Surrender of Trust (First Volume of the Surrender Series) (25 page)

Lucy sensed Chalifour's presence and his eyes
on her. Her skin prickled and warmth crept into her cheeks.
Blast!
She looked around. Had anyone noticed? If they did,
Lucy hoped they would attribute it to the sherry she was
drinking.

Lucy was relieved Chalifour did not approach
her again. He knew she was sensitive to potential scandal, and
rightly so, particularly in light of her stunt at the racecourse.
Lucy and Chalifour sat together at the dinner table. He salvaged
her honor during the meal and prevented her from being disgraced.
They had obviously seen one another at the racecourse, and
Chalifour had just escorted her outside onto the terrace. Any more
time spent together might cause tongues to wag. Lucy appreciated
Chalifour’s understanding and discretion.

After what seemed like hours of excruciating
polite conversation, the guests departed well after midnight.
Exhausted from fighting the surge of emotions which swept through
her every time she caught Chalifour's eyes, Lucy stumbled upstairs
to her bedchamber. Her bleary eyes threatened to close while the
maid helped her undress. The maid left and Lucy collapsed into her
bed.

Lucy turned on one side and then another.
Sighing, she sat up. Lucy grasped her pillow in one hand and banged
it with her other hand. Her pillow had undoubtedly turned to stone.
The tedious march of the clock wore Lucy down until at last she
slipped into a fitful slumber.

When dawn thrust its feeble light through the
drapes, Lucy awakened with a start. She shook her head to clear it.
Had she really slept in a bed last night or had she been drug
behind the coach instead? She rolled over. Wake up! You need to
have your wits about you when you speak with Monique.

Lucy drug herself from the warm, soft bed.
Goosebumps pebbled her skin. Donning her morning dress, Lucy washed
her face in the wash basin. The shock of the cold water made her
eyes blink and her face sting.

Plopping herself on the chair in front of the
window, Lucy gazed out over the gardens in the rear of the estate.
Where should she start with Monique? She continued to stare out the
window. The light gradually grew stronger. Unable to put it off any
longer, Lucy dressed for the day.

Thankfully, Lady Elizabeth had the foresight
to provide her with a riding outfit. Lucy suppressed a smile. Maybe
Elizabeth just wanted Chalifour to buy her a new riding outfit.
Lucy had grown fond of Lady Elizabeth in the short time they had
been acquainted. Lady Elizabeth was like Monique in a great many of
ways. Their independence and spunk were unusual for women who were
members of the ton. Lucy counted herself incredibly fortunate to be
acquainted with such uncommon women.

Lucy dressed with the help of a maid and
trudged downstairs where she found Monique finishing breakfast.
"You're up and about early this morning."

"Yes, and you're up and about late! I only
came down early because you generally do. It figures this is the
one day you would delay. Are you hungry?" Monique asked.

"In truth, I am not. Let's say we take our
ride now. I can always eat when we return."

"All right, then. Let's go." Lucy and Monique
crossed the mews and headed for the stables. Once there, Lucy chose
a roan to ride. They mounted and set off at a trot toward Hyde
Park.

"Monique?" Lucy said tentatively.

"Yes?"

"I don't even know how to tell you all of
this, so I'll just do my best."

Monique looked at her sharply and brought her
horse to a stop."You look so serious. What is it?"

"I've not been honest with you and I am truly
sorry."

Monique's face registered confusion.

"The debt Lucien owes Perdan? It's not a
debt. He's blackmailing Lucien."

"I don't understand. What are you
saying?"

"I'm saying Perdan has accused Lucien of
cheating in some races. If he doesn't pay Perdan, he will make
those allegations public and try and ruin Lucien."

Monique's eyebrows shot up and her mouth
dropped. "What! That's absurd! Who would possibly believe him?"

"A lot of people, I'm afraid."

"Why didn't you tell me this before? Why did
you wait until now?"

"I was afraid you would believe Perdan."

Monique's face took on a hurt look. "How
could you think that? We've known each other since we were
children. We've always shared secrets. I can't understand how you
would treat me like a stranger."

