“Her wiles?” Artemis injected a great deal of disbelief into her repetition of that odd bit. She looked to Ellie. “I don’t mean any offense, but you are quite possibly one of the sincerest people I know, despite the ruse you’ve been enacting.”
“No offense taken,” Ellie said. “I am as shocked as you are.”
“And likely only half as shocked as my mother,” Newton said. “But she could not entirely dismiss the whispers. She saw me with Ellie at the ball. I expressed to her my preference for Ellie’s company and my enjoyment of dancing with her. Nothing was said that would be seen as improper, but there was no doubt left that she and I have come to know each other. It adds kindling to this particularly odd fire.”
Gillian had been rather quiet through the discussion, an aura of contemplation not at all uncommon for her. She spoke next. “I cannot think of anything that has happened with Ellie or Newton or the two of them together that would cause this. There must be something else behind it.”
“What?” Artemis asked.
“That is the question of the hour,” Daria said.
“How can I address these rumors if I don’t know where they are originating?” Ellie asked. She was beginning to feel rather desperate. Few young ladies of her low standing could recover from something like this, even with the Lancasters behind her. She would return home in disgrace, and no amount of boldness would save her from the misery her family would inflict on her for that.
Artemis looked to Newton. “Does Charlie not have an opinion on any of this? He generally has no qualms sharing his thoughts on anything and everything.”
“Charlie left Bath yesterday,” Newton said. “He wanted to spend a little time with a couple of his brothers before resuming his studies.”
“He’s gone?” Artemis apparently hadn’t heard as much.
Newton nodded. Artemis stood and paced away.
The room sat in almost complete silence. Nothing was decided upon, and nothing was solved. Then into the fruitless effort came a source of wisdom: Rose.
She stepped into the room and calmly declared, “I have the entirety of it.”
Artemis waved her inside, taking her seat again and motioning for Rose to sit amongst them. No one seemed the least surprised by her appearance there, except for Newton.
Artemis must have realized his confusion, as she took up the explanation immediately. “Mr. Hughes, this is Rose, fashion expert, lady’s maid extraordinaire, and, apparently, the world’s most capable spy.”
Rose dipped her head quickly. Newton returned the gesture with an equally respectful and properly executed bow. Once she was seated, he sat too. All eyes were on Rose. Ellie expected all their ears were as well.
“The rumor is that Ellie is playing Mr. Hughes for a fool,” Rose said. “Rumors began circulating yesterday evening. A few questions to the right people, and I discovered where it all began.”
How in heaven’s name had she discovered so much in such a short amount of time?
Rose’s gaze settled on Ellie. “You clearly are not yet acquainted with the extensiveness of the servants’ gossip network.”
The servants, for all the English upper class dismissed and belittled them, were the lifeblood of this country. Of course they knew what was happening around the city. They always knew.
“Who started this rumor?” Artemis asked. No matter that she gave the impression of being flighty, she was actually quite brilliant and fully focused when she chose to be.
“I was able to trace it back to one household.” Rose looked briefly at Ellie before returning her attention to the gathering as a whole. But it was enough to tell Ellie what she needed to know.
“My family’s household, by chance?” Ellie asked.
Rose nodded.
“Your parents are behind this rumor?” Despite his difficulties with his own family, Newton sounded quite horrified at the possibility.
“If I had to guess,” Ellie said, “I would place the blame not on my parents but on my sister. She was severely displeased with me when she left here yesterday.”
Rose stood once more, as did Newton. “It is my understanding the whispers began with your sister. I put a bug in the ear of a few lady’s maids that that is likely where it originated and was the result not of truth but of envy. Miss Napper is known to not have made any conquests whilst here, of either the romantic or the friendship variety. It will not be difficult for that information to spread. It will not undo all the damage, but it might at least cast a bit of doubt here and there.” Rose turned and stepped out.
Ellie stood and began pacing. She didn’t know what to do. Yes, “a little bit of doubt” was not enough to undo what had been done. Vicious gossip circulated far faster than the truth.
“This is a particularly difficult variety of rumor,” Gillian said. “Whispers of compromised reputations are often addressed through courtships and proposals. To be clear, I am not suggesting that remedy in this instance. But a courtship or understanding would only add a whisper of truth to the lies. People would assume Newton proposed because Ellie had been successful in her supposed schemes.”
Artemis nodded firmly but offered no solution.
