Dangerous (9 page)

Thornbridge glowered at him. “The truth being that you brought this innocent young woman up here to seduce her. Isn’t that correct, Angelstone?”

“Not precisely,” Sebastian said.

“He had no such intentions,” Prudence said briskly.

Thornbridge continued to scowl at Sebastian. “You should be ashamed of yourself, sir.”

“You’re not the first one to point that out to me tonight.”

“My lord, you don’t understand.” Prudence jumped
down from the wardrobe. “Angelstone did not bring me up here with the intention of seducing me.”

Thornbridge gave her a pitying look. “My poor dear Miss Merryweather. This business will well nigh break Lady Pembroke’s kind heart. You are so pathetically naive.”

Sebastian folded his arms and leaned against the wardrobe. He gazed meditatively at Prudence. “Naive is not quite the right word for Miss Merryweather. Harebrained might be a better one. Reckless. Ungovernable. Imprudent. Yes, I can think of a variety of terms that suit Miss Merryweather far better than naive.”

She pushed her spectacles higher on her nose and glared at him. “That is unfair, my lord. I am attempting to explain this extremely upsetting situation to Lord Thornbridge. He has every right to know how we come to be in his wife’s bedroom.”

“By all means,” Sebastian replied, his golden eyes brilliant with devilish laughter. “Explain it to him.”

Annoyance flared in her as she realized he was not going to help her out at all. Damn the man, he was amusing himself again, this time at her expense. Considering the fact that they were in this situation because of his actions and that she was merely attempting to save his wretched neck, the least he could do was assist her in the task. Prudence turned back to Thornbridge.

“The thing is, my lord, this is all a terrible misunderstanding,” she said earnestly.

Thornbridge cut her off with a flick of his hand. Now that he was no longer obliged to play the outraged husband, he had apparently decided to assume another role, that of the outraged host. He drew himself up and gave Sebastian a narrow-eyed look.

“Do not trouble yourself, Miss Merryweather. The facts speak for themselves. You are alone up here in a bedchamber with one of the most notorious men of the
ton
. No further explanations are necessary.”

Prudence hesitated as she began to sense the new direction in which this was all going. She cautiously cleared her throat. “Sir, I believe you are under a very serious misapprehension.”

Thornbridge paid her no heed. He was still glowering self-righteously at Sebastian. “Well, sir? Do you intend to do the proper thing by this young woman?”

Still standing with one shoulder propped against the wardrobe, Sebastian inclined his bead with mocking gallantry. “As it happens, Thornbridge, Miss Merryweather and I are in this bedchamber because we were seeking some privacy in which to discuss our future. I have decided it is time I married. For her part, Miss Merryweather has wisely concluded that she is not likely to get a better offer due to her advanced years. We have therefore reached an agreement.”

“Angelstone,”
Prudence got out in a strangled voice.

Sebastian did not even hesitate. “Allow me to present my fiancée, sir. Miss Merryweather and I are engaged.”

am sorry to have to say this, my lord, but the disaster in which we find ourselves is entirely your fault,” Prudence announced as Sebastian turned the sleek black phaeton into the crowded park.

“You are far too generous, my dear.” Sebastian guided the two beautifully matched black horses into the stream of traffic. “I believe we can give you most of the credit for last night’s proceedings.”

Prudence retreated beneath the brim of her plain chip straw bonnet. She twitched her slate-colored bombazine skirts over her sturdy half boots and sought for a way to defend herself. “I was only trying to help.”

“Were you, indeed?”

“If you had allowed me to make the explanations to Lord Thornbridge, everything would have been satisfactorily resolved.” Prudence gazed straight ahead, acutely aware of the stares she and Sebastian were receiving from passing carriages.

It had been like this since last night when Thornbridge had accompanied them back to the ballroom and announced the news of the Fallen Angel’s engagement.

The Thornbridges’ guests had been first stunned and
then titillated and finally deeply intrigued. This was far and away the most entertaining event of the Season. The notion of the Fallen Angel marrying the amusing Original was obviously more than most members of the
ton
could bring themselves to believe.

Society’s reaction was nothing compared to that of Hester and Trevor. They had been shocked speechless. Sebastian had warned Prudence not to attempt to explain the situation to either of them, as it would only make things more complicated. Prudence was forced to agree with him on that score.

Surprisingly, it was Hester who had recovered first from the stunning announcement. Once she had digested the news, her eyes had turned oddly speculative.

“Not quite what I expected,” Hester had mused. “But then, the Fallen Angel rarely does what one expects. And it follows that he would choose someone out of the ordinary for his future countess.”

“He’s playing another one of his bloody games,” Trevor had snarled.

“I’m not so certain of that,” Hester had said. “An engagement is an honorable commitment. Whatever else one can say about Angelstone, he has never been known to break his word. In any event, there’s nothing to be done about it now. Prue is engaged to the Fallen Angel and that’s a simple fact. We shall have to go on as if everything were quite normal.”

The engagement was definitely not a normal event as far as polite society was concerned. All of London was agog. Sebastian had decreed the drive in the park this afternoon, saying it was better to make a bold show than to try to hide from the unwanted attention. Prudence was not entirely certain that his reasoning was correct.

“Pray, do not take offense, Prue,” he now said. “The truth is that your explanations to Thornbridge were doing more harm than good.”

Prudence glared at him. “I do not see how they could have done any more harm than your ridiculous explanations, my lord. And I do not recall giving you leave to call me by my first name.”

Sebastian’s mouth curved faintly. “I didn’t think you would mind. We are engaged, after all.”

“Not by my doing.”

“No?” Sebastian’s black brow arched mockingly. “What did you think was going to happen when you leaped out of that wardrobe?”

