Abandoned to the Prodigal - Mary Lancaster Page 0,56

pretty sister and the other young lady who must have been a cousin. On the other hand, he wasn’t best pleased to see her in the thick of company, as bright and vital as ever. He had assumed she would be punished for her indiscretions, or at least kept out of view. But then, apart from himself, only family members were present.

And then, behind them, came a young man Barden had never expected to see here.

Jeremy Catesby.

For an instant, Barden’s world tilted. Dear God, had this plan gone wrong, too?

Behind Catesby, came Cosland’s youthful heir, Lord Albright, and a few moments later, Lord and Lady Alford.

Damnation!

“Do sit down, sir,” Lady Cosland invited him, “and let me give you a cup of tea. Was your journey very horrible?”

“Why no, not at all,” Barden babbled, seating himself beside her. “Surprisingly smooth and trouble-free. The roads are much improved from the last time I was in the north. Is that young Catesby? I must say I am delighted. I had thought the engagement was over.”

“Oh, well, young people, you know,” Lady Cosland said vaguely. “They may or may not sort out their differences.”

A closer look showed Barden that Catesby looked anything but happy. He did put on a pleasant expression when he and the others greeted Lord Barden, but Catesby and Juliet were definitely stiff in each other’s company.

Parental pressure, he realized. Cosland was squeezing Alford to fall back into line, and Catesby didn’t like it. Obviously, no one, least of all Barden, cared what Juliet liked. The avoidance, or at least reversal, of scandal, was the important thing, as he had always understood.

He barely glanced at Juliet as he bowed to her and her sister, but as he sat down, he realized she had not offered her hand. On leaving him, she retreated to a chair in the corner, and that pleased him more.

Making civil conversation with Lady Cosland and Lord Alford, who had joined them, he finished his tea. The young people began talking about a game in the garden, and the party was about to split up until dinner. Now was Barden’s time.

“Perhaps your lordship has a few moments?” he suggested as he rose from his chair.

“Yes, of course,” Cosland replied with gratifying promptness. “Come along to the library, where we won’t be disturbed.”

Barden’s heart beat with anticipation. As he took a seat in the opulent library, without waiting to be asked, he watched Cosland close the door, and thought, This is the man who ruined my life, who took everything from me but the shirt on my back. And now he is about to pay, with interest.

“I was surprised by your letter,” the earl admitted, walking across to join him. He sat in the chair opposite. “Not quite sure what you meant, but I’m very happy to hear you out.”

“I knew you would be. May I be blunt, my lord?”

“Preferably.”

“I am aware—frankly, who is not?—of your daughter’s…fall.”

“My daughter did not fall,” Cosland barked. “Vile lies perpetrated by some rag I’ll see shut down before the month is out.”

“I have no doubt you will, and of course, I am well aware of Lady Juliet’s actual innocence. However, we are both men of the world. We both realize it is not fact that governs such frail matters as a young lady’s reputation. An unmarried lady found discussing the most unexceptionable topics two yards away from a gentleman but behind closed doors, is compromised. A young lady who spends a night in a house without her family or a chaperone is ruined. Add an orgy to that night, and there is really no hope. I am surprised she is even visible when you are entertaining guests.”

Barden was delighted by the effect of this speech. Cosland’s face flushed with anger and his lips thinned. His eyes darkened under a growing frown.

“You may leave my daughter’s care to me,” the earl snapped.

“Apparently, I can’t,” Barden said insolently. “You placed her with a royal lady of questionable morals, to say the least.” Here was where he had hoped to make clear his own illicit intimacy with another of the princess’s ladies. Regretfully, he let the line go, enjoying instead the narrowing of the earl’s furious eyes. “It was surely only a matter of time before something went horribly wrong.”

“And if you imagine I don’t know why or how it went wrong,” Cosland growled, “you are very much mistaken!”

This part of the discussion was not meant to come until later when Barden revealed it, but it