Page 51 of To Follow her Heart

He knew well enough that Jasper would hold his tongue, and he suspected the ladies too if he asked them, but he didn’t know about Mr Burton. As angry as he was with Lady Frances, he wouldn’t have her ruined when he knew who the instigator of the scene they’d just been treated to was.

“Miss Stanhope, Miss Hunt, I… I don’t know how to thank you for what you did this evening. You saved me from….” He let out a breath of laughter. “I can’t even begin to put into words what you’ve saved me from.”

Miss Hunt smiled and patted his arm. “It was our pleasure, though I can take no credit I’m afraid. Miss Stanhope here was the one who figured it out.”

“You were magnificent, Harry,” Jasper said with admiration.

Luke looked around to see Jasper and Mr Burton standing beside them, now Derby’s valet was tending to his master.

Harriet blushed and pushed her spectacles up her nose. “It was Miss Campbell who noticed something was amiss. It was easy enough to figure out how they might contrive to force a marriage between you. I couldn’t have Kitty’s heart broken all over again, not after so many years apart.”

“It was most intrepid of you,” Mr Burton said, sounding troubled. “Though I cannot help but think you ought to have come to us, rather than trying to deal with it yourselves.”

“We didn’t try, Mr Burton,” Miss Hunt said, her tone brittle. “We succeeded.”

“Yes, yes, of course,” he said at once, soothing now. “Only, I should have saved you such an ugly scene if I could.”

“I shouldn’t have missed it for the world,” Miss Stanhope said, turning to Miss Hunt and taking her arm. “Did you see Lady Frances’ face when we appeared from the shadows? I thought she would swoon for real.”

“I did.” Miss Hunt gave a triumphant smile. “It was marvellous. Well, there is nothing more for us to do here, so we shall bid you gentlemen a good evening.”

“Wait,” said Luke. “Forgive me for detaining you, but… please may I ask that you—all of you—keep this to yourselves. I think Lady Frances is humiliated enough. I should not like to see her ruined for her part in one of Mr Derby’s distasteful schemes.”

“How good you are, Mr Baxter,” said Miss Hunt with approval. “Of course we shan’t breathe a word, shall we, Mr Burton?”

Mr Burton returned a slightly taut smile but inclined his head. “Indeed not, Mr Baxter. You may rely on our discretion.”

Luke gave a sigh of relief. The ladies and Mr Burton retired for the night and, soon after, Mr Derby was carried off to his room to await the physician, leaving Jasper and Luke alone to enjoy a well-deserved nightcap.

“That was a near thing,” Luke said, as Jasper led him back to his study and poured a drink.

“Thank heavens your Mr Derby was unaware of our friendship, or of just how observant and tenacious the female members of our party are,” Jasper said, raising his glass in a toast.

Luke let out a low breath of laughter “I’ll drink to that.” He glanced up at Jasper’s rather rakishly dressed bear and smiled. “Are you going to leave him like that?”

Jasper stared at the bear, who looked to have enjoyed a far more convivial evening than they had.

“Certainly. At the very least, until I discover why they did it,” he replied.

Luke grinned and took another drink before said, “I’ve no idea what the reason was, but I can tell you one thing: Kitty made it happen.”

Chapter 14

Dear Mother,

By the time you read this I shall be married ...

―Excerpt of a letter from Mr Luke Baxter to his mother. Left in Lord St Clair’s keeping.

24th August 1814. Holbrooke House, Sussex.

The next morning Luke rose early and hurried to get news of Mr Derby. Though he was desperate to leave with Kitty, and didn’t feel he owed the blasted man an ounce of consideration, Luke could not go if he was dying. He was not such an unfeeling bastard. For all Trevick and Derby’s machinations, for all their manipulation and determination to shape him in their image, he would not become them. He was a man of principle, of honour, and perhaps he’d not had courage enough to act on that honour as he ought have these past years, but he wouldn’t fail to do so any longer.

As he hurried towards Mr Derby’s room, his cousin Sybil greeted him, he had the feeling she’d been waiting for him.

“Mr Baxter,” she said, taking his hands. “How relieved I am to find you. I was so anxious to speak with you alone.”

Luke looked at her with interest, aware of a sense of urgency about her which was quite out of character. He was fond of Sybil. She had tried hard to be a friend to him, a sister of sorts, but Mr Derby had known that having friends and companions would give Luke strength, possibly the strength to defy him. Perhaps he had believed the same true of his daughters, especially Sybil, for he had taken care to keep them apart, and they saw little of each other. Still, Sybil had been kind, as kind as she dared, though she still dared not address him as Luke, as her father had forbidden her to do years ago.