Chapter 19
“Forgive my intrusion, Miss Winfield,” Violet said as she bustled into the morning room with barely a knock. “But Mr Henry Mercer is here again.” She was whispering so quietly that Ella was forced to read her lips.
“He is here at Dandridge?” Ella whispered back.
“He arrived just a few minutes ago, and the butler had instructions to take him straight through to the Earl’s study.”
“It was the Earl already in his study?”
“Yes, I have just this minute delivered tea to them.”
“And it was just the two of them again?”
“Yes, Miss.”
“Violet, are you quietly suggesting that I eavesdrop again?”
“Yes, Miss,” Violet said and nodded vigorously.
“Violet, you are a caution!” Ella said and laughed.
“But Miss, what about the Duke? They might be talking about him at this very minute, and it might be something that you can help him with again.”
“To be honest, I am not entirely sure that I helped him the first time. He very likely thought my cryptic little message some sort of nonsense. And even if he did not, I realise now that he probably could make no guesses as to whom he should be avoiding.”
“But he was so nice to you in the tearooms, wasn’t he?”
“Well yes, he was.” Ella thought back and could hardly believe it had been two days since she had taken mid-morning tea with the Duke. She had been thinking about him in almost every waking moment since and the time seemed to have flown. “But I cannot begin to imagine what the Earl and Henry Mercer are talking about. After all, the Earl has already secured Henry Mercer’s duplicity, had he not?”
“You do not know in what manner, though, Miss. If you know what they are planning, you might be better able to help.”
“I cannot help thinking that the Duke has no intention whatsoever of marrying either Patience or Georgiana.”
“But his Lordship does not know that, does he? He will still plot and scheme as if the Duke would marry one of them. There will be other ladies, of course.”
“Oh, Violet, I cannot rescue the Duke of Hillington from every lady in the county. All I can do is put him on his guard so that he is not steered into marrying one of the two horrors who live under this roof.” As soon as Ella finished, Violet began to chuckle. “Forgive me, I ought not to have said that,” Ella said but was unable to stop laughing herself. “Really, that was very rude me.”
“But Miss Winfield, you might hear something of value.” It was clear that Violet was not ready to give in.
And Ella knew that deep down in that sweet little maid’s heart was the idea that Ella would somehow end up in the arms of the Duke. As practical and as pleasantly scheming as Violet was, she really was an incurable romantic.
“Oh, alright then,” Ella said and rose to her feet with a sigh. “But next time Henry Mercer comes here, I am going to make you listen at the door.” Ella playfully pinched Violet’s arm.
“I will, I promise,” Violet said, and it was clear that she would say anything to get her mistress onto her feet and out of the room.
As Ella sneaked her way through the corridors once again, Violet followed along quietly some distance behind her. She had promised to act as a lookout for just a few minutes before she had to return for whatever fresh instructions the housekeeper had for her.
Ella had to admit that there was a certain freedom in knowing that Violet was there in the shadows, keeping an eye out for anyone who might discover her there. And, as such, Ella could turn her attention to every word spoken in that study without worrying that she was about to be caught.
“But I thought you said the dinner went well, My Lord,” Henry Mercer said, and his voice sounded reedy and defensive.
“The dinner went well, of course,” the Earl said, and Ella recognised the complete lack of self-awareness. Who else present at that meal could have thought it a success? “But the fact that the dinner went as well as it did does not seem to have dissuaded your master from going out across the county to have dinner with the Earl of Mortcombe and take a good, long look at his daughter, has it?”
“I am sure it is not on account of the evening you had here, My Lord. After all, the engagement was made prior to His Grace’s evening here with you. And he is a man of his word if it is of any comfort to you. He would never break an engagement lightly, even if he did not wish to attend.”
“Then he is sure to attend Mortcombe at the end of the week?” Ronald snapped bitterly, reminding Ella curiously of a small terrier barking.
“Yes, I am sure he will. But as I said before, My Lord, that is just His Grace’s way. And it is the first time he is due to meet with any lady other than one of your daughters since the night of the masquerade ball.”
