said. “Miss Potter and I will see you downstairs in the parlor when we are ready.”
Briefly, Bryce was tempted to argue, but gave up. Mrs. Havisham had every right to want him gone from the vicinity of Eve’s bedchamber. She probably thought the worst already because of how quickly he’d reached the room. He hadn’t bothered to pretend to doubt which one it was. So he dipped his head in acquiescence and retreated to the stairs, descending them with the full intention of joining Mr. Havisham for a much needed brandy.
* * *
The door opened, and Eve was surprised to see Margaret coming toward her, her face transforming from hard lines of determination into fragile concern. Eve rose to greet her as best as she could and was suddenly wrapped in her friend’s embrace. “I have been so terribly worried about you,” Margaret confessed. She hugged Eve tightly.
“I’m sorry.” Eve pulled out of her arms so she could speak with her friend properly. “I took the wrong road on the day I arrived and ended up here instead.”
“If only you would have waited.” Margaret’s eyes filled with regret. “Our coachman was sent to fetch you. He told me he waited until the roads grew icy, and he began to suspect you must have been delayed.”
Pressing her lips together, Eve didn’t quite know what to say except, “Ravenworth was kind enough to let me warm myself by his fire.”
“Of course he was,” Margaret said. “You’re a beautiful young woman, Eve. I’m sure he was quite eager to get his hands on you.”
Eve’s mouth fell open. She stared at Margaret. A ferocious expression had settled upon her face while her hands had balled themselves into tight fists.
“He could have turned me away,” Eve said. “But he didn’t. Instead, he offered me something to eat and asked his groom to prepare the carriage. But then the roads froze, and it became too hazardous for us to venture out.”
“So he offered you a bed instead.”
Eve started getting annoyed. It had been a couple of years since she’d seen Margaret last. She’d been so full of laughter and mischief. Not at all the stern stickler for propriety she was proving to be at the moment. Which made Eve wonder if marriage might not agree with Margaret, or if there was some other reason for her to leap to the worst conclusions. “I don’t believe I like what you are implying,” Eve said, matching Margaret’s blunt tone.
Margaret stared at Eve for a long moment as if considering something, then said, “If you were in my shoes you would not be so flip about this. That man…” Her voice began to shake, and it struck Eve how deeply this situation affected her. “He is the worst sort of scoundrel, a reprobate of the first order, Eve! If word of your sojourn here gets out, you will be ruined! No respectable gentleman will want to marry you. Do you understand that?”
Eve tilted her head and contemplated the warning. “Ravensworth made that point perfectly clear,” she mused.
My reputation is not what it once was.
Would you throw away your chance to make a respectable match on a man who’s been shunned by his own family?
“Did he really?” The sarcastic edge with which Margaret spoke wasn’t lost on Eve.
“Yes,” she said. “But he didn’t tell me why that is.”
Margaret snorted and rolled her eyes. “That is hardly surprising.”
“I would like for you to do so right now, however,” Eve pressed. She’d been trying to make sense of the whole situation for several days without success. But Margaret was loyal to her, not to Ravenworth, and Eve meant to take advantage of this.
“It is not for an innocent’s ears,” Margaret said. She sank down onto the same chair Ravenworth had made use of when he’d come to check on Eve for the past few days.
Eve wondered if her friend might leap straight back out of it if she knew. Which made her lips twitch in response to the funny image such an idea posed. She forced back her momentary amusement and said, “Be that as it may, I am not leaving this room until you tell me what he has been accused of.”
Margaret stared at her and suddenly frowned. Her eyes narrowed, and she tilted her chin so she could look Eve straight in the eye. “Have you done something stupid like fall in love with him?”
Eve dropped onto the edge of the bed with a sigh. “Don’t be ridiculous. I barely know the man.”
A second passed, followed by another. Eve held her breath, and then Margaret suddenly said, “Goodness gracious me, you have!”
“Just tell me why Ravenworth doesn’t deserve my affection. All things considered, I believe I ought to know.”
“He seduced a young gentlewoman. Miss Edwina Jenkins, is her name. She’s the daughter of a local landowner.”
