The Duke Conspiracy (19 page)

Rose felt her gaze arrested upon his words.
He had an excellent point. Broderick did need to be stopped, or at
least contained. It would be best if someone with some sort of
power or ability could ascertain what his ultimate plan was. She
had no doubt that the man was up to no good, but she was in no
position to be able to do anything about it. And her father would
definitely insist on hearing the entire story. But she so did not
want to tell Alex about the Vienna part of her tale. And her
knowledge of the one was so intertwined with the other.

Her conflicted feelings must have clearly
shown on her face because Alex pressed his advantage. His face
softened as his eyes searched hers. “Tell me, Rosie, what worries
you? Why can you not confide in me on this? I swear to you I will
not reveal any of your secrets.”

Rose wavered in her convictions. “I do trust
you, Alex, Your Grace,” she started, stammering a little as her
throat clogged with her feelings. “It is not only my secrets that I
keep. And I know you, Alex. You hate secrets and anything that
smacks of subterfuge. I cherish the memories of our childhood
friendship, despite the difficulty that now exists between our
families. If I tell you everything, I fear that our memories will
be tainted.”

She felt her blush rising in her cheeks and
her breath hitched in her throat once more as Alex reached out a
tentative finger and tilted her chin to force her to look him in
the eye.

“The Rosie I knew would never keep a secret
from me, and that was all I ever cared about. I know you, just as
you know me. It is true that I hate any falsehood. You know the
reasons why. Even though three years have passed, I know you could
not have changed overmuch and you are nothing like my father. Any
secrets or subterfuge you may have been a party to, I trust that
there was a good enough reason to merit your involvement. You can
trust me to maintain a sufficiently open mind that I would not
judge you harshly without getting all the facts.”

Tears welled in Rose's eyes and she threw
herself into Alex's arms. She felt safe and warm as his arms closed
tightly around her. She allowed her tears to flow for a moment and
basked in the rightness of the sensation before comfort blended
into deeper, warmer feelings, and she drew back abruptly as the
butterflies took up their fluttering once more in her belly.
Feeling her cheeks heating fiercely she pushed herself from his
arms.

****

“I apologize, Your Grace. That was highly
improper and forward of me. I assure you wholeheartedly that I am
not imitating Lady Anne's strategy and trying to entrap you
myself.”

“Perish the thought,” was Alex's dry reply.
He let her go with reluctance, gratified to see that the bonds of
their friendship were still truly there. It was going to be a
challenge, but he determined in that moment that he was going to
find a way to preserve their relationship in the future. “Have I
reassured you enough for you to unburden yourself?”

“How did you know it is burdening me? I
thought I was doing such a good job of keeping my troubles to
myself.”

“You are,” he soothed. “Up until this moment,
I was not certain that you
were
troubled. But I surmised
your tears were of relief, and while I have a sufficiently good
opinion of myself, I do not think your relief was merely due to my
promise not to judge you. You have always been of strong enough
character that you would defy my thoughts if they were not to your
liking.”

Rose grinned over his words. “You are quite
right, Your Grace.” She stuck to formality despite the unorthodox
partnership they were sharing. Alex had to struggle to keep from
growling his frustration.

“What parts am I right about?”

Now Rose allowed a watery chuckle to escape
her throat. “All of it really, Your Grace. I am relieved by your
promise to hear me out. But of greater relief is the prospect of
sharing my concerns with someone. Particularly someone who is in a
position to help, or at least someone who can strategize with me as
to what is to be done.” Rose heaved a sigh. “The trouble is that it
is such a complicated situation, and I do not think I have the time
to explain it all.”

“I understand.
Start with the basics. If need be, we can meet again.”

A soft, wistful smile now graced Rose's lips
and it was Alex's turn to feel the breath catch in his throat at
the sight. She reached out a tentative hand and placed it gently on
his sleeve. “Thank you, Alex. You have no idea how much I
appreciate your offer. I know it cannot be comfortable for you to
have me around. To offer to spend even more time in my presence is
truly generous of you.”

