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Miss Pennington’s mouth opened and closed without a word issuing forth, and Benedick continued on. “Of course, Brandon is currently dealing with an unpleasant addiction to opium and alcohol, but I imagine we’ll be able to prop him up long enough to get through the ceremony. Your own brother has been keeping company with the Heavenly Host, so I doubt his behavior has been much better, but the two of them can keep each other company, can they not?”

He heard Miranda’s gurgle of laughter from beside him, and he realized how much he had missed that sound. Missed his sister. So much that he’d stomach the Scorpion to have her back in his life.

Miss Pennington was glaring. “You insult me, sir. If you think I don’t know that my brother has been disporting himself with those gentlemen then you think I’m a great deal stupider than I am. There’s a difference—their activities are held in secret, among
their own class, and the only ones who are hurt are whores and peasants.”

“Peasants, Miss Pennington? That seems an oddly archaic term. Do you still keep serfs on your estates in Cumberland? Oh, but I forgot. Your father lost all the family estates years ago, leaving you forced to marry for money. Though why in heaven’s name you thought I’d be a suitable choice astounds me.”

“I assumed you were a man who shared my values and opinions,” she said tightly. “Apparently I was quite deluded in my opinion.”

“Quite, thank God,” Miranda broke in.

Dorothea Pennington refused to even acknowledge her. “I’m afraid, sir, that the engagement is off.”

“I’m afraid, my dear Miss Pennington, that the engagement was never on. You are the very last woman I would consider marrying.”

He could almost imagine smoke coming out of those perfect, shell-like ears.

“No decent woman would have you,” she hissed.

“Now that’s where you’re wrong. You may expect a happy announcement from me quite soon.” He wasn’t quite sure why he said it—it seemed to spring into his mouth from nowhere.

“Do not bother to send me an invitation.” Her voice was frosty.

“He won’t,” his cursed interfering sister volunteered. “I don’t believe Lady Carstairs would want you anywhere near her.”

He jerked to look down at her in astonishment when Miss Pennington let out an outraged shriek.
“Lady Carstairs?”
she cried. “Charity Carstairs? You’re marrying her? Why, she must be thirty years old.”

Damn his sister—he should drown her in the Thames as well. “I have yet to ask her,” he temporized.

“But she’ll say yes,” Miranda jumped in. “Because they’re in love. You don’t know the meaning of the word, Dorothea Pennington, and you never will. Now go away, do. We have a wedding to arrange.”

If the exquisitely well-behaved Dorothea Pennington had something near at hand she would have thrown it, Benedick decided, horror and amusement warring for control. He watched her stalk from the room, and he could tell from her horrified shriek when she clapped eyes on his scarred brother-in-law, lazily stretched out in the hall. They waited until they heard the front door slam, and then he turned to Miranda.

“What the hell did you mean, I’m marrying Melisande?” he demanded in a choked voice. “I most certainly am not.”

Her smile broadened. “I know you better than you think, Neddie. Stop fighting it. You want her, whether it’s practical or not. You should have her.”

“We don’t suit,” he said stiffly. “Besides, she despises me.”

“Well, that’s always a good sign. But we can deal with your love life later, once we’ve found Brandon. Any idea where he might have gone?”

He gave up then. His head ached too much to
deal with all of this, and Dorothea Pennington would hardly be likely to spread rumors of her former suitor’s engagement—it would reflect too badly on her. He would have a few days to sort things out.

“Brandon,” he agreed, heading toward the open door. Lucien de Malheur was still there, an ironic expression on his face. He tensed when he saw Benedick, as if expecting another assault.

“I’m not going to kill you now,” Benedick said. “We need to fetch Brandon.”

“You’re not going to kill me ever,” Lucien said lazily, getting to his feet, his gold-headed cane in one strong hand. “Lead on, MacDuff.”

I
t started as a soft scratching on her bedroom door, the one Melisande had locked before she’d collapsed into bed. That much she could ignore. It was morning, and she’d just gone to bed, and it simply wasn’t fair to try to wake her. She put the pillow over her head as the scratching went to a soft knock.

