Eloisa let out a small cry when Lucy’s finger stopped at the bottom of the column, where Uncle Jarvis had tallied the figures and written the total.
Five thousand, three hundred and six pounds.
Uncle Jarvis had underlined the figure, and next to it he’d made a small notation.
Godfrey.
Uncle Jarvis owed Lord Godfrey in excess of five thousand pounds.
Lucy swayed where she stood, and Eloisa grasped her by the shoulders to steady her. “Let me see it.”
Lucy handed her cousin the book, then slumped against the edge of the desk, her heart racing as Eloisa read through the column of numbers again. When Eloisa looked up from the book, her face was white. “This doesn’t mean…you don’t think this means…”
Eloisa’s voice trailed off, and she fell silent.
Lucy drew a shaky breath. They both knew what it meant. Refusing to say it aloud didn’t make it any less true. “It means my uncle intends to sell me to Lord Godfrey in exchange for paying his debt.” They’d known it already, of course, but there was something shocking about seeing one’s worth reduced to a handful of numbers in an accounting book.
Eloisa’s gaze moved from Lucy’s face to the open book in her hands. She stared down at it for a moment, then turned and placed it carefully back in the drawer and arranged the inkstand and stationery box on top of it. When she’d closed and locked the drawer, her gaze met Lucy’s again, and Lucy saw her eyes were full of tears.
“Oh, Eloisa. It’s not as bad as all—”
“Itisas bad. It’s worse. I always knew my father was…well, he’s not a good man, but I never imagined he’d do something like this.” Eloisa dragged the back of her hand across her cheek. “All these bills he can’t pay, and gaming debts besides, and if that weren’t wicked enough, he intends to…to s-sell my cousin to a horrible old lord who’s so wicked himself he’d actually agree to forgive a debt in exchange for a bride!”
Well, when Eloisa put it that way, itdidsound rather bad.
Lucy gripped the edge of the desk behind her until her knuckles went white. She felt as if a weight were pressing down on her chest, and her throat started to close with panic. She gulped in a breath—once, again—until she managed a shuddering gasp, and the panic began to recede.
She had to think, that was all. There had to be a way out of this mess.
“You must leave London at once, Lucy.”
Lucy met Eloisa’s solemn gaze. She started to shake her head, but before she could say a word, Eloisa interrupted her. “Yes, Lucy. Don’t you see? You don’t have a choice! If you remain in London, my father will find a way to force you to marry Lord Godfrey. You don’t know what he’s like. You don’t understand how far he’ll go.”
For a brief moment Lucy considered heeding Eloisa’s advice. A few weeks was all she needed. If she could find a way to disappear until her birthday, she would be free from Uncle Jarvis’s power altogether.…
But if she did flee, what would happen to Eloisa and Aunt Jarvis? Her uncle would guess Eloisa had helped her. He’d be furious, and there was no telling what he might do. Two weeks was an eternity. Anything could happen in that time.
“No, Eloisa. I won’t leave you and my aunt alone with him. There’s got to be another way.” Lucy pressed her fingers to her temples, but she couldn’tthink. Finally, she looked up to meet Eloisa’s anxious gaze. “Tomorrow night is Lord and Lady Weatherby’s ball. Mr. Ramsey will be there. He’ll help us decide what’s best to do.”
Chapter Sixteen
“Father’s watching us.”
At Eloisa’s whisper, Lucy glanced toward the archway that led into the card room. Of course, it was just as her cousin said. Uncle Jarviswaswatching them.
He wasalwayswatching them.
He’d gone straight toward the card room as soon as they entered the Weatherbys’ ballroom. Lucy had breathed a sigh of relief, imagining he’d stay there for the rest of the evening, but he hadn’t gone inside. Instead he lingered by the doorway, as if he were waiting for someone.
Lucy could hardly be at a loss to imagine who.
“He doesn’t look pleased, does he?” Lucy muttered, for Eloisa’s ears only.
“No, but he never looks pleased, except when he’s—” Eloisa broke off on a soft gasp, and gripped Lucy’s arm. “Oh no, Lucy. Lord Godfrey is here.”
Lucy ventured another quick glance behind her and a chill rushed over her skin. Lord Godfrey was indeed here. He’d just joined her uncle in front of the card room. Even from this distance she could feel those cold gray eyes crawling over her skin, making every hair on her arms rise in alarm.
Lucy sucked in a quick breath to steady herself, then jerked around in her chair and gave Lord Godfrey her back. She fixed her gaze on the couples twirling gingerly around the dance floor, their elbows tucked into their sides to keep from jabbing their neighbors.
