“We shall see them at tonight’s dinner,” Mel reminded him. “Let us finish getting ready. It must be nearly time to leave.”
Fifteen minutes later, they arrived downstairs to find there was a delay. The stable master had examined both horses and carriage, and had found sabotage of tracings, wheels, and axles. “He has brought out the alternative tack, my lady,” said the groom he’d sent to the house. “And he is preparing the traveling coach to take you to dinner.”
It didn’t take long, but even so, Allan, Baldwin, Clara, and Mel were the last guests to arrive.
The Duke of Dellborough had invited some of the most influential people in the realm to meet the Sheppard brothers and their ladies. And Mel, who was what? Not Allan’s wife, obviously, and not fit to be so, or so most of Society would say. She was gentry, not noble, and had fallen even from that level by earning her own living.
Not his mistress, certainly. She was not bedding him for payment in cash or in kind. His lover, of course, but she was not entering Dellborough’s home in that guise. So, she was his ally. The woman whose knowledge, contacts, and experience would help him to defeat the marquess. She was satisfied with her analysis. As his ally, she had the right to stand beside him as they faced some of the great ones of their world.
She had to remind herself of that a short time later, when she faced the other ladies, with their pearls and their diamonds, their custom-made silks and their imported shawls. These were a cross-section of the great ladies of England, and most of them dressed accordingly.
In the gown that Harmony had made her, her cropped hair adorned only by the ribbon Clara had once again woven through the curls, her only jewelry the locket bequeathed to her by hergrandmother, she felt like a common barnyard duck who had accidentally fallen among swans.
I am not here as a fashion doll or to puff off some man’s status, she scolded herself.I am Melody Blackmore, and I belong at Allan’s side until the Marquess of Teign has been brought down.
*
Melody was themost amazing woman Allan had ever met. Allan, though he was heir apparent to a marquess, felt inadequate in the illustrious company that the Duke of Dellborough had gathered under his roof. Yet Melody didn’t turn a hair, but conducted herself as if she had walked with duchesses and marchionesses every day of her life.
He felt stronger and more capable just having her at his side. And he had not just her, but his brothers and their wives. With his family to protect, he could handle anything.
“Kemble,” said the duke, after a round of introductions, “I’d like you to give the guests a quick summary of your situation, and what you are trying to do. We shall talk more seriously after dinner, but I know everyone has heard bits of gossip, and they shall not pay adequate attention to the delectable dishes my wife has selected for tonight without at least some idea of the facts behind the rumors.”
Allan nodded, wondering what on earth he could say.
“You have already done this,” Melody murmured. “At Burlington Arcade, you explained what had happened to you. All you need add is that we are collecting evidence of the marquess’s crimes.”
She was right. He squeezed the hand that rested on his arm as Dellborough clapped his hands to attract everyone’s attention.
“Friends and family,” the duke said, in a clear voice that carried easily through the large room. “I have asked you here this evening to hear the truth of the rumors that have been swirling about London regarding Teign’s treatment of his sons, and their move away from his home. Lord Kemble shall give us a summary before dinner, and you shall have the opportunity to ask questions after dinner. Kemble?”
Melody, bless her, did not let go of his arm. Baldwin gave him a nod. Donald winked at him and Hudson grinned. They all believed in him. They needed him to speak for them.
“Your Graces,” he said, “my lords, my ladies, gentlemen.” That was the easy bit, but as he kept talking, he found the words came easily enough.
“You all know the Marquess of Teign, at least by reputation. My brothers and I are here tonight to say that what you have heard about the marquess is almost certainly true, and not the worst of it. Leaving aside what he has done to others, he has been a brutal tyrant to his sons, and our best memories are of those times that he ignored us.”
They needed to hear something more specific. Enough to keep them satisfied until after dinner. “For many years, the marquess has enforced the obedience of each of us by threatening our brothers. He broke the leg of my seven-year-old brother when I refused the marriage he planned for me, and threatened to break the other one if I continued to refuse. He has beaten and injured each of us, time after time. My brothers Francis and Jerome have permanent limps because of his beatings.”
