John frowned.
In fact, Lord Harlston was very close to the truth, which was that John knew he was being gossiped about. He knew he was the subject of much unpleasant discussion. And the only hope for him to be redeemed—quickly, and with minimal effort—was to have Lady Valeria removed. Thatwouldturn public opinion very quickly.
But it wasn’t the only reason he wanted her gone.
He meant the things he had said. Hedidthink her a danger, and that danger was already being felt. The behavior of Lord Woodsford—ordinarily a very quiet, unassuming gentleman—had shaken him badly. Regardless of her guilt or innocence relating to her brother’s crimes, Lady Valeriamustbe a bad element if she could inspire that kind of violence in otherwise even-tempered men!
Apparently Lord Harlston couldn’t see it, for he was now starting to rise to his feet.
“Wait,” John said, feeling rather desperate. “Where are you going?”
“Home,” Lord Harlston said. “I’ve had enough of this talk.”
“Will you at least speak to your friend about these matters? Or consider what I’ve said?”
“No,” Lord Harlston said. “I’ve had enough of you terrorizing an innocent young lady. Don’t bother me again.”
“But Lord Woodsford—”
“Take it up with Lord Woodsford, if you have a problem with the way he treated you,” Lord Harlston said. “But don’t expect a better reception from him than you’re getting from me. It’s just a guess, but from what I could see at the dinner party, I gathered that he wasn’t overly fond of you.”
“You’re making a mistake,” John said.
“We’ll see,” Lord Harlston said. He drained his drink, turned, and walked out of the pub.
For a moment, John was surrounded by silence.
“I knew we couldn’t count on him to help us,” Fred said at length.
“Oh, for Heaven’s sake, Fred,” John said. “You didn’t know what would happen in the slightest. Don’t act as if you understand things that are far too complex for you, because you’ll only embarrass yourself.”
“Are we still going to run Lady Valeria out of town?” Fred asked.
“We were never going torun her out of town.” John shook his head, disgusted. If only he had been able to persuade Lord Harlston to help him! At least Lord Harlston had his wits about him. “We’re going to have to figure out a way to have her sent away by her aunt. But I don’t know what that way is going to be.”
“I thought Lord Harlston’s idea was a good one,” Fred said gloomily. “Why don’t we just punish Lord Woodsford for whathedid? Show him what happens to people who treat you badly?”
“Because that doesn’t solve the problem,” John snapped.
Although… it would solve one problem, wouldn’t it? It would help my reputation. Lord Woodsford wouldn’t look like such a white knight anymore if we got a little revenge on him. Maybe we can make the people understand the kind of man he really is.
It was a start, at any rate. Not much—but astart.
It would do for now. And in the meantime, John would keep thinking about how best to handle Lady Valeria. Because he certainly didn’t intend to allow her to stay here. She had caused more than enough trouble.
He rose, leaving some money on the table to pay for everyone’s drinks, and left without saying farewell to any of them.
The truth was that he couldn’t stand the fact that this was the company he had been forced into. He was anEarl. Lady Valeria was nothing but the miserable sister of a criminal Viscount. She was heir to nothing and had no male authority figure providing for her interests.
She should be thanking me on bended knee for so much aslookingat her! She certainly has no right to take offense if I speak my mind about her presence, and about the events that have led to her being here.
And as for the rest of the ton—well, they should be thanking him, too. They should be grateful that there was at least one among them who was bold enough, who had the courage, to stand up to such a threat.
They’ll thank me when she’s gone. When they realize how awful she was for this town, they’ll come running back to tell me that I was right all along.
The thoughts blurred in his head.
Perhaps he had a bit too much to drink tonight.
