“Whatever is the meaning of this?” Throwing up his hands, he turned around, spearing Marcus with a furious gaze, but Marcus simply folded his arms across his chest, shrugged, and arched one eyebrow. Lord Penforth then swung back around towards the door, only to come to a stop as Lord Trevelyan, who was a little taller than he, and certainly broader in the shoulders, leaned back against it all the more, jutting his jaw forward as he glared at Lord Penforth. The gentleman had no other choice but to turn back. “What is this, Coppinger?” Lord Penforth twisted his head to look directly at Marcus. “You said that we needed to talk. I did not expect others to be present.”
Marcus lifted one shoulder.
“I am afraid that I did not give you all of the details.” He tilted his head towards Lord Trevelyan. “Surely you could have no objection to Lord Trevelyan’s presence here?”
Lord Penforth snorted.
“Lord Trevelyan I can understand, but might I ask whyyouare here, Lady Almeria?” Hastily, Lord Penforth dropped his sharp tone and tried to smile as Lady Almeria lifted an eyebrow in his direction. “What I mean to say is that there is no reason for you to be here, unless you have been speaking to Lord Coppinger, who has, I am sorry to say, been telling great lies about me.”
“And what lies might those be?”
Lady Almeria kept her own voice measured, though the glint in her eye lingered. Lord Penforth took a step closer to her, his hands lifted to either side, clearly ready to do whatever he could to encourage her to believe him.
“The very worst!” Lord Penforth took a small step back, his shoulders rounding. “You cannot imagine, Lady Almeria.” He shot a filthy look toward Marcus. “Whatever this gentleman has been saying about me toyou, as I am sure he has done, I can tell you that it is nothing but a falsehood.”
Lady Almeria sniffed.
“Then you havenotbeen threatening him?” Tipping her head, she looked first at Marcus and then slid her gaze back toward Lord Penforth. “And the fact that Lord Trevelyan has told me the same means that they mustbothbe lying.” She shook her head. “A most extraordinary circumstance.”
“Certainly, it is.”
Lord Penforth sighed and shook his head, his hands dropping to his sides as Marcus chuckled darkly.
“You are quite the accomplished liar, Penforth – and you clearly believe that Lady Almeria will trust you!” After inclining his head in Lord Trevelyan’s direction, who was nodding in fervent agreement, Marcus gestured towards Lord Penforth again. “Indeed, I do not think that I have ever heard a single person lie with such fervor in an attempt to hide their guilt.”
Lord Penforth sighed heavily, looking at Lady Almeria.
“You see?” he stated, as though this had been continuing for some time, throwing out one hand towards Marcus. “Can you see what I have been forced to endure? You will have been entirely unaware of it, I am sure, since so much of society is hidden from you, but it has been very trying indeed.”
Marcus took a deep breath, growing tired of Lord Penforth’s lies.
“Almeria. I am here to tell you the truth.” He took a deep breath. “Lord Penforth did not send you those bouquets.Thatis why I was so angry with him and, after I confronted him, I followed him that particular night so that I might speak to him clearly, reminding him that I had demanded he tell you the truth. Lord Penforth, however, chose to ignore me. Instead, he continued to state that he would pursue his attentions to you, and he thereafter attempted to blackmail me into remaining silent. I am only frustrated that I believed his threats for so long, for I see now that he has no power.”
Lord Penforth’s face paled, a squeak coming from his lips as he half went to say something, only for silence to follow. Lady Almeria’s cheeks were pinking, her eyes fixing on Marcus as he spread out his hands.
“He did not send those flowers?”
“That is correct. Lord Penforth did not send you those bouquets, Almeria. He claimed to have done so, taking advantage of the person who had actually sent them – me. He has lied to you. He has refused to tell you the truth, despite my demands that he do so. I gave him the chance to be honorable, and he threw it back in my face.”
Lady Almeria swallowed, nodded, then turned her head towards Lord Penforth, looking at him with a steady gaze. Lord Penforth himself let out an exclamation and a mutter of something unintelligible, but nothing else came from his lips.
“This is most concerning, Lord Penforth.” Lady Almeria tilted her head, no astonishment in either her voice or her expression. “And to hear that Lord Coppinger attempted to offer you an opportunity for you to rectify things, but that you did not do as he suggested, ismostdispleasing. I would have thought that a gentleman would want to make certain that he was as honest and as true as he could be in his dealings with a young lady such as myself.”
Lord Penforth closed his eyes, his breath shaking slightly as he let out a long breath.
“I – I am so very sorry, Lady Almeria.” A cold shock immediately sent ice through his veins as Marcus stared at Lord Penforth. Was that all that was required? Marcus simply had to state the truth and Lord Penforth would, thereafter, simply capitulate and admit to it all? He had not thought the gentleman as humble as that. Lord Penforth heaved a great sigh. “The reason Lord Coppinger and Lord Trevelyan are saying such things about me is because I discovered them in a den of iniquity.” He paused as Marcus let out a slow breath, realizing that he had not been wrong in his judgment of Lord Penforth. There was no real contrition here, just more lies and falsehoods in an attempt to protect himself. “I did say that I would be forced to tell society of it, unfortunately, and now it seems that I shall have to do so.” Sighing heavily, Lord Penforth shook his head and spread his hands. “It is only right.”
Lord Trevelyan pushed himself away from the door.
“I think you are attempting to blackmail us again.” Lord Trevelyan’s voice broke through the conversation and Lord Penforth shifted his gaze towards him. “That is what you said to us the night we followed you to that gambling den. The place whereyouengaged in some dark deeds.”
“You may continue to speak falsehoods about me if you wish,” Lord Penforth interrupted, shaking his head. “But I will not stand here and listen to this. I shall excuse myself, Lord Coppinger, and you know what will happen next.”
“We did speak to Lord Wilson recently also.” Marcus’ words stopped Lord Penforth in his tracks. His steps, which had been turned towards the door, now came to a sudden stop, his whole body freezing in one position. Marcus smiled. “You did not think that we recognized the gentlemen in the gambling den, did you?” Lord Trevelyan chuckled, the sound flooding the room and clashing against the seriousness of the circumstances. “But I did recognize Lord Wilson, and we asked him to call. You can imagine our astonishment when he told us the truth, which was that he knew none of what you had said to either myself or Lord Coppinger. He also told us that the reason you were there was to make payment for a debt – a great and heavy debt, I might add, and one which I am certain is not alone in its weight.” Lord Penforth clenched his hands into tight fists, his jaw tensed as he stood, straight-backed and eyes blazing. “After talking to the gentleman, we knew that we no longer had to fear the supposed consequences you would bring upon us. There was nothing you could do or say which would make any difference to our lives. Should you begin to spread rumors about us, the only thing which would occur would be damage to your own reputation, given that both Lord Trevelyan and I are gentlemen of thetonin excellent standing.”
This was said without any sense of arrogance, but rather clearly and quite plainly. Marcus kept his gaze steadily upon Lord Penforth, whose eyes were so tightly squeezed shut, there were lines drawn between his eyes and his temples. His hands were tight fists, his shoulders lifted, his whole frame tight with an obvious and furious anger – but was it anger directed towards Marcus or was it simply because he had been found out?
“You surely cannot believe a word of this, Lady Almeria.”