He waited for the murmur of comment to die down and then continued. “He kept Jerome locked up for more than ten years to use him as a lever to control me. All ten of us have lived in the tower at his townhouse for the past seven years. At first, we were let out during the day,”except for Jerome. And Frank, after hewas brought back from Spain. “But for the past two years we have been let out—no more than three at a time, under the threat of beatings for the rest—only when he wanted to display us at some entertainment, or introduce us to a potential bride.”
Was that enough? No. That was their past situation. Dellborough had asked him to summarize their current situation and their plans.
“We have been fortunate enough, with the help of our ladies, to escape the tower. Seven of my brothers have married, two have fled overseas—for Jerome will not be twenty-one for several months, and we want him out of the marquess’s hands. We are free, and we intend to remain so, which means we need to find evidence of Teign’s crimes and bring him to account.”
There was one more matter he should mention. “Since he discovered our rebellion, there have been at least four attempts to kill or injure me or Mrs. Blackmore, and any person assisting us, including damage tonight to Lady Baldwin’s carriage and the horses’ tack. Fortunately, it was picked up by a sharp-eyed stable master, but that is what made us late this evening.”
He bowed. “Your Graces, my lords, my ladies, gentlemen, my family and I shall be happy to answer any questions you might have after dinner.”
The Duchess of Dellborough spoke into the buzz of conversation that followed Allan’s statement, and the room hushed to listen. “Thank you, Lord Kemble, for giving us that explanation. Friends, shall we proceed to the dining room? Lord Kemble, I have placed you on my right. Would you be good enough to escort me in? Mrs. Blackmore, this is my brother Lancelot, who shall be your escort to dinner.”
Lord Lancelot gave up the lady on his arm to another gentleman and winged his elbow at Melody. When she accepted it, Allan performed the same courtesy for the duchess and they went in to dinner.
The dining room table was large enough to seat the sixty guests and their host and hostess, and the meal was serveda la Russe—that is, with all the dishes for one course already on the table. Allan, as he seated the duchess and took his place beside her, was the target of many curious glances.
So were his brothers and their wives, whom the duchess had, according to custom, split apart. Cunning lady. She had spread the Sheppards out around the table so that more than two thirds of the guests had a Sheppard on one side of them, and those who were not seated next to one of Allan’s family were no more than one person away.
Melody was between Lord Lancelot and a lady Allan had been introduced to last night, the Duchess of Kempbury. The two ladies were deep in conversation.I hope Melody is not being interrogated.
Her Grace must have seen him looking. “I thought Mrs. Blackmore would appreciate sitting next to Adaline Kempbury,” she said. “They are acquaintances from before the Kempburys’ marriage.”
That was a relief. She, at least, could enjoy the dinner. And Her Grace had also been thoughtful about seating Rosina and Amber, who might also feel out of their depth in the august company. Rosina was sitting between Dellborough’s eldest son and the Countess of Stanford, who was a gentle lady and a champion for women. The son’s wife was Amber’s dinner companion, with the Earl of Nottwick, Phineas’s brother, on her other side.
Allan relaxed and began to enjoy the dinner. His conversation with Her Grace was so interesting that they were halfway through the first course before he realized that, without mentioning the brother’s plight, she was giving him a crash course into the personalities, alliances, and interests of majorSociety figures, and which side they were likely to take in the struggle with the marquess.
When the second course began, she turned her attention to the earl on her left. Obedient to social dictates, Allan was turning to Kempbury, who was sitting on his right, when the meal was interrupted.
They heard the shouting from outside the room, coming closer. Then the doors burst open and people scrambled into the room. First, two burly men in Teign livery, holding the Dellborough butler between them, his back facing the room as he protested, “My lord, Their Graces are at dinner. My lord, you cannot burst in this way.”