“Open the door, Melisande.” Emma’s soft voice came from the other side. “I need to talk to you.”

She didn’t need to talk with anyone. Emma would know full well that she hadn’t returned home last night, and she would know where she’d been and what she’d been doing. And that was absolutely the last thing Melisande had any intention of discussing.

The knocking grew louder, penetrating the layers of feathers and laudanum-induced fog, and Melisande rolled over, cursing. From the angle of the sun she could tell it was early morning, not much past six. She hadn’t closed her curtain, but the overcast sun was still an annoyance. Why should anyone
expect her to wake up at such an ungodly hour when she’d been out all night and…

And not returned home until after nine in the morning. She’d slept the day and night away, wrapped in misery and laudanum, and they were one day closer to the solstice. Bloody hell.

Emma was pounding by now, and the wood door was shaking in its frame. Melisande sat up, groaning, and climbed out of bed. She was vaguely aware that her ankle wasn’t bothering her as she limped toward the door. Vaguely aware that muscles she hadn’t known she had were protesting. And she wasn’t going to examine that thought too closely.

By the time she opened the door, Emma was using both fists, and one look at her expression and Melisande’s bruised heart sank. Something was very wrong, indeed.

She looked past Emma to the gaggle, all in various states of undress, watching them. “When did you last see Betsey?” Emma demanded breathlessly.

“This morning,” Melisande replied immediately, confused.

“Oh, thank God.”

“At least, I think so,” she added. “What day is it? Friday?”

Emma’s relief vanished. “It’s Saturday. You’ve slept the clock around. Do you mean you haven’t seen Betsey since yesterday morning? Where was she?”

“In the library. We talked for a bit. She was missing Aileen, and worried about the future. I told her
she could stay here as long as she wanted, and then she went down to visit Cook. Did you ask Mollie Biscuits?”

“Of course I did!” Panic was shredding Emma’s usual calm. “She said Betsey came in, helped her with the bread, then took some pasties and said she was going to eat them out in the sun. Mollie thinks she was heading for St. James Park, but we can’t be certain. She might have walked farther ahead to Green Park or even all the way to Hyde Park. And she never came back. No tea, no supper, and her bed hasn’t been slept in.”

“She wouldn’t have run away,” Melisande said flatly, trying to force her brain into full working mode despite the lingering effect of the damned laudanum.

“Of course not. Which means only one thing.”

The gaggle were listening avidly, but they were all women of the world, and knew the answer as well as she did. “It means she was taken.”

“No!” Mollie Biscuits let out a cry, tears running down her plump cheeks. “Not that poor wee child!”

“It’s the Heavenly Host,” Violet piped up helpfully, causing the rest of the gaggle to start talking, so loudly that Melisande could barely think.

“Enough!” Emma cried, temporarily shutting them up while doing absolutely nothing for Melisande’s headache. “If they’ve taken her, and there’s no guarantee that they did, then Lady Carstairs can get her back. She’s been working very hard this week, and Viscount Rohan has been assisting her. Cook, bring
us up a pot of strong tea and some of those little cakes you’ve been experimenting with. Violet, you take the others and go out looking. It’s always possible that Betsey simply got lost and found an alley to sleep in. She had to do it often enough when she was younger, poor thing.”

“Yes, Mrs. Cadbury,” Violet said importantly. “And lord knows she’s at a good age. Too old for the gents who like the young ones, yet not old enough for those who like a bit of meat with their brisket.” She plumped her full breast with one hand.

“What does that even mean?” Long Jane, beside her, demanded.

“It means she’s got a good chance at being safe enough,” Sukey said. “God willing.” Sukey’s tenure with the bishop had left some of his piety intact.

There were a few added “God willings” from the more religious of the gaggle, as they slowly started to disperse, and Emma took Melisande’s arm, hurrying her back into her bedroom.

“I’ll help you dress,” she said briskly. “We haven’t any time to waste.” She paused enough to look at her. “I wish we had time to talk about your night with Rohan, but Betsey’s been gone for far too long, and we can’t afford to waste any more time.”

“Nothing happened,” Melisande said stoutly.

