Midnight Bride (48 page)

"About an hour ago, my lady," he said rather haughtily, his composure slightly ruffled over the many new additions she had thought necessary to the staff. Elizabeth, for once, did not worry about him. She would learn his name eventually, she supposed, too tired really to care about anything at that moment.

"Tell Graves and Miller that we wish baths as soon as possible. And send our suppers to our rooms on trays." She stopped for a moment and looked at Dunstan. "What is his name?" she whispered in her husband's ear.

"Brown," he whispered back, amused.

"That will be all, Brown," she said. "I will interview the servants later." As they walked slowly up the stairs, she asked, "Do you have a housekeeper?" She brushed her finger along the banister and then looked at her glove, annoyed to find a spot of dust.

"Worry about the house tomorrow. After you have visited your stepmother, you can take everything in hand," he suggested.

Their baths finished, supper eaten, they lay in bed later that evening. Although tired, neither was sleepy. "What are you thinking, Elizabeth?" Dunstan asked. He was propped up on his elbow, inspecting her. She wore a very puzzled look.

"How different everything seems." She looked up at him. "Last year I would have been terrified at having to remember so many new names, so afraid to have anyone discover my weakness.
Now?"
She shrugged her shoulders.

"You were certainly bold enough this evening," he teased.
"Whispering in my ear in public!"

"The man already distrusts me because I have disrupted his routine. What would you have me do, insult him by not remembering his name?" she asked defensively. She pulled away from him to lie closer to the edge of the bed.

"Never."
He pulled her back to the middle and lowered his head until his lips were only a breath away from hers. "You are to do anything you want," he said and kissed her. He put his arms around her and rolled over on his back, never taking his lips from hers.

"Do you expect me to sleep comfortably on this hard mattress?" she asked, laughing a little and punching him. She pulled back so that she could look at him more closely.

"No. Sleep was not what I had in mind," he said, a light she recognized in his eyes. "Shall I demonstrate?"

Waking in his arms the next morning, Elizabeth smiled lazily, noting the way his lashes swept over his cheeks. A maid scurried in adding more coal to the embers on the hearth. The crisp, cold air of the morning made her appreciate Dunstan's warmth. She closed her eyes again.

In her stepmother's drawing room later that morning, Elizabeth drew on the strength she had found in her own home. Louisa and Charles were there when they arrived. Louisa was worried, but her greetings were warm. Charles, his face older and more careworn than Elizabeth had ever seen, was subdued. He sat quietly, deliberately silent as the others told them what they knew.

"Charles received a letter," Lady
Ramsburg
said, her voice more harsh than usual.

Louisa rushed to explain.
"Obviously from a blackguard.
Such handwriting, small and crabbed, and on dingy paper as well."

"George told us the man had probably tried to disguise his normal hand," her stepmother said, her anger very close to the surface. "I wanted to go to the Runners, but Charles would not agree." All four of them looked at Charles.

He flushed angrily. "What did you want me to do? The least hint of any problem with my commission, and I'll be called to testify in front of the Commons," he said bitterly, silently wondering why this was happening to him.

"And it has not been just one letter either, has it, Charles?" Louisa asked. He shook his head. "The writer demands money, pounds and pounds.
Five thousand at first."

"He went up to ten when Charles ignored the first letter," his mother added. "This time he included names and dates."

"What have you done so far?" Dunstan
asked,
his face thoughtful.

"I went to my colonel," Charles said, his voice as lifeless as his face. "He told me to pay up. He did not want his regiment besmirched anymore than it already was. I tried to explain my situation, that my funds were tied up, but he only told me to find a way, go to the moneylenders if necessary." He ran his hand through his hair, the first sign that he was the Charles Elizabeth had known. Even his clothing, a dull brown coat with buff pantaloons and a green waistcoat, reflected his despair. Elizabeth took his hand and squeezed it. His fingers were cold, but he returned her grasp, holding as though she were a lifeline. "Then I came to Mama."

Dunstan turned to his mother-in-law. "What has happened since then?" he asked, his face carefully neutral.

"We paid the money," Lady
Ramsburg
explained, ignoring their disapproving gasps. "I was not going to allow Charles to be miserable."

"Then what is the problem?"
Elizabeth asked, her eyes puzzled.

"Obviously ten thousand was not enough," Dunstan told her, looking to his mother-in-law for confirmation. She nodded, her face strangely unanimated.

"This time he wanted twenty thousand," Charles said, no emotion in his voice. "He means to bleed me dry."

