nodded. Together, the three ladies crouched without having to exchange a word, and listened.
‘...but I simply must know,’ Lady Charlotte was saying.
‘Tis most disturbing,’ Lt. Roberts said, ‘and I wish I had never heard even a breath of it. But neither can I pretend to be ignorant of it.’
‘I beg you, please explain yourself, my lord,’ Charlotte said, her voice tight.
‘There are rumours that you...that some great harm was done to you, some years ago,’ the gentleman said.
Miss d’Este’s eyes widened as she exchanged a look with Emilia and Alice.
‘A great harm?’ Charlotte echoed incredulously.
‘Yes,’ Roberts said. ‘And that you had been robbed...of your virtue.’
Miss d’Este stifled a gasp into her glove, as Charlotte made a similar noise of outrage, beyond the hedge.
‘Robbed of my virtue! This is impossible! What an absurd tale!’ Charlotte cried.
‘So you deny its veracity?’
‘Deny it? With every fibre of my being!’
‘How do you account for the rumour, then, my lady?’ Roberts pressed her. ‘It involves your cousin, the former earl. One account claims he forced himself on you.’
‘Lies!’ Charlotte declared, her voice pained. ‘I am untouched, I swear it!’
A scraping noise of gravel under a heel made Emilia whip her head around to look behind them.
‘What the devil is all this?’ a male voice demanded.
***
‘If you please, my lord, I would ask that you follow me,’ Max said to his uncle with a motion toward where he knew Roberts and Charlotte must be. He could hear faint voices beyond the hedges.
‘This is most unusual,’ Edward said, frowning deeply.
‘If the truth is to come out, at last, my cousin must be present, mustn’t she?’ Max said, and he ushered his uncle deeper into the garden allée.
‘So you deny its veracity?’
‘Deny it? With every fibre of my being!’
It was Roberts interrogating Charlotte, Max recognized, and he pressed on, hurrying his steps.
‘How do you account for the rumour, then, my lady? It involves your cousin, the former earl. One account claims he forced himself on you.’
Max glanced at his uncle, trying to read the expression on his face, but it was impossible. The dim light, broken occasionally by a hanging lamp, did little to reveal anyone’s thoughts.
‘Lies!’ Charlotte’s voice cut the air. They were beside them now. ‘I am untouched, I swear it!’
Max erupted from the row into the little square where Charlotte and Roberts stood.
‘D’you hear that, Roberts? The lady absolves me of any accusations!’ Max declared.
Edward came to a halt beside him, his eyes darting from his daughter, to Roberts, to Max. ‘I don’t understand...’
‘Did my uncle know of the blackmail, Charlotte?’ Max demanded.
Charlotte pressed her hand to her breast, her face white in the lamplight. ‘What in heaven’s name are you doing here?’ she gasped.
‘Looking for the truth,’ he replied. ‘I will have it, once and for all.’ He turned to Edward. ‘Tell me now, Uncle. Did you participate in the blackmail, yes or no?’
‘Blackmail?’ choked Edward.
Max eyed Charlotte. ‘It would seem not.’
‘What is happening?’ Charlotte demanded. ‘Papa, why are you here with—with him?’
‘I might ask you the same question!’ Edward said, waving a hand at Roberts.
Charlotte blinked and looked at the lieutenant. ‘We went for a walk...’
‘Most unseemly,’ Edward said. Then he frowned at Max. ‘But I suspect there’s more to this situation than meets the eye.’
Max grinned. ‘Very astute, Uncle. All is not what it seems.’
‘Oh, this is all detestable,’ Charlotte said, her fingers bunching into her skirts. ‘I shall not stay a moment longer—’
‘Stop right where you are!’ Max snapped at her. ‘I said I’d have the truth and I will have it now!’
Roberts gave him an amused look. ‘See here, Lady Charlotte,’ the lieutenant said. ‘Why don’t we restate everything you and I discussed.’
‘I haven’t the slightest idea—’
‘You just told me that you are untouched, isn’t that so?’
‘I am mortified, sir—’ Charlotte wailed.
‘And that any rumours of impropriety committed by your cousin, Maximilian Emery, are a complete fabrication,’ Roberts said.
‘What say you to that, Uncle?’ Max demanded.
‘She’s just an innocent girl—’ Edward began, but a harsh guffaw interrupted him.
Everyone turned and looked to Max’s right.
A man came in from the allée. He was not dressed like a gentleman; instead he wore Ceastre House livery.
‘Nicholas?’ Charlotte gasped, her face a picture of shock.
‘Nicholas Reid?’ Max inquired, surprised as well.
‘The very same, sir,’ the man said. He had dark hair and cold grey eyes, which were fixed on Charlotte.
He eased forward, his mouth twisting in bitterness.
‘If it’s the truth you want, sir, I’ve something to contribute to it.’
Chapter 34
‘Lord Ferriston?’ Miss d’Este whispered