Tempting Her Reluctant Viscount (19 page)

Even the best-laid plans can go awry. It is how you deal with such things that defines your character.

~The Duke of Lancaster

The next evening, Hope arrived at the Alvanley ball alone. She had snuck out of Lady Lancaster’s house just before Michael was due to arrive, with Olive in tow. The maid was not thrilled with her part in the subterfuge, but neither could she let Hope wander the streets of Mayfair at night on her own. Hope only hoped the duchess would understand and not release Olive from her employ.

Once inside the ballroom, Hope thanked Olive profusely for her help and then sent her to sit with the other chaperones, assuring her that she would be ready to go soon. Then Hope looked around for some familiar faces. Her plan was to make her appearance known and then leave as soon as it was possible. But most importantly, she had to do everything in her power to avoid Michael. She wasn’t nearly ready to have the conversation with him that she knew she had to have, so better to just stay away from him until she was.

Luckily, it wasn’t long before Hope ran into Sarah and Emily. And not long after that, the trio ran into Rose and Simon.

“Good evening Rose, Simon,” Hope said, when she and the others reached them.

Simon nodded briskly, but then returned his focus to elsewhere in the room. Rose was less than attentive as well, her gaze flitting constantly around them, as if looking for something or someone.

“Is something the matter?” Emily asked, also noticing their strange behavior.

“Yes,” Rose said in a hushed voice, “we believe Lord Shrewsbury is planning something nefarious tonight, and we must stop him!”

Hope immediately began looking around for the odious man, too. Lord Shrewsbury had been the prime suspect in a number of Garden Society cases in recent months.

“Is there anything we can do to help?” she asked, discarding her own plan of leaving early in favor of the far greater good.

“Actually, there is…” Rose replied, and she proceeded to tell the ladies about their suspicions and how vital it was that they keep an eye open for the lord and especially keep him away from Hannah and William. The lord had a long-standing history with the couple and was always looking for ways to exact revenge over some supposed transgression or another.

“Right,” Hope said briskly. “We will all help you look for him then. We should stay in groups of two. That way, if we see him, one person can keep him in their sights, while the other person locates Rose and Simon.”

Emily said, “Very well, Sarah and I will stay together. Obviously, Rose and Simon will keep their vigil together. Hope, perhaps you should look for Lady Lancaster? I am sure she would like to be apprised of the situation, and you two could conduct your search together.”

“Perfect. Let us all depart at once,” Hope replied.

Everyone nodded tersely and dispersed, leaving Hope the task of locating Lady Lancaster. A truly unenviable task, as she was sure the lady knew by now that she had left for the ball prior to Michael’s arrival, but capturing Lord Shrewsbury was far more important than her own pride; so taking a deep breath, Hope began her trek around the ballroom in search of the grand lady.

Of course, as fate would have it, Hope located the duchess with relative ease standing near the refreshments table in the company of Michael. Not particularly surprised to find them together, Hope squared her shoulders and plowed directly into the middle of their conversation.

“Lady Lancaster,” Hope began, not even looking at Michael, “Rose and Simon sent me to enlist your help…with
Lord Shrewsbury
,” she finished meaningfully.

Lady Lancaster listened to what Hope had been told about their mission that night and immediately said, “Hope, you and Michael stay here and keep watch for Lord Shrewsbury. I must contact the authorities so that the man can be taken into custody when he is caught.”

“You are so sure that he will be caught tonight, my lady?” Hope queried, ignoring the troubling request to stay with Michael.

“Yes, I have a feeling tonight will finally be the night. Now then, if you two will excuse me…”

Hope watched Lady Lancaster leave the ballroom and tried to ignore the sensation of Michael’s eyes boring into her. Realizing that her plan to avoid him had been completely foiled by the recent turn of events, Hope turned reluctantly to face the man she most longed to see and yet fervently wished she could leave.

Not quite able to look him in the eye, Hope said quietly, “Good evening, my lord.”

