“Then you know the Imperial is something of which he is extremely proud, as he should be. And yet, you have sold it out from under him without a thought.”
“You are to blame for that, young woman.”
That flicked her on the raw, and though she didn’t want to make more trouble between Denys and his father than she already had, she couldn’t resist a smart reply. “My, my, who’d have thought a guttersnipe like me had so much power.”
He ignored that. “Your new partner is a certain Lord Barringer, and he intends to bring you a very generous offer to buy you out. I would suggest you consider accepting it.”
“Why should I? Your money didn’t make me go scurrying off last time. Why should someone else’s money do so?”
“Because there will be no reason for you to stay.”
She might have already decided to go, but for the life of her, she just couldn’t bear to admit it here and watch Conyers gloat. “Denys is not a reason?”
“He is the future Earl Conyers. He must marry, and she must be a girl of good family, but as long as you are here, and he is under your spell, he will never consider it. And he certainly cannot marry you.”
“No? Why is that?”
“My dear MissValinsky, I know all about you.”
Lola tensed, a sick dread knotting her stomach.
“When you returned to London,” he continued, “I hired Pinkerton men to investigate you. I’d have done it years ago, when you were here before, but at that time, I had deemed my son’s infatuation with you a temporary madness. He’d been involved with women like you before, you see.”
She tried to don a blasé air. “Must have been the shock of your life when Denys decided to marry me.”
The earl set his jaw, looking grim. “It was. And though you refused my money, you did have the good sense to accept Henry’s offer and go back where you came from. When you returned two months ago, however, I immediately set the detectives to work. I know your father was a drunk, and you are a bastard. I know about the dockside taverns where you... danced, shall we say? And,” he added, his dark eyes so like Denys’s, and yet, filled with a contempt she’d never seen in his son’s gaze, “I know about your association with Robert Delacourt. I know you are nothing more than a whore.”
She sucked in her breath, feeling as if she’d just been backhanded. That, she supposed, was the intent.
Almost as if he read her mind, he nodded slowly. “Mr.Delacourt is well-known to Pinkerton’s in New York. They know all about him, and they know all about his girls.” His gaze raked over her. “Girls like you.”
She shook her head. “But, you don’t understand—”
“Leave London,” he told her. “If you don’t, or if you ever return, I will give Denys the report from Pinkerton’s. We’ll see if he still wants you after that.”
Denials and explanations died on her lips, for what was the point of them? “What makes you think I haven’t already told Denys all about my past?”
He studied her for a moment before he answered. “Because I believe you genuinely care for my son, and you care what he thinks of you. If you didn’t, you’d have taken the money I offered you when you left for Paris, or you’d have jumped at his proposal of marriage when he offered it, and let him find out after the wedding what you truly are. I think you see as clearly as I do that you could never make him happy and that matters to you.”
She swallowed hard and said nothing. The earl and his Pinkerton men might have gotten some things wrong, but not that. That part would always be true.
“So,” he went on in the wake of her silence, “what is left for you here but to be his mistress? Until he eventually tires of you?”
For pride’s sake, Lola worked to marshal what she had on her side of the ledger. “I am a woman of business. I still own half the theater. I am still an actress, and London is still the world capital of theater. I am building a new career here—”
“A career? Oh, my dear.” Conyers gave her a pitying smile. “I witnessed your last performance here firsthand. I’ve no doubt this evening will be similar. The theater has been a passionate interest of mine since I was a very young man, and I have never seen an actress with less skill than you. My son can’t see it, of course, but others are not so blind. When you fail, Barringer won’t consent to allow you an audition in any Imperial production, and I doubt other producers will allow you that privilege either.”
Lola lifted her chin, a gesture that Denys would have recognized quite well had he been present. But her voice when she spoke was cool and dismissive. “Thank you for coming to inform me of the situation, Lord Conyers. Now, if you don’t mind, I must dress.”
“Of course.” He bowed and departed, and Lola watched the door close behind him through narrowed eyes.
“I may have to leave London, my lord,” she muttered, and raised her glass, “but I’m damned well not leaving as a failure. Not this time.”
With that, she downed the remaining champagne, slammed down her glass, reached for her costume, and prepared herself to give the performance of her life.
The applause started before the curtain even began to close, and the audience was on its feet before the hem hit the floorboards. The roar of the crowd impelled the actors to go out and take their bows, but when it was her turn, Lola was too stunned to move. During the past three hours, she’d been so driven, so focused on her performance, that now, when the play was over, she felt dazed.
“Lola, c’mon.” Blackie grabbed her hand. “They’re calling for us, love.”
