Biting his lip, he turned his head away and for a moment, Marcus feared that the man would not speak any further, only for Lord Wilson to sigh heavily again.
“I shall not state his name. I do so in order to protect myself rather than to deliberately frustrate you, which I hope you understand.” Clearing his throat, he kept his gaze away from Marcus, clearly ashamed of what he had done. “What I shall tell you is this: given that so many of us had lost a great deal and owed a significant amount, we all agreed that we would return together on a particular day and pay what was owed.”
Becoming more and more astonished with every word which Lord Wilson expressed, Marcus ran one hand over his face, attempting to grasp what was being told to him.
“So are you stating that you went to the red-doored gambling den to pay your debts? Lord Penforth also?”
Lord Wilson looked straight at him.
“Precisely. Lord Penforth owed a large amount of coin also, which certainly is not the first of his debts.” He shuddered and grimaced. “And I should be glad never to darken the door of that establishment again. Indeed, I have made a silent vow never to lose myself in liquor in such a way ever again, for fear that I will behave with such foolishness that I will lose the entirety of my fortune!”
Lord Trevelyan let out a low whistle, making Lord Wilson looked towards him sharply.
“Then you have no knowledge of what Lord Penforth said to myself and Lord Coppinger as regards Lady Almeria?”
Lord Wilson shook his head, beads of sweat beginning to form on his forehead.
“None whatsoever.” He held up both hands as though he would not be believed. “When both myself and the other gentlemen saw you standing there, we chose not to step forward out of naught but shame. I see that my face was not particularly well hidden by the shadows, however.”
Marcus could hardly believe what he was hearing. Everything Lord Penforth had thrown at them, every strand of strength he had wound about himself, was nothing more than a pretense. He had been pretending that he had great power when he actually had none at all – and like a fool, Marcus had believed him without question.
“Then Lord Penforth has nothing.” Closing her eyes and smiling softly to herself, Lady Almeria let out a quiet sigh. “He cannot make any threats. He has nothing by which he can hold you to, Marcus.”
On hearing this, Lord Wilson spread out his hands.
“I am sorry if anything I have done has added to your difficulties.”
“Not in the least.” Marcus quickly pushed aside his surprise to acknowledge what Lord Wilson had done. “You have caused no difficulties. Instead, you have done a great deal to aid us.”
Scowling, Lord Wilson looked away.
“I do not see how telling you of my darkest deeds could be of any use to you.”
“It is because of what you have told us of Lord Penforth. You have revealed a great truth and taken away a heavy burden.” Again, Lady Almeria’s voice was soft and as Marcus watched, Lord Wilson looked up at her and, much to Marcus’ surprise, managed a brief smile. No matter what Lady Almeria said, it seemed she had a way to catch the attention of Lord Wilson, able to speak directly to him in a way that even Marcus could not. “Obviously I will not go into particulars, but needless to say, Lord Penforth has caused a great deal of difficulty for Lord Coppinger and Lord Trevelyan. You have released them from that.”
“That is true, Lord Wilson.” Marcus managed a smile. “With you telling us the truth of the situation, we are now able to speak to Lord Penforth in a way which we were not able to, before. We will be able to tell him, now, that we know he has no strength, that his threats are empty, and thus, his confidence will surely fade away.”
At this, Lord Wilson nodded, but then rose from his chair, clearly unwilling to linger.
“For that, I am grateful – though might you excuse me now? Unless you have any further questions, my shame pushes me to the door.”
Rising, Marcus offered his hand to the man and Lord Wilson shook it firmly, though with his other hand he mopped at his forehead again.
“I am truly grateful,” Marcus told him. “You have my word that none of what you have divulged to us will be spoken of to anyone else.”
Lord Wilson let out a slow breath and nodded, glancing at Lady Yardley, who merely smiled as though to confirm that yes, she would keep her word also.
“Then I bid you all good afternoon.”
Without another word, or so much as a glance at any one of them, Lord Wilson left the drawing room, leaving Marcus to stand directly facing Lady Almeria. His eyes caught hers, and he could not look away. There was nothing between them any longer, nothing that could hold him back, nothing to prevent him from drawing close – if only she would let him.
“I can hardly believe this.” Lord Trevelyan shook his head, then ran one hand over his eyes. “How could we have been so foolish, Coppinger? Why did we never consider that Lord Penforth might be lying?”
Rising, he began to pace about the room, forcing Marcus’ attention away from Lady Almeria.
“I would not say that you are foolish.” Lady Yardley tipped her head, smiling. “It is not foolishness to take a threat seriously, particularly after what you had witnessed.”
Marcus smiled rather grimly.