Lucy couldn't meet Monique's eyes. "I'm
sorry. I was wrong. I should have told you everything."

"Yes, you should have," Monique said
tautly.

"Can you forgive me?"

"I'm sure I can, but maybe not today."
Monique spurred her horse ahead and left Lucy alone with her
thoughts.

Lucy watched Monique's back fade into the
distance. Monique was understandably angry and hurt with her. Lucy
had spurned Monique's friendship by not confiding in her. Guilt dug
into her heart, leaving it heavy.

Lucy should have known better. Monique hadn't
expressed a flicker of belief in the possibility that Perdan's
allegations against Lucien were true. Monique's concern was Lucy's
lack of trust in her, not in the possibility Lucien had acted
dishonorably. Lucy had hurt Monique in not placing her faith in
her.

A sigh escaped Lucy. She would have to make
it up to Monique. Glumly, Lucy observed the other riders in the
park. The happy faces only served to make her more miserable. They
were a stark reminder that, in her Monique's mind, Lucy had
betrayed her.

Submersed in her thoughts, Lucy made her way
back to the stables alone. She stood motionless inside the stables
and petted her mount. Her throat closed and her eyes misted. Lucy
missed her horses and ached to be standing in her own stables.
Unfortunately, she couldn't return to her own stables until she
found a way to loosen Perdan's stranglehold on her family.

Lucy needed Monique's help yet again. Monique
was well equipped to help her devise a plan to expose Perdan for
what he was. With Perdan's true nature revealed, her brother could
live without fear of Perdan's fabricated falsehoods. Lucien, and by
extension she, would be free of any power Perdan might hold.

Lucy would approach Monique this evening
after she had a chance to digest everything and cool off. In the
meantime, Lucy would try to think of a way to redeem herself with
Monique and make up for her transgression.

Lucy trudged to Monique's bedchamber. Unsure
of her welcome, she tapped on the door. She scrunched her face in
consternation while she waited for a response. She needed Monique's
help to find a way to defeat Perdan.

"Yes? Come in."

Lucy opened the door and poked her head
inside. "Monique? Are you still mad at me?"

Monique was seated at her dressing table,
brushing her hair. The dressing table was adorned with Egyptian
hieroglyphics and animal heads carved into its rich mahogany.
Monique laid her ivory handled brush on the table and turned to
face Lucy, arms crossed. "I'm not sure."

"Well, when do you think you'll be sure?"
Lucy said. She opened the door wider and stepped inside, closing it
behind her.

"I haven't decided."

"Should I come back next year when you've had
a chance to make up your mind? Should we call the coach to fetch me
home?" Lucy asked. Monique's sullen tone wasn't fooling her.

"Oh, Lucy! You know better than that! I'm
just really upset with you!"

"I know you are. And you've every right to
be. I know I’ve treated you abominably."

"Yes, you have. You're supposed to be my
closest friend and yet you didn't trust me enough to tell me these
things!"

Lucy shrugged her shoulders. "I know, I know.
I could've used your counsel so many times. You have no idea. I've
really missed talking with you. Forgive me?"

Monique made a rude noise."Yes, of course,"
she huffed.

Lucy crossed the room and wrapped her in a
hug. "Thank you. What can I do to make it up to you?"

"I'll have to think about it. I'm sure I can
come up with something," she said, a smile crossing her lips.

Lucy pulled away from Monique and walked to
the large, four poster mahogany bed decorated with ornate carvings
of leaves and flowers. She pushed back one of the heavy drapes and
plopped down onto the mattress. The bed was similar to the one in
her room. "Monique, I need your help."

"Of course you do. So what do you need?"

"When I was on the terrace with Chalifour
last night, he told me Perdan is a liar and a cheat."

"And?"

"And I need to find a way to use that against
him."

"Hmmm, I see. What do you have in mind?"

"If I could catch him in the act in some way,
like cheating in a game of cards, then I could blackmail him in
reverse."

"If you could catch him. He's obviously smart
enough to avoid getting caught."

