Page 16 of An Enchantress for an Earl

Somehow, he had to find out, had to make things right.

He shook himself out of the daze of thought, and went back to his papers, and the report – at present, that was the only way forward he could see, which would be of any use to anyone. Time passed, and Arryn lost himself in his focus on the work, so much so that he was startled when a tap came at the door.

“Enter.”

A footman opened the door and stepped in, carrying the correspondence tray.

“I am sorry to disturb you, my Lord, but this just arrived.” He proffered the tray, on which rested a folded and sealed sheet of paper. “It was slipped under the door, my Lord – most irregular.”

Arryn regarded it for a moment before reaching out and taking it from the tray. A great sense of foreboding filled him, for here was yet another thing occurring which did not follow the normal tidy order of things. The paper was coarse, the wax which sealed it plain, and not bearing the impression of any crest.

The footman bowed, and went out, quietly closing the door behind him.

Arryn studied the hand in which his name had been written on the note, but did not recognise it. It was odd, uneven, like the writing of a child, or a person who did not write often. He broke the seal, and eased the paper open, all the while feeling as if it might contain something venomous and unexpected.

The note it bore was written in that same peculiar hand, but it was quite clearly readable. He read it through twice, feeling a chill of worry, almost fear, settle into his core as he did so.

‘Merryfield –

by now, you know just how little reputation you have left, and how easily any disgrace of yours can tarnish your family reputation – not just your father, but, unless you do as is required, your sister’s as well. I am sure that you will be most helpful, for her sake.

The requirement is simple. Convince your father to have his committee conclude that there is no practical way to make bank notes unforgeable. If that conclusion is not presented to the House in two weeks’ time, then it will be obvious that you do not value your sister, and action will be taken.’

He could not do as they asked.

But nor could he allow Petrina’s reputation to be sullied. His father might weather such a storm – his sister could not – the ton would destroy her at the slightest hint of wrongdoing.

He folded the paper carefully, and tucked it into his pocket. He would not act precipitately – he would think this through carefully first, before he took any action. But there was one thing he knew, absolutely – he could not lie in his report, could not pretend that a viable option did not exist. He was incapable of that sort of deceit – if he did such a thing, he would be as bad as Professor Whimpferhim, promulgating untruths. Just the thought of doing something like that left him feeling physically ill.

He had a few days – if he delayed giving the report to his father – which he could force himself to do, justifying it as double checking his information – then he could buy himself some time to come up with a plan. The blackmailer – for blackmail is what this was, undoubtedly – was not expecting to see a result for two weeks, and Arryn would need that time if he were to prevent disaster.

As he left his study, the thought came to him – he still did not know why the blackmailer was doing this – and he needed, instinct told him, to work that part of it out, before any solution might be found.

>>>

Trent leant against the wall in the card room, simply watching the men playing. The two who were top of Setford’s list were there, and playing for fairly high stakes as usual. He did not like their manner, although he could not easily say why.

Perhaps it was the fact that they seemed completely unconcerned about losing. No sensible man let money run away from him with no care at all. He almost laughed at that thought – that was the point – these two did not seem to be sensible at all.

He had yet to see anything to justify Setford’s suspicions – beyond that casual disregard for losing. Instinct told him that Setford was right – but how he might prove that was something he had no answer for. Perhaps Lily, who was sitting out in the ballroom, talking to her mother and sisters, might hear or see something useful.

>>>

Violet looked at Lily, who was definitely starting to visibly show that she was increasing. Her sister was so happy, so certain of her place in the world, in a way that she had not been before her marriage. Violet envied her, wondering if she herself would ever find a man she could care for enough to marry, a man who might actually appreciate her intelligence and interests, rather than regarding them as unladylike.

She shook her head – such thoughts were foolish – it was unlikely that a man of that nature existed amongst the ton.

At that moment, Lily turned to her.

“Violet, do come with me – I find that I need to visit the ladies retiring room – this business of being increasing does have some uncomfortable side effects!”

Violet joined her in gentle laughter, and stood.

“Of course – it is so stuffy in here – perhaps it is fresher in the hallways, or there is a terrace off the retiring room.”

They passed the card room as they went down the hallway, noting that there was a surge of gentlemen moving about – some leaving the room, some entering, others sitting at the tables, staring fixedly at their cards. Violet did not understand what men saw in gambling – once she had learnt enough to calculate the odds of winning, she had decided that anything other than playing for penny stakes to amuse her great aunts was foolish in the extreme.

The room set aside as the ladies retiring room was a smallish parlour towards the rear of this house, and to their relief, it did have doors that opened onto a small terrace which ran along the side of the building. While Lily attended to her needs, Violet stepped out through those doors, letting them close soundlessly behind her, and walked along the terrace a short distance, glad of the crisp night air.