Page 38 of A Stolen Heart

“Mama.” Alexandra’s heart twisted within her at the sight of her mother’s distress, and the old childhood name slipped out. “Come home with me. You cannot stand out here all night. We’ll see what we can do in the morning.”

She took her mother’s arm gently. Rhea turned toward her. Alexandra saw that her mother’s face was streaked with tears.

Rhea looked straight at her and said, “I’m so sorry. Please forgive me, Simone.”

LORD THORPE LOOKED UP, SURPRISED, when his butler announced softly that Lady Castlereigh was here to see him. “Ursula?” he exclaimed in astonishment. “What the devil is she doing here?”

“I am here to ask for your help,” Lady Ursula said, sweeping in past the butler. “And I must tell you, I don’t expect to be told to cool my heels in the entry by one of your heathen servants.”

“Punwati has his orders, Ursula,” Thorpe said pointedly, rising to his feet. “And you might remember that, to Punwati, you are the heathen.”

Lady Ursula sniffed to show her disdain for what Thorpe’s butler might think of her. “Really, Thorpe, this is no time for any of your absurdities. I’d like some tea.”

Thorpe nodded toward Punwati, who backed silently out of the room and closed the door. Thorpe watched as Ursula planted herself in the chair across from his desk, then, with a sigh, sat behind his desk.

“All right, Ursula. Now tell me what is so urgent that you must disturb me in my study when you saw me only hours ago.”

“I came to see what you intend to do about that girl.”

“What girl?”

“Don’t act the innocent with me, Thorpe. It doesn’t become you. You know exactly who I mean—that American adventuress you brought to see my mother.”

Thorpe’s features settled into a cold mask. “Lady Ursula, you are older than I, and a woman, and I would dislike to show you disrespect. But if you again misname Miss Ward, I am afraid that I shall have to ask you to leave.”

Ursula snorted. “Men are such fools. How could you have taken her there?”

“I am sorry it upset the Countess. I took her to the Countess’s because the Countess asked me to. She wanted to apologize to her. But of course I would not have introduced her to the Countess to begin with if I had had any idea how it would upset her. I didn’t know what Lady Chilton looked like. I had no idea that Miss Ward resembled her.”

“I suppose you could not know,” Ursula admitted grudgingly. “But now that you’ve done it, you must help me.”

“Help you what?”

“Keep that girl from defrauding my mother, of course!” Lady Ursula looked amazed at his ignorance.

“What the devil are you talking about? Miss Ward is not trying to defraud the Countess. How could she?”

“Come, Thorpe. I would have thought that at least you are not so naïve. It’s one thing for my mother or Penelope to think that Miss Ward is a sweet girl. But you have had some experience with the world. With women, too, I might add. I wouldn’t have thought that you were so easily bamboozled.”

“Indeed, I don’t believe I am,” he replied curtly. “Exactly what, pray, are you talking about? How is Miss Ward going to defraud the Countess?”

“By hoodwinking her into thinking that she is Chilton’s daughter, of course! Why can no one see this but me?”

“I would guess that no one else’s mind has the same bent,” Thorpe responded dryly.

“I shall ignore your tone because Mother needs your help,” Ursula told him magnanimously.

“The Countess is upset because Miss Ward looks like her dead daughter-in-law. It’s understandable that she would like to believe that Alexandra is her long-lost granddaughter, but she will soon see that it’s a false hope.”

“Oh, really? Not with that girl pretending that she is. She’s out to deceive Mother. She’ll convince her that she is our Alexandra, and then Mother will lavish her with gifts and money. She’ll take her in to live with her and treat her like—like—”

“A beloved granddaughter?” Thorpe suggested. “Now, Ursula, don’t fire up at me.”

“You act as if you don’t care if someone pulls the wool over Mother’s eyes! I always said you were a selfish, cynical man, but I wouldn’t have thought that you would stand idly by and watch someone swindle Mother.”

“Of course I wouldn’t, but no one is swindling the Countess.”

“She will. Why else would she pretend to be Alexandra?”