Brushed by Scandal (15 page)

But as he turned and slowly headed back into the house, he realised he wasn’t only surprised, he was deeply apprehensive. The line he walked now was one of the finest he ever would. More than the reputation of a gentleman was at stake. Personal boundaries were about to be crossed. Feelings

would be trammelled into the dust, beliefs battered, and impressions irrevocably altered.

He had the name of his thief. And, if his identity proved true, Barrington knew he risked losing everything that had come to matter in his life.

H
aving just returned from a drive in the park, Anna was about to enter the house when she heard the clatter of carriage wheels in the street behind her. Aware that it was slowing down, she turned in time to see a matched pair of greys pulling an elegant black cabriolet draw to a halt in front of the house. Moments later, Sir Barrington stepped out, ebony cane in hand, his black beaver glistening in the afternoon sun.

‘Sir Barrington,’ Anna said, cursing the tiny catch in her voice. ‘This is a surprise.’

He looked as startled as she, but there was something else in his expression she couldn’t quite define. ‘Lady Annabelle. I thought you would be out paying calls.’

‘In fact, Lord Andrews has just returned me home from a drive in the park.’

‘Andrews!’ His countenance darkened. ‘You allowed him to take you driving?’

‘I did,’ Anna said, caught off guard by the sudden intensity in his voice. ‘He has been after me for weeks to allow him to show me his new pair of blacks, so when the weather turned fine this morning, I decided I would allow him to do so.’

‘And did you enjoy your drive?’

Remembering several rather alarming moments when the horses had been going too fast for safety, Anna was tempted to tell him no, but pride demanded a different answer. ‘It was…invigorating.’

He snorted. ‘Invigorating. Andrews is a mediocre whip at best and notorious for buying troublesome animals. He has an inflated opinion of his ability to train them, so when a seller tells him a horse is bad tempered, Andrews tells them they’re not using the right methods of control. But most of the time, he ends up selling the horses back to whoever he bought them from and always at a loss.’

‘I admit, they were a touch wild,’ Anna conceded, ‘but for the most part, he seemed able to keep them under control.’

‘Nevertheless, I would ask you not to drive out with him again. He is not a man I would encourage you or any other young woman to spend time with.’

Anna bristled. Having already made up her mind not to see Lord Andrews again, the warning was unnecessary, but she resented Barrington’s belief that he had the right to tell her who she should and should not see. ‘I think you are too hard on the gentleman, Sir Barrington. He was very pleasant to me. Attentive to my wishes and interested in what I had to say.’

‘What do you know about the viscount, Lady Annabelle?’ Barrington asked softly.

‘Not a great deal,’ she was forced to confess. ‘He told me his wife died two years ago and that he has three married sisters he seldom sees.’

‘He also has four children ranging in ages from six to thirteen and he is looking for a new wife to take care of them.’

‘He cannot be looking very hard,’ Anna said. ‘I’ve spoken to several young ladies who told me of their desire to become
the next Lady Andrews, but apparently, he offered them no encouragement whatsoever.’

‘Yet he seemed interested in you?’

‘Actually, no. During the course of our drive, he asked me a great many questions about Miss Dora Preston.’

‘Miss Preston?’ Barrington said quietly. ‘Of course. A painfully shy young woman of nine and twenty, who now finds herself in a precarious financial situation as a result of her parents’ death. She is neither pretty nor accomplished and has received no offers of marriage. Furthermore, as an only child, she has no brothers or sisters to whom she can apply for help.’

‘Then why, given all that, should you not be pleased to hear that Lord Andrews is interested in her?’ Anna asked, thinking it a logical question—until she saw the look on his face. ‘Don’t tell me you know something about him as well?’

‘I’m afraid I do. And it is not the kind of information that recommends him to
any
woman, let alone one who is alone in the world and so terribly naïve.’

‘Dare I ask why not?’

‘Because Lord Andrews can be…unstable.’

‘Unstable.’

‘He has been known to suffer from hallucinations and bouts of paranoia.’

‘The poor man. Is he not well?’

‘Not when under the influence of opium, no.’

‘Opium! Lord Andrews?’

