Page 60 of A Lady in Name

His butler must have been hovering close by, for he appeared as Stefan reached the bottom of the stairs. “My lord?”

“Send at once for the doctor, will you?”

Hawkesbury bowed. “I have already despatched one of the grooms, my lord.”

Stefan grinned. “Good man. I might have known you would have been ahead of me. I suppose you did not think to send Lord Sarclet’s groom to fetch his lordship as well?”

The butler’s eye gleamed. “I had not reached so far ahead, I confess, my lord, but I shall attend to the matter immediately.”

“Excellent. And after that, I dare say you had better take some brandy to the Red Saloon. I’ve no doubt his lordship will stand in need of it.”

The butler’s chin quivered, and Stefan raised an eyebrow. “Careful, Hawkesbury. That came perilously close to a grin.”

His butler drew himself up, schooling his features to severity. “Butlers do not grin, my lord.”

Stefan laughed. “No, more’s the pity. About your business, man. I had best go upstairs and see if anything further is required.”

It did not take him many minutes to locate the bedchamber allotted for Paulina’s temporary use. His cousin’s yowls of pain provided a useful guide. Arrived at the door, Stefan tapped lightly on the wood. He had to rap a good deal harder, however, before the door opened enough to present Dion’s tousled head.

“Oh, it’s you, Stefan.”

“I came to see if there is anything more I can do.”

“I doubt it. Lucy has her hands full here, but I should not think you can be of use.” She slipped through the door and pulled it to behind her, suddenly adopting a conspiratorial air. “I must tell you, Stefan, that Paulina knows about Lucy.”

A sliver of apprehension mingled with annoyance ran through Stefan. He cursed under his breath. “How the devil did that happen? Did one of you make a slip?”

Dion was inclined to be indignant. “Certainly not. We were both discretion itself. But Paulina would question poor Lucy so, and nothing we said would make her stop. And then she suddenly went into hysterics, raving about her papa and shouting that she hated Lucy, and would not have her for her sister, and I don’t know what besides.”

Appalled, Stefan stared at her. “Good God! How in the world could she know?”

“I don’t know,” uttered Dion impatiently. “She spoke of destroying a letter, I remember, but I have no notion what it might be.”

Comprehension seized Stefan. “The letter Mr Graydene wrote to my uncle. Lucy asked if I had seen it. But no such letter was found among my uncle’s effects.”

Dion stared open-mouthed. “Paulina must have read the thing. She has known all along.”

“Evidently.”

“And she did nothing! She might have tried to find Lucy, or at least to discover what had happened to her.”

Stefan gave a scornful laugh. “We are talking of Paulina here. I can conceive of nothing more unlikely than that she would seek out her father’s bastard.”

Dion’s eyes kindled. “You are very right. You should have heard the things she said to poor Lucy. I declare, I am glad she worked herself into such a state she brought on her confinement.”

“But I am not,” Stefan said roundly. “Setting aside the inconvenience of her having the event in this house, it has obviously put a great deal of work upon Lucy.”

“Oh, but Lucy is perfectly well able to manage, you know,” said Dion, with an insouciance that made her brother itch to slap her. As if Lucy must be enjoying the imposition! “You would be astonished if you could see her at work.”

“No, I wouldn’t,” said Stefan roundly. “It is precisely what I would expect of her. But I cannot approve of her being obliged to tend to Paulina.”

“Well, she is her half-sister,” Dion pointed out.

“That may well be, but —”

From the other side of the door came a sudden scream, stopping Stefan’s words dead. Then Lucy was heard calling.

“Dion!”