“And does he seem keen to meet the others on the list?”
“He only asks me now and again what other engagements he has, My Lord. But he does not seem to state a preference, nor even to seem impatient when I say that it is simply a work in progress . He is in no hurry, My Lord, and I think you may rest easy. I am certain that he is impressed with both of your daughters, and I am as keen as ever to gently edge him towards them. Believe me, Sir, I am doing all that I can.”
“Well, see that you do, especially if you are as keen on the reward as you seemed to be in the beginning.” Ella winced; the Earl of Dandridge really was the most vulgar human being she had ever encountered.
“Then I shall certainly drag my heels in arranging further events with any other of the ladies. Perhaps if you made another invitation in the meantime, My Lord, the Duke might be further persuaded to keep his interest here at Dandridge.”
“Yes, yes,” the Earl said thoughtfully. “Yes, good idea, Mercer. I shall send a message over today to see if I can get him here for afternoon tea on Saturday.”
“Very good, the day after he has attended his engagement with the Earl of Mortcombe,” Henry Mercer said and seemed relieved that the Earl seemed to be his ally again. “For it will be an excellent way of taking His Grace’s mind off whatever has passed the evening before. Although I am bound to say that he will undoubtedly not have quite such a fine evening there as he had here at dinner. His Grace said there was a good deal of fine food.”
“I laid on every luxury, Mercer, let me tell you,” the Earl said with pompous pride, and Ella hurriedly clapped a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. She remembered well the Duke’s expression at the table, not to mention his humorous comments when she had seen him in town. “I left him in no doubt whatsoever of my resources, my dear fellow. A subtle reminder of just how much of a dowry one of my beautiful girls would come with.”
“Very clever, My Lord. Very clever.” As Ella listened to Henry Mercer make much of her stepfather’s alleged intellect, she wondered if the old man genuinely believed what he was saying.
“But I must admit, I think it would go very much better if the Duke never made his engagement with Mortcombe in the first place. If I am honest, his daughter, Lady Caroline, is our only real competition in all of this.” Ronald Belville’s tone had become suddenly somewhat dangerous, and Ella felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up.
“My Lord?” Henry Mercer also sounded a little taken aback.
“What is the matter, have you no stomach to see things through? I am not talking of anything so desperate that you need fear it, Mercer.” Her stepfather’s temper was so easy to excite that it was a wonder his health did not suffer on account of it.
“What have you in mind, Sir?” Henry Mercer said tentatively.
“I was simply thinking of creating a situation which would make it difficult for His Grace to attend Mortcombe. Nothing serious, just a little subterfuge of some kind.”
“In truth, I wish I could think of something so quickly,” Henry Mercer said and sounded as if he was speaking in earnest.
“He has no close family to speak of, does he?” the Earl said as if he were thinking aloud.
“No, very distant relations and rather far away, I am afraid.”
“So distant that he would not necessarily attend one were he to receive a message that they had fallen ill?”
“I think not, My Lord,” Henry said, and Ella realised her mouth was hanging open.
Would her stepfather really stoop so low as to send a spurious message to the Duke of Hillington to tell him that one of his relations was in failing health? Just to get him to forego dinner with the Earl of Mortcombe and set off on a fool’s errand across the country? What a dreadful man he really was.
“You are sure?” the Earl said impatiently.
“I am quite sure of it, Lord Dandridge. Whilst he does have relations, if they were in failing health, he would likely only hear of it when they had come to depart this mortal coil. That is the true extent of the distance between them. The closest of his relatives, in terms of regard and physical distance, are all gone now.”
“Then you do not think he would be persuaded, not even by the most desperate message?”
“I cannot think that the Duke would be anything other than suspicious were one of his distant relations to send him so desperate a message, in all truth.”
“Then I must think of something else,” the Earl said and let out a great sigh.
The room was quiet for several moments, and Ella became suddenly aware of Violet flapping her arms wildly out of the corner of her eye. She turned to look over at her, thinking that Violet had heard somebody approaching and was seeking to usher her away.