“God give me strength,” Emma muttered, pulling the robe off her shoulders. “Of course it did. You just don’t want to talk about it, which I assume means he either botched the job or you didn’t like it. Whichever it was, we can deal with it later.”

“There’s nothing to be dealt with. I told you, nothing happened.” She let Emma hand her into one of her narrow walking dresses, then began fastening the long row of buttons up the front.

“Then why is your body adorned with such interesting signs, may I ask you? Clearly my lord Rohan likes to mark his partners, though that must be something new. Unusual for someone who prides himself on his self-control.”

Melisande touched her breast instinctively, then snatched her hand away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I fell.”

“Of course you did. And the bruise just happens to be the size and shape of a mouth. I didn’t see teeth marks, which is a good thing. The ones who leave teeth marks can be a little strange.”

For a moment the memory, almost physical, of Benedick biting down on her earlobe as her arousal built to hit her like a blow. “Don’t we have something more important to discuss? Has anyone been seen loitering around here? Half of London knows the women live here, but Betsey is the only innocent. It makes no sense that anyone would be searching for a virgin here. Unless Aileen was forced to tell them.”

“I don’t know,” Emma said bleakly. “But I have a very bad feeling about this. Do you want me to have a note delivered to Viscount Rohan, or will you go there directly?”

As if things weren’t desperate enough. She ducked her head so that Emma wouldn’t see the absolute horror that suffused her face. She would go nowhere
near Benedick Rohan, ever again. He had made his disdain for her perfectly clear.

Which meant she had to find Betsey on her own. “Have the girls finished with the monk’s robe they were making?”

“It’s in your closet. Does that mean you think the Heavenly Host really did take her?”

“They need a virgin for tomorrow…tonight. How and why they knew is beyond me.” Maybe Rohan had betrayed her and told them in order to rescue his brother. Anything was possible. “I cannot risk losing her. I must go, even if I’m wrong.”

“And you know where they’re meeting? You and the viscount?”

“We do,” she said, sticking to the absolute letter of the truth. “I’m not going to let anything happen to Betsey.” She strode to the wardrobe, caught the dull brown robe in one hand and started limping toward the door.

“You can’t go out with that bad ankle,” Emma said belatedly. “Let me send a message…”

“No! On no account are you to correspond with Viscount Rohan.” The panic was seeping into her voice, but she averted her face on the off chance Emma wouldn’t notice. She was usually far too observant, but her worry over Betsey was bound to distract her. “Just leave it up to me. I wouldn’t want a letter to get into the wrong hands—we certainly don’t want his brother to know we’re so close.”

An odd expression crossed Emma’s face. “Are you certain his brother is tied up with those deviants?”

“Absolutely. According to Benedick…er, Viscount Rohan, his brother is equally fond of the opium pipe and excesses of alcohol. It’s little wonder—he was grievously wounded in the Afghan wars, and he’s yet to recover.” She looked Emma directly in the eyes, unblinking, and flat-out lied to her. “I’ll go there directly and we’ll decide what to do next. You may rely on me. I’ll bring Betsey back.”
If it kills me,
she thought. If Emma thought she was with Rohan she wouldn’t worry, and it would give her more time to accomplish what she had to do.

She made her way slowly down the two flights of stairs, breathing a sigh of relief that her ankle had definitely improved. By the time she reached the ground floor a hired carriage had been brought round, the gaggle had dispersed in what Melisande knew was a fruitless search for Betsey, and Emma was watching her with a doubtful expression on her face. “I hate to send you out alone,” she said. “But I can’t very well accompany you, and Miss Mackenzie is too elderly to be of any assistance. If it weren’t for Viscount Rohan, I would feel very grave doubts about letting you go.”

Melisande plastered a totally believable smile on her face. “I’ll be perfectly fine, I promise you. We’ve got this well in hand.”

“And what if you’re wrong?” Emma trailed after her. “What if Betsey turns up, none the worse for wear? How can I get in touch with you?”

“If Betsey is safe then so much the better, but it still means that some other innocent is in danger.
Even if it’s a stranger I can hardly turn my back on her.” She needed to get out of there, before Emma asked one too many questions and realized she had no intention of going to Rohan at all, before she looked too closely into Melisande’s deliberately limpid gaze.

