“Will you join us, Alderton? I am sure that my valet could provide you with something to wear. We are almost the same size, and it will not take long.”
Lord Alderton rose to his feet, his expression now set in a mask of determination, his eyes lit with a fresh, strong light.
“I should like to come and find my wife, yes,” he stated. “Thank you, Blackmore.”
“Of course.” Ringing the bell, Hugh felt the first flurry of nervousness begin to rush through him. “Wewillfind her, Alderton. And let us hope that, in doing so, we put an end to all that has been said and done against me.”
“It shall be,” his brother promised, firmly. “I will make sure of it.”
Hugh madehis way into the ballroom, his eyes going from left to right as he sought out either Miss Simmons or Lady Alderton. Neither of them caught his attention and, with Lord Elmsford on one side and his brother on the other, they continued to their left, making their way slowly from one side of the room to the other.
“There.” Lord Elmsford nudged him, lifting his chin in the direction of a gathered group to one side of the ballroom. “Look. Something is happening over there.”
Hugh nodded and, with a glance at his brother, made his way in the direction of the slowly growing gathering of both gentlemen and ladies – and it was not long before he heard a familiar voice.
“Yes, Iamwed to that fool, Viscount Alderton. But he has no ambition, no desire for anything. Can you imagine what such a life is like? To discover that your husband is a gentleman who cares for nothing other than himself and whatever it is thathedesires? No, I have better ambitions than he.”
Hugh looked at his brother and saw how he dropped his head, clearly mortified at hearing his wife’s voice.
“And thus, unsatisfied with your lot, you chose to try to push Lord Blackmore out of society, to ruin his name so that you and your husband might try to then take his place in society. Whatwere you hoping for? To drive him to be a man so disgraced, so low in spirit that he would be easily convinced to give up his title by killing himself? So that your husband would take it in his place??”
Hurrying forward, Hugh came to stand just behind a gentleman and a smaller lady, permitting him to look through the crowd to see none other than Miss Simmons standing opposite Lady Alderton, speaking with a firmness which had his admiration for her building furiously.
“And what if Idid?” Lady Alderton stated, her tone harsh and eyes narrowed. “We married in haste and I did not realize at the time that my husband bore only a courtesy title while his elder brother held the title of Earl. You can imagine my disappointment, particularly when Lord Alderton appeared to behave just as any oaf might!”
Hugh closed his eyes briefly, struggling to listen to the harsh way Lady Alderton spoke, when his brother – her husband – was standing alongside him. He could not imagine the pain that his brother felt at this moment.
Miss Simmons’ voice continued to ring out clearly, her determination growing all the more.
“And thus, you attempted to come up with a way to gain the Earldom for your husbandandyourself. Through your machinations, you hoped that Lord Blackmore would pass on the title to your husband, in the only way possible – by killing himself! For one cannot step aside from a title, once it has been assumed – it is held for life.”
Looking at Lady Alderton, wondering if she would admit to such a thing, Hugh’s jaw worked as the lady only lifted her shoulders and let them fall. That was no confirmation.
“And my name was chosen simply because you plucked me from the crowd and decided that I should be shamed alongside Lord Blackmore. How could you even think to do such a thing?”
Miss Simmons moved a little closer, her continued strength forcing the truth from Lady Alderton’s lips – and Hugh let out a long, slow breath of both relief and sadness.
“It was not meant to be personally injurious!” Lady Alderton gestured wildly to Miss Simmons, her eyes flaring wide. “I needed the name of a young lady and yours was the first I heard.”
A murmur ran around the crowd but neither Lady Alderton nor Miss Simmons looked at anyone. Instead, Miss Simmons shook her head and took a step back.
“You have admitted it all, then. Youarethe one behind these rumors. You are the one who has sought to bring Lord Blackmore to despair, and you are the one who has offered thetonnothing but lies – both this Season and the last. Lord Blackmore holds no guilt and no disgrace, bears no shame or question over his birth. Those lies came from your mouth, Lady Alderton, and they are revealed now, to us all.”
Nothing was said for some moments. Lady Alderton opened her mouth and then closed it again, her eyes wide and a trembling running through her frame. With a glance at the crowd, she looked here and there, only for her eyes to snag on none other than her husband.
“I have been looking for you for a long time, Elizabeth.” The crowd parted, the group separating as Lord Alderton stepped forward, walking through them towards his wife. “It seems that you have been pursuing your own dark ends while I have remained oblivious to it all.”
“My brother had no part to play in any of this.” Seeing now that the crowd might turn on Alderton should he not say anything, Hugh made his way forward also, catching the attention of theton.Miss Simmons too turned to him and, with a brief smile, he offered her his arm. Without a word, she took it at once, standing as close to him as she could. “Mybrother appeared this very evening at my house, having spent weeks searching for his wife. Exhausted, broken-hearted, and sorrowful, he and I have come to the same conclusion as Miss Simmons. It is only by Miss Simmons’ strength, determination, and wisdom, however, that we have heard the truth from your lips, Lady Alderton.”
Lady Alderton was shaking visibly by this point, looking from her husband to Hugh and then back again. She could say nothing, her eyes flaring wide, one hand going to her mouth as everything she had built, everything she had hoped would occur, came tumbling down around her.
“You and I have never been acquainted,” Hugh continued, speaking now more for the benefit of the group around them who would, no doubt, go and speak to everyone they knew about what they had witnessed, once it had all come to an end. “I did not know your face, and I had never heard your title given to me. You were able, then, to move about London society as a stranger to me. The darkness of your intentions, the selfishness of your actions, and your wickedness is more than I can even comprehend and, at this juncture, I must also say how sorry I am for my brother, than he ever thought you would make him a suitable bride. I can see the pain and the suffering you have caused him, and that is sorrowful to me indeed.”
“There is always divorce,” Lord Alderton muttered, and while that brought many a gasp of both shock and astonishment, Hugh could understand his brother’s desire for such a thing, regardless of the scandal it might cause. “For the moment, brother, let me take my wife from this place and remove her from your presence at once. You have endured enough, and I am only sorry for my part in it.”
Hugh put his hand to his brother’s shoulder.
“You had no part in it.”
