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“Fulvia wouldn’t need to steal my brother’s vehicle if she were marrying royalty, would she? Luckily, the duke and duchess are breakfasting in Saltem House. I sent a message, so they will arrive any moment. His Grace can inform you of the worth of his carriage, which is drawn by four matched black horses, by the way. I’m sure you’ll wish to settle your debt immediately.”

“But who is Fulvia marrying?” Ella asked.

“Such a mésalliance can scarcely be termed marriage,” Regina sniffed.

To Ella’s mind, any marriage was better than a tumble with the Prince Regent, but her uncle did not agree.

“If Fulvia isn’t with the Regent, then she’ll damn well marry Lord Peregrine,” he huffed.

“You thought she was with the Prince of Wales?” Regina broke into sharp, loud laughter.

How nice that they were keeping her so amused.

Did that count as an Unkind Thought? Surely not.

The viscount was scowling like the tyrant in a book of fairy tales. Clearly it had dawned on him that an imprudent marriage would bring no settlement from Lord Peregrine nor His Majesty.

Instead, he was likely to be asked to pay for an extremely expensive carriage and four matched black horses.

Laboring under the combined weight of emotion and despair, the viscount strode to the sideboard and poured himself a generous shot of whisky.

“Lady Regina, why did you bring Fulvia to this inn?” Ella inquired.

“She told me a Banbury tale,” the lady said, turning back to the mirror and rearranging her diamonds once more.

“What was that?”

Regina threw a needling glance over her shoulder. “I don’t explain myself to housekeepers.”

The viscount returned, holding a second drink. “Answer the question! Who is the sweltering toad who kidnapped my beautiful, innocent daughter and took her to Gretna Green? I shall be after him with the wrath of God on my side. I shall smite that brimstone scorpion. I shall—”

Regina snorted. “Kidnap her? More like the other way around.”

“You cannot go after them,” Ella informed her uncle. “The coach is smashed, and Mr. Snagsby just left to take up service elsewhere.”

“I’ll have the constable on him,” the viscount snarled.

“She didn’t run away with a member of the royal family, I’ll tell you that,” Regina chortled.

“I shall rent a vehicle and take it to Scotland, before I allow my daughter to throw herself away on a man of no means!” the viscount swore, curling his fist in a way that suggested he envisioned himself on a stage. “I lowered myself, revoked my own standards, when I accepted a mere baron for a son-in-law. Fulvia is the most beautiful woman in London!”

“You’ll be looking quite a bit lower than a baron now,” Regina said unpleasantly.

Ella was struck by such a burst of dislike for the lady that she couldn’t stop herself. “You were Fulvia’s friend,” she cried. “She’s only sixteen. You could have stopped her.”

“ ‘Friend?’ ” Fulvia mocked, her expression one of open triumph. “I did think that she would marry Peregrine before shaming him, but it seems she couldn’t bear him any more than I could.”

“You made friends with Fulvia in order to shame your former fiancé?” Ella asked, stupefied.

“I fancy polite society will be fascinated by the flight of his second fiancée. He didn’t even have time to buy her a garish diamond ring.” Regina smiled.

Whiskey was overruling the viscount’s inherent respect for ducal progeny. “You still haven’t answered the question. Who seduced my innocent daughter?” His growl had more than a hint of the violence that led him to slap his wife. “Who played the role of seducer?”

“ ‘Played the role,’ ” Regina repeated derisively, looking utterly indifferent to his ferocity. “Aye, you might ask that.”

Ella had a sudden sinking sensation. All those matinee performances …

But it was even worse than she imagined.