“Thank God.” Cam released a long breath. “At least the worst didn’t happen. Not this time, at any rate.”
“This time? Does the marchioness make a habit of frequenting whorehouses?”
Cam ran a hand through his hair. “This is her first whorehouse, but not her first brush with scandal. She hasn’t been herself since she returned to London for the season. You know Hadley died not even four months after they wed, and that in itself was an awful enough business—”
“No.” Julian held up a hand. “I don’t want to know the details, Cam.” The Marchioness of Hadley wasn’t his concern, and he would keep it that way.
Cam gave him a measuring look, but he didn’t argue. “Ellie’s going to go mad when she hears of this.”
“Don’t tell her, then.”
“Spoken like a naive bachelor, cuz. I don’t keep secrets from my wife. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t. Wives always find out. Besides, if I don’t tell her, Sarah will.”
“Who’s Sarah?”
“Sarah is Charlotte’s lady’s maid. Earlier this season when it became clear Charlotte wasn’t, well…wasn’t herself, Sarah agreed to keep an eye on her and report anything of concern back to Ellie.”
Keep an eye on her?For God’s sake. Cam spoke as if Charlotte were a rebellious child. “Tell Sarah to keep it quiet, then. It might be better if Ellie didn’t know.”
“It might be better if Ellie didn’t know what?”
Julian whirled around, and his whiskey sloshed over the edge of his glass. “Good Lord, Ellie. You’ve made me spill whiskey all over myself. Where did you come from?”
Ellie stood by the door, one eyebrow raised and her arms folded across her chest. “The hallway, and not a moment too soon, it seems. It might be better if Ellie didn’t know about what, Julian?”
Cam chuckled. “I told you, Jules. There’s no point in trying to hide anything from them. They always find out. What are you doing awake, love?”
“I couldn’t sleep until I knew the worst about Charlotte, and from what I just overheard, I gather the worst is awful, indeed.”
“If by awful you mean I found her in a brothel with nothing but a flimsy mask standing between her and ruin,” Julian said, “Then yes, the worst is awful.”
Ellie paled. Cam crossed the room to her at once, took her arm, and led her to his chair. “Sit down, love.”
“She takes it further every time, Cam.” Ellie gripped his arm as he leaned over the chair. “Dear God. I shudder to think what she’ll do next.”
Cam took her hand and sat down on the chair’s arm. “Perhaps there won’t be a next.”
Ellie shook her head. “There will be. We’ve tried everything we can think of to stop this, but she won’t listen.”
“Not everything.” Cam fixed his gaze on Julian. “We haven’t tried Jules.”
Julian froze.Tried Jules?He didn’t like the sound of that.
“Ellie, Alec, and Robyn have exhausted themselves trying to rein Charlotte in,” Cam said. “Nothing they’ve said has made any difference, but tonight you managed to coax Charlotte from a brothel and deliver her safely to her door. You’ve had more success in one night than the rest of us have had in months.”
Coaxed her? Certainly, if lying and blackmail could be called coaxing.
“What of her mother? Surely Lady Catherine can make Charlotte see sense.”
“Our mother has been in Bath all season with my aunt, who’s taking the waters there for a chest complaint,” Ellie said. “Mother has written to Charlotte again and again, but a letter is easy enough to ignore, and it’s done no good.”
“How unfortunate,” Julian murmured.
“It would be unfortunate indeed if Charlotte became a scandal,” Cam said. “But thankfully you’re here now.”
“No, I’m not. Not for that.”
Ellie regarded him steadily. “But it’s so perfect. You’re a single gentleman. You can follow her about London without attracting any attention, and—”