‘For obvious reasons, it is not something the man publicises,’ Barrington said. ‘It started out as a medical treatment for some unspecified condition several years ago, but over time, he grew addicted to its more…pleasurable aspects. It is the reason he has no communication with his sisters. They
are afraid for the welfare of his children when he is under the influence. I know for a fact that the eldest sister has tried to remove the children from his care, but has been unsuccessful in her attempts. Marrying someone like Miss Preston leads me to believe he is looking for the kind of wife who will not ask questions. One who will be grateful just to have been asked and who has no family to worry about her. With such a wife in place, Andrews’s sisters won’t have a hope of taking the children away from him.’

Dear Lord, it was enough to make her feel ill. Anna couldn’t believe that the man with whom she had just parted company would be the type to take opium, but neither could she dismiss it out of hand. Not when it was Barrington who had made her aware of it.

‘If what you say is true, I must warn Miss Preston not to entertain his suit,’ Anna said quickly. ‘Though for the life of me, I cannot imagine what reason I am going to give her. She knows what her chances of marrying are. She’ll never have another opportunity like this.’

‘I have every confidence you will find a convincing explanation. If not, you can always tell her the truth. For her sake, she must not consider his offer. Nor must any other young lady for that matter.’

‘I cannot protect them all!’

‘I know. Fortunately, Andrews will likely retire to the country before the end of the Season, especially if he meets with no success in London. He will probably marry a woman from the local village. He does not look to marry well, only quickly.’

Anna nodded, aware that once again she was in his debt. ‘Thank you for the information, Sir Barrington. Though I do not feel better for having learned of it, I know it will help Miss Preston in the long run.’

‘There are, unfortunately, many men like Andrews in
society. Hallucinatory drugs will always hold an appeal for that sort of man.’

Aware that they were still standing on her front step, Anna said, ‘Forgive me, I have rudely kept you out here talking. Would you like to come in?’

‘Only if your father is at home.’

‘I don’t believe he is,’ Anna said, wondering at the nature of his call. Surely the Marquess of Yew hadn’t some further issue with Peregrine. ‘He informed me when I left with Lord Andrews that he would be out until later this evening.’

‘Then perhaps I will try again later.’ He touched the brim of his beaver, then turned to go.

‘Sir Barrington?’ When he stopped and turned back, Anna said, ‘Have you had any luck finding Julia’s necklace?’

His expression didn’t change, but something in his eyes hardened. ‘No, though I have recently been made aware of information pertaining to the theft. But it is nothing I am at liberty to share at this time. Good afternoon, Lady Annabelle.’

With that he walked back down the path and climbed into his waiting carriage. The driver flicked the whip and the horses set off.

Anna walked into the house, unable to shake a feeling of gloom. Finding out the truth about Lord Andrews had not been pleasant and she made a promise to herself to send a note to Miss Preston that very afternoon. But it wasn’t only that. Barrington had called to see her father and in finding him absent had made it perfectly clear that he had no desire to spend time in
her
company. Contrary to what she’d believed, it was obvious that the breach between them wasn’t healed at all.

* * *

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, though Anna was aware of feeling strangely on edge. Even in the carriage en
route to an evening engagement, the conversation she’d had with Barrington lingered in her mind. Was there anything the man
didn’t
know? He seemed to be in possession of the most disturbing information about almost everyone she knew. Even unassuming Lord Andrews, whom she found herself observing during the course of the evening, harboured secrets that were both dark and disturbing. Watching him speak quietly to an elderly lady, Anna found it difficult to equate the seemingly upright gentleman with a man who indulged in a substance whose prolonged use was known to affect the mind and body in terrible ways.

‘Are you sure you did not misunderstand Sir Barrington?’ Lydia asked after Anna had acquainted her with Lord Andrew’s unsavoury pastime.

‘I can assure you I did not,’ Anna said, keeping her voice down. ‘Sir Barrington was very convincing in his description of the man’s activities; given that I’ve no reason to doubt him, I took the liberty of writing to Miss Preston and advising her not to encourage Lord Andrews’s suit. I told her Mr. Atlander would be a far better choice.’

‘Until you speak to Sir Barrington about
him,’
Lydia murmured. ‘And find out that
he
is not all he seems to be either. Faith, it must be disturbing to know so much about so many people. Only think of the kind of secrets Sir Barrington is forced to keep. He could utterly destroy people if he was of a mind to.’

‘Only if they did something foolish. If one is innocent of all crimes, people have nothing to fear from him.’

‘And what about you, Anna?’ Lydia asked quietly. ‘Have you anything to fear from Sir Barrington Parker?’

Anna took a sip of champagne. That was the problem with close friends. They saw far too much. ‘I have no idea what you mean.’

