Finally, the countess turned her attention to her charges.
“Thank God you’re safe. Girls, I have been worried sick!” She grabbed Iseabail first, scanned her from head to toe, then embraced her. Reuben was close enough to hear her whisper into the girl’s ear. “Don’t say anything. Let me handle this.”
Then she repeated the gesture with Miss Allen.
Next, it was his turn. He smiled and bowed to her, but her expression hardened into anger. “I am very cross with you Mr. Bates. Very cross indeed,” she stated loudly. “What nonsense have you involved us all in? The watch at my door. My girls frazzled. I insist you leave immediately and take these odious men with you.”
It was clearly a ploy to lay everything at his door while the women were cast as victims. Unfortunately, everyone here—including the men of the watch—knew that Iseabail was the center of this problem, not him.
Mr. Otto Gibson stepped forward. He was the oldest of the two watchmen, and he was distantly acquainted with Reuben. “Begging your pardon, my lady, but it’s not Mr. Bates we’re looking for. By all accounts, he stepped in to save the miss—”
“That ain’t true!” cried another man of the watch, this one unknown to Reuben. “He’s in the midst of it all. Jes’ ask Sammy Watts. It were a lawful getting of an errant wife.” He pointed hard at Iseabail. “And he interfered where it were none of his business.”
“Put that finger down,” Reuben growled, “or I’ll see that you never use it again.”
Growling at the watch was not the way to act. Indeed, it was the opposite of his usual charm. And yet, he did not like anyone pointing a dirty finger at Iseabail, and he found himself standing between her and the offending man without even a conscious decision to move. Damn it! He needed to get control of himself.
“Now, now, no need to insult a lady,” Otto said. His words were for everyone, but his focus was on Reuben as his bushy eyebrows drew together into a frown. “Reuben, you and me have seen a thing or two. We’ve got witness statements—”
“And what have they said?” Reuben interrupted. “These witnesses?”
Lady Rebecca abruptly pushed through the growing crowd in the foyer. “I did. I saw it all, and you were magnificent, Mr. Bates!”
He looked at the girl, seeing her rosy cheeks and wide brown eyes. Her mother stood protectively behind her, but there was a thoughtful look in the matron’s eyes. One that said she could turn this situation to her advantage. But it was Lady Rebecca who caught his attention the most as she kept talking.
“Those horrible men came for Miss Spalding. They were truly frightening, and I couldn’t understand a word they said. Savages, really. Mad savages.” She pressed her hand to her bodice as if terrified, but he saw the delight of a woman who loved a good gothic tale, the more outlandish the better. “I was terrified, you understand, but Mr. Bates saw me to safety. He made sure no harm would come to me, and then he…” She gasped in true dramatic delight. “Oh, he saved us all!”
Even though she and her mother stood at the entrance to the parlor, Reuben could clearly hear the gasps from the other ladies within. There might even have been a lower voice from a few gentlemen, it was hard to tell. Either way, it was clear that thanks to Lady Rebecca, the tide of opinion was flowing in his favor.
“I only did what any gentleman would do,” he said as he winked at Lady Rebecca. She blushed bright pink, and he knew he had gained an admirer. Several if he played his cards right. So he turned to his acquaintance on the watch and tried to make him a friend. “Otto, I know this is a difficult business. Blood in Hyde Park, upset ladies, and two innocent debutantes caught in the middle, but I assure you, I can explain it all.”
“Can ye explain wot ye did to Sammy?” cried the younger watchman. “He said yer friends. If that’s wot you do to yer friends—”
“Stop it, Charlie. Let’s hear what Mr. Bates has to say.”
“It’s a terrible tale, Otto. Miss Spalding has come here to find a husband as so many young ladies do. She was fortunate enough to gain the respect and sponsorship of the Countess of Byrn, but her unscrupulous uncle wants to keep her dowry for himself.” He leaned in. “Five hundred gold coins.”
He made sure to say that last point in a stage whisper. Everyone in the parlor gasped, even though this was common knowledge. Indeed, the countess had made a point of it. Yet still, they all gasped as if they were at a Cheltenham tragedy. And so he gave them exactly what they wanted.
“What was the poor girl to do when those ruffians came for her, claiming all sorts of nonsense? Surrender? Of course not. She fought as any good woman of virtue would. And I—”
Lady Rebecca spoke up. “You could not leave her to fight alone!”
“I could not,” he confirmed.
“You’re so brave,” she said.
He smiled at the girl. “I am most pleased that you are unscathed, my lady.”
She giggled. “I am completely unharmed.”
She was completely under his thrall, as well. He could have her wedded and bedded inside a week.
The knowledge didn’t come with any kind of glee. Indeed, it was a simple fact that brought with it the knowledge of his entire future as if on parchment. Lady Rebecca was too naïve to see that she worshiped a dream. Meanwhile, her much cannier parent would know of his deep pockets, ones that could help their coffers considerably if handled quietly. She would throw her own weight—and that of the Countess of Byrn—behind the idea that he was a hero, a prince among the peasants, who deserved to be admitted—provisionally—into their ranks.
If he kept free of scandal, helped various members of thetonnow and then when they were in a tight spot, then his place among them was assured. They wouldn’t welcome him completely. Far from it. But his children would have a place, and by the time his grandchildren arrived, his past would be all but forgotten by anyone but him.
All he need do was play to the crowd of onlookers.
