he won’t be returning. At least not without a new fiancée in tow.”
“Ooh, you can be so infuriating!” Turning on her heel, she marched away to go back to bed.
“If you have any remaining doubt about the night Uncle Armie died, I can prove that I was in Leicester that night.”
She pivoted to stare at him. “That doesn’t prove a thing. You were probably in some inn where you had plenty of time to ride back here, pull Uncle Armie off his horse to break his neck, and ride back there before anyone realized you were gone.”
“Actually, I was not in an inn. I was with a woman.”
“A woman!” As she realized what sort of woman he must mean, her mouth dropped open. Poor infatuated Gwyn would be so disappointed!
“But it’s not what you think,” he said.
And with that, Joshua began to reveal why he traveled to Leicester so often.
Shortly before ten, Beatrice dragged herself from bed and got dressed to go over to Armitage Hall. Ten was the time she usually arrived for her come-out lessons. She was hardly in the mood today, after tossing and turning, thinking over everything Joshua and Grey had said and replaying her delicious moments with Grey. That made it very hard to sleep. It would make it even harder to be around people.
But if she didn’t go to Armitage Hall, they would wonder why, and she didn’t want anyone speculating about her and Grey having done . . . well . . . what they’d done.
Besides, she wanted to see how Aunt Lydia was taking the news of Grey’s engagement. His family had to know something. Surely he wouldn’t have left for London without telling anyone.
When she entered the hall, however, it was to find the place in turmoil. Because apparently that was precisely what Grey had done—he’d taken his coach off to London before anyone had arisen. She had no idea what to make of that. Footmen were scurrying off on errands, grooms were being questioned, and a maid was being tasked with bringing more tea to the ladies in the breakfast room.
She even overheard Sheridan in one corner dressing down the butler. “What do you mean, you didn’t see him enter until early this morning? Where the devil was he?”
Hoping not to be noticed by Sheridan, she moved like a wraith through the bustling servants, then headed down the hall to the breakfast room. The moment she entered, she was accosted by her aunt.
“Oh, Bea, it’s too awful. I can’t believe Grey didn’t tell us a thing! And I was so hoping that you and he . . . that the two of you . . .” When Beatrice stared blankly at her, Aunt Lydia muttered an unladylike curse under her breath. “You don’t know! Lord, I’m so sorry. I just assumed you saw the Times. But of course you haven’t. Why would you have? I doubt that you and Joshua—”
“Grey is engaged to Vanessa,” Gwyn said bluntly. “The sneaky bastard.”
For once, her mother didn’t correct her language.
“I know about Vanessa,” Beatrice said. “Joshua saw a copy of the Times in town and brought it to me.”
Gwyn’s eyes flashed a sudden heat. “Oh, I’m just sure he did. He was probably delighted to malign my brother’s character.” She sighed. “Although right now, I would happily join him. How dare Grey lead us to think he cared about you, Bea, when all the time he was plotting to marry that little chit Vanessa?”
Beatrice was trying to figure out how to answer when Sheridan walked in. “Sheathe your claws, Gwyn,” he muttered. “I’m sure matters aren’t as they appear.”
“Oh, you are, are you?” Gwyn crossed her arms over her chest. “You four men always stick together. Well, he’s gone too far this time, leading on a feeling young woman like our Bea here.”
“He did not lead me on,” Beatrice said, though Gwyn’s concern touched her. “We’re merely friends.”
When the others snorted in unison, she bit her tongue. Really, could she not lie convincingly at all?
“Grey swore to me he had no interest in Vanessa,” Sheridan said. “And I don’t think he was lying.”
“Besides,” Aunt Lydia put in, “if he had proposed to her, I’m sure he would tell his mother.” Her expression turned anxious. “Wouldn’t he?”
This was killing her. She wanted to divulge everything, and she couldn’t. She should have stayed away. “Perhaps I should go home. It doesn’t seem as if we’ll be having our usual lessons.”
They ignored her. Sheridan poured himself