Alex kept his smile contained, not wishing to
reveal how little of a challenge it was for him to spend any time
with her. “You had best get started; your maid will be coming to
fetch you before long.”

This caused Rose to glance around the large,
empty room. “She is the only one I have trusted with this
information, to be honest with you, Your Grace, so I have no
concerns about her return, aside from the lecture she will no doubt
feel the need to give me for divulging my secrets to another.” Rose
again looked around with concern. “Do you think we will be
overheard, Your Grace?”

“I really do wish you would stop calling me
'Your Grace' at every turn,” Alex complained, but did not dwell on
the matter. “To be perfectly honest with you, at this hour of the
morning I do not think we need fear the presence of anyone who
would care to eavesdrop on our conversation. I have not seen anyone
about the entire time we have been talking.”

“All right, if you are sure.”

Rose still looked hesitant, so Alex reached
out and clasped her hand between both of his. “I am sure.”

“After the tragedy,” Rose began rather
shakily, with the worst days of her life. She paused to gather her
thoughts, grateful that Alex gave her hand an encouraging squeeze.
After clearing her throat she tried again. “As you know, my father
is a diplomat representing our government's interests in
negotiations with other governments. Usually, my mother would
remain at home with us children while Father would be away for
months on end. After the tragedy, it was decided that we would
accompany my father to Vienna. There was to be a congress of all
the great nations to negotiate a means of maintaining peace,
instead of the constant warring that has been taking place for the
past twenty years or so.”

Rose again paused, wracking her brain as to
how to continue. Alex encouraged her with his quiet words. “Did you
enjoy Vienna?”

“Very much so,” she began with more
enthusiasm. “It is such a beautiful city. It was a good distraction
from the troubles in our family. We had left my little brother at
school at first, so it was just my parents and me. My mother was
prostrate with her grief at first. It gave me the opportunity to
get to know my father a little better, since I had so rarely spent
any time with him in years prior. He confided in me his worries
over the Congress and interested me in the negotiations. I found it
fascinating. I so wanted to be of assistance to him as he too was
weighed down with his grief, besides the weight of the government's
expectations. It turned out that so much of the negotiating was
done in the drawing rooms and ballrooms of the wellborn society
that had accompanied the negotiators. I finally found a way to be
of assistance to my father.” Rose blushed and hesitated before
continuing. “I imagined that I was doing my part for the king. In
hindsight it is rather silly, and I did not have much of an
influence on any outcomes, but at the time it felt so very
serious.”

“What did, Rosie, my dear?” Alex prompted,
hoping she would be able to get over her nerves and get to the
point.

“I became the ears for my father. So many
would clam up if Lord Smythe was in the room, but Miss Rosamund was
just a girl with nothing between her ears but the latest fashions
or the newest dances. Many things could be discussed, particularly
in foreign languages,
sotto voce
, of course, but out in the
open. Little did anyone know that languages were my forte, and that
I really could not give a fig about the cut of anyone's dress. The
dances were another story of course—being in Vienna was marvelous
for the dancing. London has nothing on Vienna for that, I am sorry
to say.”

“What sort of things did you hear and pass on
to your father, Rose? Does it have some bearing on our current
situation?” Alex was enjoying hearing her ramble but knew that
their time was running out.

“When Tallyrand arrived in Vienna the
atmosphere changed. He forced his way to the negotiating table for
France. That man is as slippery as an eel and I would not trust him
with my worst enemy, let alone my best friend. Sir Broderick became
associates with him. I am not sure how Sir Broderick even got
involved with the Congress, but he insinuated himself into as many
situations as he could. Procuring invitations to every social event
and toadying to the hostesses. He became quite popular, especially
with the French and the Germans.”

