Clara sagged against Lord Draven, relieved. “Thank you, my lord. When you and Miss Harley came here yesterday, I thought…that is, I feared you were here at the behest of the duke, and I…I didn’t know what to do. I was terrified, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave.”
“You heard of Lord Draven’s, er…unfortunate accident while you were at Lady Tilbury’s in London, Miss Beauchamp?” Georgiana asked.
“It was no accident, Miss Harley. I was set upon by half a dozen of Kenilworth’s ruffians. I don’t remember much, but I have no doubt they intended to kill me. Kenilworth came here today to finish the job, and drag Clara away again.” Lord Draven’s face was tight as he gripped Clara’s hand. “I shudder to think what he would have done to her.”
Georgiana let out a deep sigh. “The Duke of Kenilworth is not at all what he appearedto be, is he?”
“I’m afraid not,” Clara said on a sigh. “But to answer your question, Miss Harley, Iwasin London with Lady Tilbury when Lord Draven was attacked, yes. I hadn’t set foot outside of Herefordshire in six years, but Augustus was ill, and I couldn’t bear to let him out of my sight, so her ladyship reluctantly agreed to let me come with her as long as I took care to stay inthe townhouse.”
Lord Draven raised Clara’s hand to his lips. “It’s a miracle Jane saw her at all. She came straight to me that night to tell me she believed Clara was still alive. Jane didn’t know a thing about Clara and Kenilworth until then. She came because she knew how devastated I was over Clara’s disappearance, and for no other reason. Your sister has been a good friend tome, Haslemere.”
Benedict’s mouth twisted. “If Jane had suspected what a scoundrel Kenilworth was, she never would have married him. There’s no excuse formynot knowing, however. I should haveprotected her.”
Clara’s blue eyes softened. “You must understand, Lord Haslemere, what a deep secret it was. Only myself, my mother, and Kenilworth knew about the marriage. Neither my mother nor I breathed a word about it because Kenilworth claimed his uncle, the duke, would disinherit him if he foundout the truth.”
Lord Draven nodded. “It’s true, Haslemere. Even I didn’t find out about the marriage until much later, after Clara disappeared. I believed her to be dead by then, and so never suspected Kenilworth of bigamy.”
Benedict stiffened at the reminder, and Georgiana reached for his hand. “Such an odd coincidence, that Jane happened to be driving by at the precise time Miss Beauchamp was inthe carriage.”
“Yes. It makes me believe in fate.” Lord Draven smiled. “As you’ve probably determined, Clara never made it back to Herefordshire once she left Lady Tilbury’s. She coaxed Mrs. Bury into hiring her as a housemaid, and came with me here, to Draven House. Perhaps I’m a selfish man, Miss Harley, but I’m veryglad she did.”
“So, you’ve been hiding in Herefordshire for the past six years?” Benedict could hardly believe it. “It must have been awful, living every day in fear Kenilworth woulddiscover you.”
“It was worrying, yes. I was more fearful on Augustus’s account than my own, however. Lady Tilbury took good care of Augustus and me. She’sa dear friend.”
“Dear enough to lie right to my face for you.” Georgiana smiled to take the sting out of her words. “Though I don’t see that she had much choice.”
“None at all,” Lord Draven said, his voice grim. “I wish I’d ended Kenilworth six years ago, the night Clara disappeared. When I think of the heartache that followed not just for me, but for Clara and Jane…”
“The duel, you mean?” Benedict leaned forward. “I confess to some curiosity about that.”
“My father put a stop to it the night of the Christmas party, but I followed Kenilworth to London, and challenged him again there. I assure you, I was in deadly earnest, Haslemere. If I’d had my way, Kenilworth would have died that night.”
“I’ve no doubt. You thought at first Kenilworth had ruined Miss Beauchamp?”
“Yes. At the ball that night I saw Kenilworth force Clara from the ballroom. I suspected something was amiss, so I followed them to the library. From what I overheard, I assumed Kenilworth had seduced her. I didn’t find out until much later he’d married her a year earlier, then run off to London to spend her fortune.”
“I was entirely deceived in Kenilworth’s character.” A spasm of pain crossed Miss Beauchamp’s face. “I fancied myself in love with him, but it was a short-lived delusion. By the time he returned to Draven House for the ball, he’d inherited the dukedom, and wanted nothing more to do with his common bride. He’d set his sights on your sister by then, Lord Haslemere, leaving me with nothing but an empty purse, and…” She hesitated, her cheeks flushing. “A child in my belly.”
Georgiana gasped. “Oh, no.How dreadful.”
“I’m afraid it was. Kenilworth was afraid the child would be a boy. A son with common bloodlines wasn’t good enough to be the Duke of Kenilworth’s heir, so he packed me up into his carriage, took me to Southampton, and loaded me onto a ship bound for North America. I suppose he thought I’d die on the journey.”
“But you didn’t, Miss Beauchamp,” Georgiana said fiercely. “You survived, andhere you are.”
“Yes, thanks to Lady Tilbury.” Miss Beauchamp dashed a tear from her cheek. “Once Kenilworth was gone, I sneaked off the ship and made my way to her in Herefordshire with the little bit of money Kenilworth had given me. With her help, I survived.” Clara turned to gaze at Lord Draven, love glowing in her blue eyes. “Now I will reap my reward, undeserved though it might be.”
“Not undeserved, love.” Lord Draven cast her an adoring look. “Never that.”
Georgiana turned to Benedict, a tremulous smile on her lips. “You saved Bene—that is, you saved Lord Haslemere’s life, Miss Beauchamp. As far as I’m concerned, you deserve everything good that befalls you.”
A lump rose in Benedict’s throat at Georgiana’s words, and he pressed a fervent kiss to her hand. “Fate, indeed. She’s smiled on us both, Draven, and I, for one, intend to make the most of it.”
Chapter Twenty-four
MillStreet, London
Ten days later