But when she looked, Violet smiled and motioned that she would have to leave and return to the housekeeper. Ella looked from Violet to the door and back again and, at that moment, decided that she could not possibly leave until she had heard everything that her stepfather had to say.
Previously, Ella had no idea that the Earl would plumb such depths in his bid to have his own way, and she dared not leave now for fear that he would come up with a plan even more evil.
Violet, realizing that her mistress had no intentions of leaving with her, smiled broadly and tapped her ear, indicating that Ella must be very aware of her surroundings, and that she must be her own lookout from that moment onward.
When Violet disappeared, Ella turned her attention back to the study, listening carefully and giving a continual eye to her immediate vicinity.
“Then we will have to do something that will stop him en route, Mercer,” her stepfather said, breaking the silence quite suddenly, and Ella held her breath.
“Good heavens, surely you do not mean an accident of some sort, My Lord?” For a moment, Ella was mildly grateful that the elderly conspirator would not go so far as actually hurting the Duke.
It was little enough, but it was at least a minor point in his favour.
“No, no, I would not do such a thing,” the Earl said and dared to sound affronted. “But perhaps just a put-on threat of some sort.”
“A put-on threat, My Lord?” Henry Mercer said nervously.
“Something which would stop him in his tracks and, if he were close enough to home, might see him turn around again. Something which would put him out of sorts and would provide him with a genuine reason for not attending the home of Lord Mortcombe that night.”
“I see what you mean, but I cannot think what that ought to be.”
“Perhaps a staged robbery?” the Earl spoke speculatively, and it was clear that he was not entirely sure of his ally’s confidence at that moment.
“A robbery?” Henry Mercer sounded entirely upended.
“Staged, my dear fellow, staged,” the Earl said in the warmest voice he had used on the ageing attorney thus far. “Nothing serious, and certainly nothing that would go so far as to relieve His Grace of any of his belongings.”
“Because surely a person can hang for robbery, Sir.” It was clear that Henry was going to take a little convincing.
“Yes, for a real robbery, my good man,” the Earl went on in cajoling tones. “But this would be no such thing, Mercer. This would be nothing more than a little piece of theatre. Just enough to unsettle without causing any real harm.”
“But unsettling enough to have His Grace turn around and head for home again?” Ella bit her tongue; it seemed that Henry Mercer might not be quite so difficult to persuade after all.
“Yes, just unsettling enough.”
“Well, I am not so sure how such a thing is to be achieved. After all, I do not think I know anybody who would be prepared to stage a robbery at the roadside.” Henry was seriously thinking about it now.
“You need not worry about that, my dear fellow. All you need to do is give me a very good idea of the route that His Grace is likely to take and a good indication of the time he is likely to travel. That is as far involved in the thing as you need be, Mercer.”
“Well, when you put it like that, My Lord …”
“Yes, when I put it like that , Mercer, I am the one taking all the risks, am I not?” The Earl could not help himself, he always had to have the upper hand.
“If my master ever discovered my part in it, then I fear it is I who would lose the most, My Lord.” Ella stopped herself from silently congratulating the little man for taking such a tone with her stepfather.
He was, after all, every bit the treacherous toad that Ronald Belville was. More so, for the Duke trusted him.
“Quite so,” the Earl said dismissively. “Well, if that is settled?”
“Yes, I think so.” Ella was astonished at how quickly Henry Mercer recovered after what must have been a most unsettling conversation.
“Then you will get word to me of the route and the time?”
“I will make some gentle inquiries with His Grace this afternoon, Sir, and get a message to you by the end of the day.”
“Good,” the Earl said in a tone which looked set to dismiss the loathsome old attorney.
Ella hurried away from the door, keen to regain the safety of the morning room without anybody seeing her, and knowing she need not listen any further, for she had certainly heard the worst of it.
All that remained now was to rack her brains and find a way to let the Duke of Hillington know everything that she knew. But how was such a thing to be achieved?