to the couple, staying stooped so they had no chance of spying him.
“Isn’t that taking it a bit too far?” her companion said in a low voice, casting a careful glance at the waiting coach. “Sophie, my darling, perhaps we should—”
“No!” a strident, and a bit shrill tone rejoined.
“Be careful,” he snapped. “We do not want anyone hearing this conversation, even if they are just servants. We know they spread gossip quicker than fire to dry grass!”
She grabbed his arm and took him around to the side of the house toward the private garden area.
Nicolas deftly followed, conscious of David close on his heels. Stopping in the shadows of the alcove, he watched the female pacing back and forth by the fountain of Neptune.
The lady took a deep breath. “I want Lady Maryann ruined. And I want it done tonight.”
It seemed she had discovered the author of her misfortune. Everything inside Nicolas went quiet.
David cast him a dark, amused glance. “I thought her nothing?”
He made no reply but held up his hand for silence. It was important to hear every word exchanged between the pair.
“How can you be so certain it was Lady Maryann who set those critters loose?”
The man with her was unfamiliar to Nicolas, which possibly meant he did not haunt the seedier and darker hells of London, nor was he a frequent guest in ballrooms. Yet the man seemed familiar.
The lady scoffed. “Who else would dare?”
“Lady Maryann is so quiet. She does not seem the sort—”
She rounded on her companion. “Are you defending her?”
“No, my darling, I am trying to be practical.”
“It must have been her. It was her mother’s ball.”
“That does not mean—”
“It was her. And if you mean to be a part of my brother’s business venture in the future, you will avail yourself to do what needs to be done. And this is also to your benefit. Did you not say you needed to marry an heiress?”
“I do need an heiress.”
“Then take her. I’ve outlined a plan—keep to it and we shall both get what we want. After the scandal of being caught half naked in your arms, her father surely will insist you marry her to render her respectable.” Lady Sophie smiled, her satisfaction at her plan evident. “I will relish her humiliation. And you must ensure she is in a state of déshabille when you are discovered.”
“She might not be persuasive to my seduction.”
Nicolas would take pleasure in killing this stranger.
Sophia smiled, and even from where he stood, Nicolas saw the malice in it.
“I am certain there are methods to ensure her compliance. Must I think of everything for you? I want her humiliation to be profound. I would urge you to treat her in a manner as you did that governess.”
“How did you know about that?” he demanded tightly, clenching his fists at his sides. “And it is not what you think.”
She wagged her finger. “You know the reason your father sent you to France. Don’t be facetious.”
Ice congealed inside Nicolas’s chest. How did they dare? The lady seemed to be aware that her brother collected others’ dirty secrets and availed herself to them without shame. Though the gentleman seemed discomfited, he took a deep breath. “Are you certain her dowry is fifty thousand pounds?”
“Everyone knows it,” she said smugly. “And there is no need to look as if you lost anything. You’ll be doing her a favor at the end of the day. She’ll be married finally. Her father would never dare turn you down afterward.”
Then she whirled away and hurried toward the front of the town house to the waiting carriage. The man took a deep breath and trailed behind her. Nicolas watched as they climbed into the conveyance and rattled away.
“Do you know the identity of that man?”
David hesitated. “He is recently back from abroad, about four months now to claim his inheritance. He is Viscount Talbot. A good sport and decent sort.”
“Our notion of decent differs. How disappointing.”
David cast him a fierce scowl. “Bloody hell, man! I am sure you’ve heard the rumor calling Lady Maryann a wallflower. Not a flattering moniker at all. At least his intentions are not all dastardly, and the plan is to marry her. Letting the chips land where they fall would be doing a chit with her unfavorable offerings a good deed.”
The thought of Lady Maryann hurt, humiliated, and forced to marry a man of such despicable honor had the strangest, gut-wrenching effect on him. “They plan to irrevocably ruin her,”