When Michael didn’t reply, Hope hazarded a look at his face. She involuntarily took a step backwards. Never before had she seen a look of such hurt, such betrayal, on another’s face, and certainly never on Michael’s face. And to know that she was the cause…

Hope turned to flee, completely unable to face the creature before her—the creature she had created—but Michael grabbed her arm and said, “Oh, no you don’t. You have stood me up already once tonight; you will not leave me again. I deserve an explanation, Hope, and I deserve it now.”

…

Michael looked around for someplace they could talk privately, but the ball was such a crush. Everyone in London appeared to be there.
All for the chance to see a glimpse of England’s silly inconsequential prince,
Michael scoffed disgustedly. Surely there were more important things in life than parties, balls, and debauchery.

About to forgo propriety altogether and have it out with his fair Hope right there in the middle of the ballroom, Michael heard the band begin to play a waltz.

“Then it will be dancing,” he muttered as he dragged Hope onto the dance floor.

Hope didn’t put up a fight, but once they started moving and the couples around them were occupied with the dance, she hissed, “We are supposed to be watching for Lord Shrewsbury!”

“Hang Shrewsbury,” Michael swore harshly, “he is the least of your worries.”

Blanching, Hope said, “What do you mean?”

Grasping her hand a bit more tightly than was warranted, Michael asked balefully, “Why did you stand me up tonight, Hope?”

Looking around nervously, Hope replied, “I don’t know what you are talking about. I thought we were to meet here. I must have misunderstood.”

Michael didn’t believe her for a second. “The note clearly stated that I would pick you up at Elizabeth’s. That is not a complicated concept is it?”

“No,” Hope replied slowly, “but I was with my girlfriends and the flowers were so lovely, and we were so excited about the ball, I must confess I did not fully read the note.”

Offering Michael a tentative smile, Hope added, “I am sorry for the confusion.”

Michael searched Hope’s face carefully. She was not the type to lie, but for some reason, he was not convinced of her story. First of all, Hope did not make mistakes like not reading an invitation fully or allowing herself to be distracted by flowers or even her friends. She was focused and intelligent and in every way a responsible human being, but what other explanation could there be? They had not had a falling out. In fact, the last time they were together—at the Abingdon ball—they could not have been any happier.

No, she must have made an honest mistake.
Hope has been very tired of late
, Michael supposed. Perhaps that caused a slip of the mind in the middle of all the chaos around them. That would be perfectly understandable, wouldn’t it?

Breathing a sigh of relief, Michael admitted that yes, it was very possible.

So, with that thought in mind and a small smile in return, Michael said, “No, my dear, I am sorry. I guess I…over-reacted.”

…

Hope ducked her head guiltily. Surely she was going to go to hell for this. Lying to the man she thought she loved.
But it is for the best
, she told herself sternly. She was going to have to break his heart soon enough…why not give him one more night of peace before the inevitable.

With newfound conviction, Hope was able to once again look Michael in the eye. “Now may we look for Lord Shrewsbury?”

“Oh, yes, of course,” Michael replied looking around. “But we may as well finish our dance first; we have a rather excellent vantage point from here.”

Hope had to admit that what Michael said was true. From the center of the dance floor, they could see all around the room quite easily. Glancing to her right, Hope could even see Rose and Simon were partaking of the advantages dancing afforded them.

“Very well,” Hope conceded, “we can finish our waltz.”

“Oh, I wanted to tell you what I found out yesterday,” Michael said as they continued dancing around the room.

“Cochrane was arrested.”

“He was?” Hope asked in disbelief.

“But there is no evidence against him. By what means could they possibly make this happen?”

Michael scowled. “By despicable means, my dear. The Tories plan to supply false evidence. In fact, Cochrane overheard that their key ‘witness’ is a hackney driver that swears De Berenger was wearing a scarlet uniform when he delivered him to Cochrane’s house.”

“But that’s not true,” Hope said indignantly. “You and his servants all remember he was wearing green.”

“I know, love, but that doesn’t seem to matter to the committee. They are probably receiving pressure from the Tories. A red uniform would mean that Cochrane saw De Berenger dressed as a Frenchman and did nothing. Even after the hoax was reported, he did not turn the man in. That, they can only conclude, indicates his collusion with the men who perpetrated the crime.”

