Page 38 of Unmasking the Earl

Had Cassandra come back?

“We’ll do what we can to have you released quickly,” said the one voice that could truly stir his soul. “Portia knows the constable well, so we’ll try and talk him round.”

Ned jumped to his feet. “Thank you! I shall be forever in both your debts.”

“There are, however,” Cassie added in a stern tone, “conditions.”

Why was he not surprised? “Name them.”

“First, you must tell the constable who you are. I’m told his discretion can be relied upon. Second, you must swear you won’t attack Wycherley, even if he is guilty of ruining your sister and setting fire to your aunt’s house as you believe. Surely, the fire was never intended to be so dangerous. I don’t believe he’s capable of such deliberate cruelty. Third, you are to promise, on your life, you’ll say nothing to anyone about my…lessons with him.”

His heart twisted. The last went without saying. But not take revenge on Wycherley? Why did she still champion that rake, the man who ruined Georgiana’s life, along with untold other innocents?

“Miss Blythe,” he said, “I can agree to some of your terms. The only one I can’t be certain of concerns Wycherley. You don’t have brothers or sisters, do you?”

“I do not.”

“Then you cannot fathom the love a brother may have for his sister. Perhaps not as children, but once they are grown up. Anyone who strikes a blow against a sibling becomes an enemy.”

Silence again. He hoped she was starting to understand his position. He needed her to understand it, and how much his sister meant to him.

“I suppose an earl might be more protective of a sister than most,” Cassie ventured.

“Particularly when it comes to her reputation,” he added.

“More concerned than she is, herself?”

Fury surged through him. He opened his mouth to voice a sharp retort, then closed it again. He dare not speak his mind. He was too angry. She dared to blame sweet Georgiana for what had occurred, rather than Wycherley?

He would find a way to convince her to let him even the score with the blackguard. But for now, he must accede to whatever she demanded, no matter how much it galled him.

“I had no idea Georgiana was…involved with a man,” Ned said, trying to keep his tone even. “Only the very deepest love—or delusion—would have given rise to such behavior. I could never have expected such a relationship to transpire without my knowledge.”

“I can’t imagine an innocent sister wishing to disclose her innermost feelings to you. You can be somewhat…formidable,” Cassie said.

That hurt. Because, obviously, it must have been true.

“Miss Blythe,” he snapped defensively, “you clearly do not have a very high opinion of me. But the fact is, neither of us will discover what did or did not happen between Wycherley and my sister while I’m stuck in this stinking hellhole. Have pity on me, please, before I’m eaten alive by bedbugs, fleas, and frustration!”

He could dimly make out her face against the bright square of sky. She was chewing her lip, deciding. He didn’t like that. She had a lovely mouth, which didn’t deserve such treatment…from anyone but him.

“I was obliged to tell Portia who you really are,” Cassie confessed. “She wants to know what you’ll do when you’re released.”

“Apart from shaking you until your head wobbles? Or kissing you senseless…?” he growled, sotto voce. He cleared his throat, and in a louder voice said, “I’ll seek accommodation.”

“At the Rose and Crown? I’m sure if you offer to pay for the damage—”

“Wild horses couldn’t drag me back through that doorway,” he said emphatically. “Though, I’ll have to go back to the yard for Maxim and my saddlebags. Unless they have all been stolen by now, which wouldn’t surprise me.”

There was more whispered conferring between Cassandra and the unseen Mrs. Fiennes.

“Portia invites you to stay with us.”

He regarded Cassie’s silhouette warily. Unsure if the experience would be a pleasure or a Purgatory… “How kind of her,” he managed, dousing some vivid imaginings.

“We’ll fetch your things. You shall have your own chamber. Ella can sleep in mine.”

Meaning no possibility of having her to himself. Which, at least for her sake, was probably just as well…