His friend grimaced.
“That may be so, but you cannot blame yourself. It is not as though you were aware that Lord Penforth would behave in this manner. He has not exactly proven himself to be an excellent fellow, has he? You had every intention of speaking honestly to Lady Almeria, planning what you would say to her once your bouquets had been sent.” His scowl grew as he turned his gaze across the room. “It is Lord Penforth who is at fault here, not you.”
His friend’s words brought him a little relief and, accepting this with a grunt, Marcus glanced in the same direction as Lord Trevelyan, only to sit up straight as he saw the gentleman rise.
“Look he is leaving. I must speak to him now before he has any opportunity to slip away.”
“I shall come with you.”
Together, the two men rose from their chairs, following Lord Penforth as he left White’s. It was unfortunate, however, that many other gentlemen began to come into the establishment at the same time as they were trying to leave, pushing them back into the place, and by the time they had stepped outside, it was very difficult indeed to see where Lord Penforth had gone.
“Hey, hold up now!”
The voice came to them over the crowd, and Marcus’ arm was quickly grabbed by Lord Trevelyan.
“Look. There he is – that was he calling to a hackney.”
“A hackney?” In the dim moonlight, Marcus hurried forward. “We should catch him. Imustspeak with him.”
“It is very odd,” Lord Trevelyan puffed, just as Lord Penforth climbed into the hackney, shouting instructions that Marcus could not hear. “Why does he not go to his carriage?”
Something fierce grasped hold of Marcus’ heart and he practically ran towards his own carriage, waving one hand.
“Do come on, Trevelyan!”
“Yes, my Lord?”
The coachman made to come down from his seat, but Marcus gestured for him to remain.
“No, no. Quickly, follow that hackney!”
Within seconds, the door was closed with Marcus and Lord Trevelyan inside – and the carriage hastily pulled away. Marcus leaned forward in his seat, as though it would somehow push the carriage a little faster, and urge it a little more quickly towards the hackney which was carrying Lord Penforth.
Lord Trevelyan cleared his throat.
“I thought you were going tospeakto the fellow, Coppinger. Now it seems that we are following him.”
Aware that he had acted impulsively, Marcus kept his gaze turned away, even though he could see very little in the darkness.
“My desire to speak to him is very urgent indeed and, given that we know he has a disagreeable character already, would it not be wise to find out where he is going this late in the evening? Lady Almeria ought to know.”
“I suppose that may be so, but all the same…” Lord Trevelyan replied, but Marcus merely shrugged and continued speaking.
“It is very strange, is it not? Why would Lord Penforth leave his carriage behind and go in a hackney? I arrived at White’s only a few minutes after him and saw his carriage waiting outside White’s. I am certain that it will still be there – and besides which, we are not moving in the direction of his townhouse.”
Lord Trevelyan grimaced.
“We are not, you are quite right. I suppose it is all very unusual,” he admitted quietly. “I confess that I also find myself with an eagerness to know precisely what he is doing now.”
Managing a smile, Marcus kept his eyes fixed on the window, looking out into the gloom. He could not fully explain his sudden desire to follow Lord Penforth. Perhaps it was the fact that he wanted to throw in Penforth’s face the fact that Lady Almeria would know all by the time tomorrow came. Perhaps it was because he wished to know precisely what Lord Penforth was doing. Regardless, there was something about the fellow that he did not like, and thus he found the drive to follow him more than overwhelming. It was not something he could resist, and thus he chased after Lord Penforth, determined to have spoken to him by the time the evening was out.
“All the same, this is rather ridiculous.” Lord Trevelyan muttered into the darkness. “We are following Lord Penforth with very little idea of where he is going. What if he is simply going to visit a relative?”
“At this hour?” In the silence which followed, Marcus let out a slow breath. “Regardless of where he is going, Imustspeak with him. The fact that he has stolen the opportunity for me to confess my love to Almeria means that I must tell him outright that he will be unmasked. I will not allow him to have any sort of victory when it comes to Almeria.”
Lord Trevelyan sighed.
“I should not like to be in love, I do not think. To my mind, it makes one behave in a most unusual manner. ”