“Oh, Michael…what are we going to do? We can’t let Lord Cochrane be punished for a crime he did not commit.”

“Well, I have an idea, but it will involve some more investigative work on our part. Do you think you could handle a bit more legwork?”

“Of course,” Hope replied.

…

Michael watched Hope with no small measure of pride. The more he thought about it, the more he realized she was everything he could ever want in a wife and more. She was intelligent, clever, loyal, and she believed in everything that was right and good.

Spurred on by his thoughts and his overwhelming emotions, when the music ended, Michael pulled Hope over to a small private alcove near one if the entrances to the ballroom where he hoped to have a serious conversation about her letting him court her honestly once the mission was over.

Taking a deep breath, Michael was just about to say as much when Hope suddenly said, “Oh, Michael! Hannah and William just arrived. We must go to them and keep them distracted. The last thing Hannah needs to worry about before her wedding is this intrigue with Lord Shrewsbury.”

Sighing, Michael felt himself being pulled over to where their friends were. Well, that would teach him to try to have a serious conversation in a crowded ballroom when there was a plot afoot. No matter, though. Soon the time would be right, and he would finally be able to look upon the lovely Hope as a possible partner in his future, permanently; maybe even tomorrow during the investigation. Surely, there would be a time when the two of them would be quite alone and amenable to a little romantic conversation.

No longer quite so discouraged by the turn of events, Michael found he was able to throw himself into his task of protecting Hannah and William from the depravity of Lord Shrewsbury. In fact, not much later, the man in question was captured by Trumbull, Rose, and the Bow Street Runners without Hannah and William being much affected at all.

Considering it a job well done, Michael turned to Hope with the intent of escorting her home but found that she was nowhere to be seen.
Has she left me again?
Michael wondered in astonishment. What was going on with that girl?

Then, just on the verge of irritation, Michael saw her. She was walking toward him with one of Lady Lancaster’s maids. Apparently, Hope had arrived with her. Michael knew he should have been grateful that she was taking such precautions with her reputation, but now any amorous intentions he may have been entertaining on the ride home were completely thwarted.

A small kiss on the cheek was all he was allowed when he delivered Hope to Elizabeth’s home—that and an agreement to meet the next day at noon—but it was enough to know he was going to get to spend another full day with her in just a few hours.

“And we will be meeting here, at this very house, correct?” Michael teased.

Blushing, Hope replied smartly, “You will just have to wait and see, my lord.”

“I suppose I shall, at that,” Michael agreed with an elegant bow. “Until tomorrow, then, my dear.”

…

“Tomorrow,” Hope echoed softly and then turned to go inside.

She did not watch Michael as he rode away that night, as she had often done in the past; for one day soon, she knew that he would be riding away from her for good, and with him would go any chance for her future happiness.

It was a very depressing thought.

Chapter Twenty

Asking nicely does not always work.

~The Duke of Lancaster

Hope spent the next morning steeling herself for the day ahead. She had thought all the investigations over and done with when she had made the decision to end her relationship with Michael.

Now it seemed they had one more task to complete.

It was an important task, and one in which the future of a good man and war hero hung in the balance. Surely, Hope could put aside the seemingly small matter of her breaking heart to rescue such a great figure in England’s recent history.

“Surely,” Hope repeated to herself softly, as she heard the bell of the front door peal loudly.

She was seated in the little-used formal parlor situated just off the main foyer—it was not a particular favorite of Lady Lancaster’s, as it did not benefit much from natural light—and just on the other side of the wall from where Michael was being greeted by Jacobs.

Hope had wanted to wait for him in private. She was very much aware that Lady Lancaster was suspicious of her recent behavior, and Hope did not relish the idea of having ‘a talk’ with the duchess. There would be enough talking and explaining to do after she extricated herself from Michael’s affections and when she quit the Garden Society. Once Hope took a job, she would no longer be able to associate at the same level as the other ladies in the Society. It just wasn’t done.