"There's got to be a way. "

"It seems to me we need to know more about
where he gambles, what he plays, who he plays with. We don't have
much to go on to set a trap. I take it that's what you have in
mind?"

"Yes. But how do we go about getting that
information? "

Monique's brow wrinkled in concentration. "I
have an idea. I'm not sure if it will work, but we could try
it."

"All right, what?"

"I could make some social calls on certain
members of the ton tomorrow. Some discrete inquiries might get me
the information we need. Everyone knows I'm in the market for a
husband now. They'll likely assume I have some interest in Perdan
and am gathering information on him." She wrinkled her nose.
"Though it's a detestable thought that anyone would believe I could
possibly have an interest in him."

"It might work. I'm sorry to ask you to be
involved with this, but quite frankly, I just don't have the
resources you do."

"I know. And you still should have come to me
much earlier," Monique admonished her again. Monique's ego was
apparently still bruised.

"Yes, we both know you're right. I owe you
far more even now than I could ever repay."

"You're lucky I love you so much."

"I'm thankful you do. So, even if you can get
the information we need, assuming he plays cards, how do we become
involved with a game? I can't pose as Lucien again. Even if I
tried, as soon as I spoke it would be obvious it's me and not
Lucien."

"It's obvious you're going to need a
shill."

"A shill? Who?"

"I have an idea of someone. The first thing
we need to do, however, is to gather some information. I don't want
to start asking around for your surrogate unless we have something
we can act on."

She was right, of course. How could you ask a
person to do something when you weren't even sure what the
something was?

"I'll make my calls early tomorrow. If all
goes well, maybe we'll glean enough information to formulate a
plan. I can't make any promises though."

Lucy knew better than to ask to accompany
her. She was not a member of the beau monde. Her presence would be
highly unusual and would likely prove distracting, if not an
outright deterrent to people speaking freely. Lucy didn't want to
do anything to impede Monique's chances of obtaining the
information they needed. As it was, she was granted access to this
level of society only though the sponsorship of Monique's brother,
which was something she had strained recently. Lucy hoped Monique
would be successful.

Monique smiled broadly when she met Lucy the
following afternoon.

"You look like the proverbial cat that
swallowed the canary! I take it you were successful." Lucy
said.

Monique's turned her smug face toward Lucy
and beckoned her to follow, "I was!"

Lucy followed Monique into the drawing room.
Monique sat. She took Lucy’s hand and pulled down beside her onto
the same settee Lucy had occupied last night during the dinner
party. Monique squirmed in an effort to contain herself.

"Don’t keep me waiting. Tell me!"

Monique's eyes darted around as if to ensure
herself they were alone. She leaned close to Lucy and said in a low
voice, "He's a card player all right. His gambling is well known.
So are his debts. Perhaps that's the reason Perdan has threatened
your brother. He's desperate for money."

"So what can we do?"

"Lucy, my plan is not very good, but it's all
I can come up with. Do you want to hear it?"

"I don't feel as if I have any kind of
choice. Perdan’s threat of blackmail may be based on a fabrication,
but it would still have devastating results if Lucien were
shunned."

"I agree. It's his word against Perdan's, and
Perdan is a peer."

"Exactly. We can't keep paying him. It will
eventually destroy Lucien financially."

Monique's eyes traversed the room again. "It
seems to me Lucien will be destroyed financially one way or the
other if you can't stop Perdan."

"Precisely. That's why I don't have a choice.
"In forging ... ," Lucy broke off and looked around the room.
Now she was doing it!
"By signing that contract and paying
Perdan, I made Lucien's short term financial condition worse. Not
to mention the other, um, circumstances related to signing the
cheque."

Monique's gaze didn't waver."You're right, I
suppose. Let me tell you what I discovered today."

"You have my full attention."

"Perdan is a true gambler. He wears all the
garb and fancies himself a card sharp. The only problem is Perdan
loses more than he wins. His family has paid off large debts for
him, more than once. All he does is continue to gamble. The word is
his family has cut him off and he has debts he needs to pay, or
face disgrace. That, I believe, is why he has threatened your
brother."