"He does seem to be rather greedy," Dunstan said.

Louisa, already familiar with the story, continued. "After that we suggested the Runners again."

"I had George inquire, but then we received a letter telling us the price had gone up again and that we were to stay away from the Runners," Lady
Ramsburg
added.

"Now we are trying to discover who knew where Lord
Ramsburg
was going and why he was there?" Louisa said. She picked up the needlework she had in her lap and jabbed the needle into the cloth and into her finger.

"That is something we have been trying to discover, but without much success," Lady
Ramsburg
said quietly. "George has made inquiries, but we must be discreet."

"As usual I have made hash of things," Charles
said,
his face grim.

"How can you say that?"

"Did you know that Mrs. Clarke was involved when you bought your commission?" Elizabeth asked indignantly.

"Charles, this is not your fault. I do wonder, though, who dislikes you so much," Louisa said, her face as pink as the gown she wore.

"Dislikes me? You think it is someone I know."

"It must be," Louisa said calmly. The others looked at her, new respect in their eyes.

"Of course.
Someone who knew what you were planning," his mother said thoughtfully.

"Charles, who knew that you planned to buy the commission?"
Dunstan asked.

"My friends."

"All of them?" Dunstan
asked,
his face carefully blank. Charles nodded. "Then here is what I propose to do," his brother-in-law said. "Write the blackmailer. Tell him that you have no ready cash."

"He will expect me to go to the moneylenders," Charles said, his face revealing his uncertainty. His voice, however, was no longer flat.

"But we will have more time before he carries out his threat. Is that what you wanted, Robert?" Elizabeth stood up and crossed to her brother.

She stood behind him, her hands resting lightly on his shoulders. She looked over at her husband, encouragement in every line of her face. Their eyes met and held.

"That is exactly what I want. It will give us more time to talk to people. All of us must behave as though nothing were wrong." He looked at the ladies in the room; each one nodded in agreement. "Charles?" he asked.

"I am not certain I can carry this off, Dunstan." The ladies glared at him. "I mean I am not good at playacting."

"There will be no playacting about this. You do not have to worry. We will take care of the situation." Charles looked around the room, aware once more of the love he felt for his family. He glanced at each face, aware of the determination he saw in them. Then his normal optimistic attitude began slowly to come to the surface. By the time luncheon was over, he was laughing as usual.

Putting her redecoration plans aside for the moment, Elizabeth threw her support behind her stepmother and cousin. "We need some way to get everyone together," Lady
Ramsburg
said. "Some reason that no one will question. I wish that you were making your bow to society this year."

"At my age?
And after the scandal in Brighton?
Mama, that
would occasion much discussion. It is too bad that
Cecile
is no relation of ours. She is the granddaughter of the earl's closest friend. But she will not be in town for a week or so yet."

Louisa had been sitting quietly, their words echoing through her brain. Her face brightened. "But Elizabeth can be presented—as a bride. With all the gossip about the Duke of York and that Clarke woman, last summer's scandals will be long forgotten."

"How could I have overlooked that?" Lady
Ramsburg
smiled brilliantly. "Louisa, you are so clever. My ball to present the newlyweds will be the start of the Season. We shall invite everyone, even the most remote connections. How could I have missed such an opportunity?"

"You would have thought of it yourself, I am certain. We must get Elizabeth on the list as soon as possible. Will you be her sponsor?"

"Does this mean I have to wear court dress again and all those feathers?" Elizabeth asked. During her first Season she had been presented to the queen and had been frozen with fear the entire time, certain her headpiece would fall off at any moment.

"Yes," Lady
Ramsburg
said absently. "Give me yours and Dunstan's list as soon as possible. We will dine with the closest of the family beforehand with the ball to follow. Louisa, do you think Gunter's is still the place to go for . . ." Elizabeth stared after her two relatives as they walked away, leaving her alone in the drawing room. Then she laughed softly and followed them.

While Elizabeth was trailing after her stepmother and cousin, Dunstan had returned to his office while Charles spent his days at the Horse Guards. Deciding that having more than their own resources at hand would be wise, Dunstan sought out his superior. "Good to have you back, my boy. You will be happy to know that the pretty little spy you caught in Bristol is no more." Lord Seward leaned back in his chair. "I have something else I want to give you to work on now that you have returned." Dunstan shifted uneasily in his chair. Lord Seward looked at him, his gray eyes stern. "Out with it."