‘I think you do. You speak of him quite often, you know,’ Lydia said, ‘and in a tone of voice that leads me to believe you are not entirely indifferent to him.’

‘Be that as it may, we both know exactly where we stand.’

‘You may know where you stand, Anna, but are you happy about it?’

Anna raised her glass to her lips instead of replying.
That
was a different question altogether.

* * *

The house was quiet when Anna got home. Milford met her at the door and took her evening cape. ‘Thank you, Milford. Is my father still up?’

‘He is, my lady, but he went to his room and said he was not to be disturbed.’

Anna paused in the act of removing her gloves. ‘Did Sir Barrington Parker call this evening?’

‘He most certainly did,’ Edward said, coming down the stairs. ‘That will be all, Milford.’

Anna wasn’t surprised by her brother’s curt dismissal of the servant, but she was surprised to find him still at home. ‘You’re not usually here this time of evening,’ she said as the butler withdrew.

‘I had planned on going out, but when Parker arrived, I decided to stay. I’m glad I did, though you won’t be.’

Anna flinched at his tone of voice. ‘I assume he came to speak to Papa about Peregrine?’

‘On the contrary, he came to speak to Father about the baroness’s necklace. It seems the thief has been found.’

Something in his face set Anna’s heart racing. ‘Who is it?’ she whispered.

‘Can you not guess?’

Dear God, it was someone she knew? ‘
Stop playing games, Edward. Just
tell
me and be done with it!’

‘Oh, I’ll tell you, but you won’t so easily be done with it. Because the thief is someone you know. A man you were raised to love and respect.’ Her brother donned his hat and started for the door. ‘A man who has lied and deceived us all. Our much loved and revered father!’

* * *

Her father had stolen the baroness’s necklace?

Impossible! In fact, it was more than impossible. It was ludicrous! Her father was a wealthy man. He had no reason to steal anything—and he certainly wouldn’t have stolen something from Julia. So why on earth had Barrington come here and accused him of having done so?

Woodenly, Anna made her way to the drawing room. There had to be a mistake. Barrington had been given the wrong information. One of his informants had followed the wrong lead. Tracked down the wrong man. Her father was
not
a thief. She was willing to stake her life on that.

She closed the door behind her and walked on unwilling feet towards the fireplace. She was cold, chilled from the inside out, her mind struggling to come to grips with what she had just learned. What kind of man was Barrington that he could do this to her family? He had
spoken
to her father. Socialised with him. Yet he had still come here and accused him of this heinous crime.

‘How could you, Barrington?’ she whispered. ‘How
could
you do this unspeakable thing to my father?’ She bit her lip, fighting back tears. ‘To me.’

* * *

Barrington stood in his study, gazing into the fire, his conscience burning as hot as the flames in the grate. How long would it be? How long before she arrived on his doorstep
demanding an explanation to the accusations he had laid at her father’s feet?

It couldn’t be long. She might even come tonight…straight from having spoken to her father. Unless she didn’t get a chance to speak to him. The earl might well have gone out, or refused to speak to her. No doubt he needed time to come to grips with the fact that someone had supposedly seen him stealing the baroness’s necklace while she lay sleeping in her bed.

Certainly Barrington had needed time. When the shadowy figure had first mentioned the earl’s name, Barrington was sure he must have heard wrong. The Earl of Cambermere a thief? It was laughable! The man was a peer of the realm. An aristocrat. Such conduct would be anathema to him.

Yet, the man had repeated the earl’s name several times over the course of the next few minutes, though never once had he vouchsafed the name of the person who was the apparent source of the information.

Not that it mattered, Barrington reflected grimly. He had been given the Earl of Cambermere’s name as the person who had committed the crime. And, as his first and only suspect, he was obliged to follow it through. For Anna’s sake, he prayed God it wasn’t the only name he received.

* * *

Anna had no idea how she had passed the hours of that terrible night. It certainly wasn’t in sleep. She had lain awake through the long midnight hours, getting up several times to pace the length of the room. At one point, she had opened the curtains and stared at the moon, but it gave her no comfort and eventually she had staggered back to bed. But she hadn’t been able to sleep and still lay awake when the first fingers of light began to creep into her room. She watched the blackness of the night sky give way to a dark indigo hue, then to
lighter blue as the sun climbed higher in the sky. She heard the sounds of the servants moving about in the house below. Laying fires. Dusting furniture. Setting out breakfast. And still she thought about Edward’s words.