and peeled herself out of Phin’s arms, snatching up the shirt and trousers he’d found for her to dress. “He’s found us already,” she hissed, stepping into the trousers and throwing the shirt over her head fast enough to prove had experience putting on men’s clothes. That only melted Phin’s heart more. Lenore was as unconventional a firecracker as they came.
“I’ll get rid of him somehow,” Phin said, lunging out of the room.
The pounding on his front door continued as Phin raced down the stairs, but it was accompanied by a woman, Lady Hamilton, in fact, demanding, “Let us in this instant, sir. Your reign of scandal is at an end.”
Phin swore sharply under his breath as he skidded to a halt at the door and straightened his glasses. Of all the worst times for Lady Hamilton to insist on pursuing her ridiculous grudge, she had to choose now.
He jerked open the door and glared at the woman. “What in God’s name do you want, you odious woman?” he demanded.
Lady Hamilton flinched back as though he’d struck her. Det. Gleason was a step behind her, and if Phin wasn’t mistaken, the man burst into a grin—which he promptly hid—at Lady Hamilton’s shock.
“You are the author of that scandalous rag that has ruined my daughter’s reputation.” Lady Hamilton regained her bluster all too quickly. So much so that she pushed past Phin, marching into his front hallway as though she owned the house. “I have discovered the truth at last, and I am here to tell you that you are the one who is ruined now.”
“Lady Hamilton, I have not invited you in,” Phin said, failing to keep his voice in check. “Lives are at stake in a very real way tonight. I do not have time for your nonsense or your hurt feelings.”
“Hurt feelings?” Lady Hamilton blanched, pressing a hand to her heart. “A young woman’s reputation is in danger, sir.”
“And another young woman’s life is in danger as we speak,” Phin nearly shouted.
Any trace of amusement in Gleason’s expression vanished. “Are Miss Garrett and Mr. Swan here?” he asked, the seriousness of his work coming over him.
“I am.” Lenore appeared at the top of the stairs in Phin’s trousers and shirt. She’d added a belt to the ensemble to keep the trousers tight and a waistcoat to finish the outfit. “And it’s only a matter of time before Mr. Swan arrives as well.”
Gleason opened his mouth to say something, but Lady Hamilton rode over him with, “So now you flaunt your mistress in front of me as well as importuning my daughter? And her, married to another man?” She tilted up her head as though gesturing to Lenore with her nose.
“You saw the way Swan manhandled her at the ball, did you not?” Phin glared at Lady Hamilton.
“I did.” Lady Hamilton’s ferocity faded. “It was abominable, and I am sorry you had to endure that sort of public scandal,” she told Lenore.
Her comment left Phin frustrated enough to pull out his hair. Of course, Lady Hamilton would only see the impropriety of Lenore’s humiliation at Swan’s hands and not the life-threatening danger. But before he could call the woman out for her callousness, Lady Hamilton shook her head, resumed her imperious posture, and railed on.
“Miss Garrett’s misfortune does not change the fact that you, sir, are responsible for the ruination of many a lady of society. You are the author of that horrible Nocturne. I have discovered the truth at last through a combination of Det. Gleason’s investigations and conversation with guests at the ball this evening.”
Gleason looked apologetic and more than a little impatient, but Lady Hamilton wouldn’t let him, or anyone else, get a word in.
“Your days of mocking your betters are over, Mr. Mercer. In the morning, I will take the information I have to my solicitor. You can expect a call from him as I bring a suit against you. All of London will know of your treachery. You will be banned from all good society. You will never be able to walk through respectable neighborhoods with your head held high again.”
“Lady Hamilton.” Phin tried to interrupt the woman, his brown knit in a frustrated frown, but she clearly enjoyed the sound of her own voice too much to be stopped.
“I will see to it that anyone and everyone who has colluded with you in this endeavor is brought to justice,” she went on. “You and your family and everyone who has so much as