Rose took another deep breath to steady her
nerves before getting to the crux of the matter. “One evening, at
an event much like the musicale, I was again sitting near some sort
of a shrubby fern or something, mayhap I was obscured from view, I
assure you it was not by design.”

“It is all right, Rosie, get on with it. I
promise you, I am not disgusted yet, and do not see that
eventuality coming.”

Rose grinned over Alex's choice of words and
did get on with it. “I overheard Broderick and Tallyrand scheming
how to ensure France did not have to give over too much territory
to England. I cannot tell you how I managed to maintain my
composure and not reveal that I was there and hearing what was
being said. I have never in all my days been witness to such
treachery and I hope to never again be forced to do so. I listened
for all I was worth to the scheme they were concocting. After they
were gone I made my way as discreetly as possible to Father's side
and indicated I needed to retire for the evening. On the drive to
our home I told him all that I had heard. He was able to mitigate
their schemes to a certain extent, but Tallyrand still managed to
gain so much power for France. And Broderick remains free to
concoct more schemes. From what I understand he argued that he was
trying to ensure that we remained fully informed by playing a
double agent. I do not believe that for a single second. Double
dealing is his favorite game and he is up to his old tricks here
and now and somehow he has decided to involve you.” By the end of
this speech Rose was worked up and agitated over the entire messy
situation.

Rose could feel Alex's searching gaze burning
into her skin. She could barely meet his eyes. She knew she was
again on the verge of tears and had no idea how to relieve the
situation. Feeling she had said quite enough, she desperately
wished he would break the brief silence that had ensued. She did
not have to wait too long.

“The thing I do not understand is why you
thought I would disapprove of this. It seems to me as though you
did our government a huge favor.” Rose could hear his perplexity
clearly in his voice.

“But I intentionally allowed people to think
I was empty headed in the hopes that they would reveal information
that I could pass on to my father. Basically, Your Grace, I was a
spy. Does that not give you a disgust of me? It is hardly a
suitable occupation for a lady.”

“I fear I must be missing a few details
because what you have thus far explained is really much the same as
many ladies are involved in here in our own salons and ball rooms
during the Season. All the gossiping is really the rehashing of
things people have been told or have overheard. It is a highly
acceptable activity in our Society.”

“But not to you,” Rose answered in a soft
voice.

“Rosie, my dear, you were not participating
in such activities out of a salacious desire to have the latest
on-dits
. You were performing an important service for your
father and his negotiations. It is a very different thing in my
estimation. What about the various gentlemen who have joined the
war efforts but have been redirected towards spying? It is much the
same thing. It is a necessary part of information gathering.
Unfortunately those are usually the heroes that go unsung. Just
like you. It would seem no one is aware of your involvement, are
they?”

“No, of course not,” Rose was horrified at
the thought.

“Not even Broderick?” Alex probed.

“Oh heavens, no. Can you imagine if he did?
He would have been out to get me for sure. And he would be sure to
use the information to ruin me. I appreciate that you have made the
effort to see the positive side of my activity but surely you see
how it could be twisted into something else altogether.”

“I do. But now you will have to put that from
your mind for now, my dear. It seems to me that the information you
have shared with me today merely reinforces the fact that Broderick
needs to be stopped. If we merely thwart Lord Austen's plan to
entrap me into marriage with Lady Anne, I do not doubt that they
will just set their sights on someone else. We need to ensure all
gentlemen are safe from whatever Broderick is after.”

“It would really help if we knew what he was
trying to accomplish. Do you think it could be anything to do with
the French? Tallyrand has continued to reinforce his position now
that Bonaparte is finally locked up.” Rose nibbled on her lip with
concern as she contemplated the possibilities.

Alex forced his eyes not to focus on her
lips. “We shall have to do some digging to find out. Now that I am
more fully informed of what we are looking for I will ask my man of
affairs to look into it. Previously, they were merely looking for
threats toward me and could find nothing. But as you have pointed
out, it is nothing personal between Broderick and me, I am merely
expedient.”