“Of course. But still…”

“I need to go, Emma. Remember your promise. It would do no good to be in touch with Viscount Rohan—he’ll be out of town with me. I promise I’ll be back as soon as I can, once I’m assured that the Heavenly Host won’t be enacting any cruel rituals.”

“There’s something you’re not telling me,” Emma said sharply.

“I don’t have time to tell you everything!” Melisande cried. “I’ll explain it all when I get back. But right now there’s no time to waste.”

She finally managed to escape, limping down the front steps to the small carriage awaiting her. Emma had helped her down, giving Rohan’s Bury Street address to the driver, and Melisande had no choice but to sit on the edge of the seat until he turned the corner before knocking at the small hatch.

“Yes, my lady?” The driver inquired.

“I’m afraid my friend had the wrong address. I require you to drive me out of town, to the village of Kersley Mill. It’s only a few hours from London, and you’ll be well compensated.” Her reticule was stuffed with every bit of money the household had boasted, and it should be enough to put the coach
man up for the night at the local inn if that was what he preferred.

“Yes, my lady,” he said, and she sat back, breathing a sigh of relief. One hurdle, no, a great many hurdles had been leaped. The rest was up to her.

She only felt a moment’s guilt at misleading Emma into thinking she’d gone to Rohan for help. He’d made it abundantly clear that his only interest in all this was in rescuing his brother. If she wanted to guarantee Betsey’s safety she was on her own.

It had nothing to do with the fact that the very idea of facing Benedick Rohan ever again made her want to curl up into a ball and weep.

She was a stronger woman than that. She didn’t need anyone to help her, particularly not a grudging, cynical, scum-sucking, pig-swiving sack of offal like Benedick Rohan.

The two hours it took her to get to Kersley Mill was more than enough to gird her loins. It was still early in the day, given Melisande’s crack-of-dawn start, and while the driver was loath to drop her off in what seemed like the middle of nowhere, the purse she thrust on him more than made up for any misgivings. It was a warm afternoon, though the day was overcast, and she waited until the coach was out of sight before she found a copse of trees and proceeded to don the monk’s robes.

Unfortunately her petticoats were too full, and she had no choice but to reach under her skirts and untie the tapes that held them. By the time she slid out of all three of them the dull monk’s robe sat a
little closer to her body, though she wasn’t sure it would pass close inspection. The trick, then, was not to let anyone get too close.

According to Rohan’s idle conversation on their last trip to Kersley Hall, the original Heavenly Host allowed for certain members to attend ceremonies merely as watchers. If they wore a monk’s robe and had a white ribbon around their arm then they were allowed to pass among the assembled celebrants with a vow of silence, and no one conversed with them nor expected them to partake of the depraved activities. She hadn’t bothered to ask him how he knew of this particular variation—he’d assured her it had been the case some forty years ago, and considering he hadn’t been born back then she took leave to doubt the veracity of that notion, but she had no choice. She could hardly mingle as Charity Carstairs, do-gooder and semivirgin. The only way she was going to find Betsey was if she went in disguised.

She’d overestimated the improvement in her ankle. By the time the ruins of Kersley Hall came into sight she was moving very slowly indeed, and she could only hope she wouldn’t be called on to run for it. She’d be in big trouble if she was.

She’d almost waited too long. It was Saturday—tomorrow was the night of the full moon, the night of virgin sacrifice that Melisande suspected had absolutely nothing to do with the old pagan religions and everything to do with the twisted mentality of the humans involved in this degenerate organization.

The gloomy ruins of Kersley Hall looked as aban
doned as they had a few days ago, when she and Rohan had ridden there. Of course they’d run into two of the members that time, even though there’d been no sign of them, so there was no guarantee the place was deserted this time, either. She could see the area where the tunnels had collapsed and they’d fallen through. The collapse could have been caused by the heavy spring rains just as easily as trespassing humans, and she could only hope the members who’d already found it had attributed it to natural causes. Otherwise there was always the devastating possibility that they’d changed their location.