Prudence clutched her large, practical reticule very tightly. “I was attempting to save your life, sir. In case you had not noticed, you were in a somewhat untenable position at the time.”

“Yes, I was, wasn’t I?” Sebastian looked unconcerned about the matter. “But you jumped to my rescue and I was saved.”

“I am glad you appreciate that much, at least.” She was stung by his amused sarcasm. “Under the terms of the bargain we made, I was in your debt. I was merely attempting to discharge my obligation to you.”

“Ah, yes, our bargain.”

“I thought I could repay you by saving you from Lord Thornbridge.”

“I see.”

Prudence subsided back into the guilt-ridden gloom she had been nursing since last night. “I collect you must be very angry, my lord.”

Sebastian shrugged. “Not particularly.”

Baffled, Prudence slanted him a sidelong glance. “Why ever not?”

“I don’t think that our engagement will be a problem.”

Prudence brightened. “You have a plan for dealing with our predicament?”

“I suppose one could say that I have.”

Prudence gazed at him in growing respect and relief.
“My lord, that is excellent news. What, precisely, do you intend to do?”

Sebastian smiled at her, but his gaze was unreadable. “It’s a very simple plan, my dear. I intend to enjoy to the fullest the benefits of being an engaged man.”

Prudence’s mouth fell open. “I beg your pardon?”

“You heard me.” Sebastian inclined his head with chilling civility to an elderly lady in a passing carriage who was staring at the black phaeton. The woman looked away quickly.

“You intend to let our engagement stand?” Prudence demanded in disbelief. “Why on earth would you want to do that?”

“I don’t see that we have much choice in the matter, do you? If we announce to the world that our engagement is a hoax, your reputation will be in shreds.”

“That would not matter a great deal, my lord. I shall simply retire to the country somewhat ahead of schedule. Society will soon forget about me.”

“What about me, Prue?” Sebastian asked gently. “The
ton
will not forget my role in all this very quickly, I assure you. Thornbridge, for one, will undoubtedly decide that his initial suspicions concerning my presence in his wife’s bedchamber were correct. He will very likely come after me again with his pistol.”

Prudence caught her lower lip between her teeth and peered at Sebastian. “Do you really believe he would do that?”

“I would say it is highly probable.”

“I had not thought about that. What are we going to do, my lord?”

“Finish the Season as an engaged couple,” Sebastian said calmly. “When June arrives, you may return to Dorset and I shall continue on about my affairs. The gossips will gradually lose interest.”

“I take your point,” Prudence said, thinking it through carefully. “Sometime during the summer I shall quietly announce that I am crying off. By fall everyone will have forgotten about the matter.”

“Very likely.”

“Yes, it just might work.” Prudence frowned in thought. “It means that for the next two and a half months we shall both be obliged to carry out the pretense of being engaged.”

“Do you think you can act the part of a happily engaged lady that long, Prue?”

“I don’t know,” she said honestly. “I have never tried my hand at amateur theatrics.”

“I am certain that with a little practice, you will soon get the hang of it.”

“Do you think so?” Prudence tilted her head to one side and gave him a shrewd glance. “What about you, my lord?”

Sebastian’s mouth curved faintly. “There is no need to concern yourself, my dear. I assure you that I can handle my role. A talent for playacting is in my blood.”

“Yes, that’s right, it is, is it not? You are extremely fortunate that your mother was an accomplished actress.” Prudence sighed. “I am really very sorry about all this.”

“Look on the bright side,” Sebastian suggested. “Perhaps now your pest of a brother will stop issuing a challenge every time I dance with you.”

“There is that, I suppose.” Prudence cleared her throat discreetly. “There is just one small point concerning last night’s events that I wish to have clarified before we go forward with this pretense of an engagement.”

Sebastian smiled. “Allow me to guess what that small point is. You probably want to know precisely what I was doing in Lady Thornbridge’s bedchamber.”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I would like an explanation. I do not believe for one moment that you had an assignation with her. I have observed you closely of late, my lord, and last
night was not the first time that I’ve seen you mysteriously disappear for a while from a ballroom. As far as I could determine, you were not meeting anyone on those occasions.”

Sebastian glanced at her with an expression of cool admiration. “You’ve been very observant. But I cannot say I’m surprised. You are a most amazing female.”

“I am not at all certain that is a compliment. Now, are you going to tell me what was going on last night?”

Sebastian’s amber eyes gleamed briefly as he considered the question. “Did you really believe I had become a cracksman?”

Prudence narrowed her gaze behind the lenses of her spectacles. “It occurred to me, my lord, that in a misguided attempt to alleviate your ennui, you might have resorted to a somewhat unfortunate hobby.”

“In other words, you thought I might have turned into a jewel thief. I am crushed to learn that you hold me in such low esteem.”

“Well, I wasn’t altogether certain that was what you were about,” Prudence said quickly. “After all, it is not as if you need the money. Everyone says you are as rich as Croesus. So what were you doing in Lady Thornbridge’s bedchamber?”

“You were partially correct in your initial assumption. As I tried to tell you, I was looking for a necklace. A very particular necklace.”

“What?” Prudence gazed at him in astonishment. “I do not believe it.”

“It’s quite true. The necklace did not belong to Lady Thornbridge, however.”

Prudence was immediately intrigued. “Whose necklace was it?”

“It belongs to a certain lady of the
ton
who gave it to Lady Thornbridge.”

“Why did she give it to her?” Prudence asked.

“She had hoped to purchase Lady Thornbridge’s silence,” Sebastian said softly.

“Her silence?” Prudence leaped to the obvious conclusion. “Lady Thornbridge was blackmailing this woman?”

“Precisely. When Lady Thornbridge demanded another piece of jewelry in exchange for further silence, however, the victim realized there would be no end to the demands. She decided to see if anything could be done to stop Lady Thornbridge.”