"Are you here alone this time?" he asked.
She was saved from having to answer by Dodson's reappearance. "My lord Montague is awake. "
"You've timed your arrival perfectly," Simon said in an easy voice, annoying Lina even more. Personally she thought his timing was execrable, but there was nothing she could do about it. They all filed into Monty's bedroom, and Lina took a moment to appreciate its outrageousness.
Monty had always had a flair for the dramatic, and his bedroom was a fitting backdrop. The bed was huge, a rival to the Great Bed of Ware, though the rich brocade hangings seemed better suited to a sultan's palace. There were cupids and seraphim and sea monsters carved into the bedposts, and enough pillows tucked behind Monty to outfit half of London. The French doors were open to the wide terrace and the spring air, but a fire was blazing in the huge stone fireplace as well.
Monty was sitting up, and if his thin body was even more wasted, his eyes were alight with mischief. He didn't look quite at death's door, thank God, though Lina couldn't help but wonder what games he was up to now. "How delightful to see you all!" he said in a strong voice. "I'm so sorry I was asleep when you arrived—that damned doctor keeps giving me laudanum and it makes me sleep too much. Lina, you're looking exquisite as usual. I'd say the same for you, Adrian, except you look as if an angry husband caught up with you. Whose wife did you make the mistake of seducing?"
Adrian laughed, leaning against the bedpost as Lina took the seat beside Monty and held his thin hand. "No wives recently. They all wanted to leave their husbands for me, and you know how boring that is. ”
"Dear boy, send their husbands to me and we'd all be happy," Monty said, the immediate strength of his voice fading somewhat. "But we're missing someone, are we not? Where is your so-charming cousin, Lina?”
Lina kept her face averted from Rohan's. She didn't want to see his expression. Pleasure or discomfort would be equally bad. Charlotte needed to keep her distance from Rohan, at least until they knew. . .
She refused to consider the possibility. "She's taking a nap, Monty," she replied. "We drove all night to get to you, darling. Some people aren't as resilient as I am. " She did her best to keep her shoulder between Monty a
nd Pagett. She was going to have to escape, to get upstairs and warn Charlotte before she blundered in on Adrian's presence. With ample warning she could spend the time in bed until Adrian left. The stomach grippe was a totally reasonable complaint. In fact, she ought to start embellishing, to set things up for Charlotte's sake so that her disappearance didn't seem odd.
Too late. The opposite door to Monty's ceremonial bedchamber opened, and Charlotte popped her head in, looking human again.
"Come in, dear girl!" Monty said in a fair approximation of his most florid voice. "So kind of you to visit this poor invalid. "
Charlotte had known Monty for years, and she moved into the room with the smile on her face masking the concern in her eyes. "You're looking well, my lord. "
“I look like death and you know it," Monty said charmingly. "Have a seat and tell me all about what you've been doing. Rohan, get the girl a seat. "
It would have been comical if Lina weren't so worried. Adrian Rohan had been hidden by the lavish bed hangings. Charlotte took one look and blanched, and for a moment Lina wondered if her stalwart Charlotte was going to faint for the first time in her life.
But Charlotte was made of sterner stuff. A moment later she had dropped a curtsy, murmured a polite greeting and taken the chair that Simon, in the first act she approved of, had been quick to provide.
"So here we all are," Monty said cheerfully, his voice weak, his eyes alight with a curious mischief. One might almost think he knew what had gone on between Charlotte and Adrian, but that was impossible. One might almost think he'd been privy to that absurdly ill-advised kiss she'd given his straitlaced vicar. Or he'd given her, in fact, when he'd turned things upside down.
But he couldn't know any of these things. Lina wanted to reach out with her other hand, clasp Charlotte's in support, but Monty was clinging tightly, and Charlotte was doing a magnificent job of looking human again.
"Here we all are," Rohan said in his lazy voice. "So what have you got planned for our entertainment. Monty? Surely you're not going to wither away in front of us? We need a full recovery. "
Author: Anne Stuart
"Wish I could oblige you, dear boy," Monty said faintly. "I used to lead you all a merry dance, did I not? But I'm afraid my dancing days are over. "
"You don't need lo dance, Monty," Lina said soothingly. "You just need to stay with us. "
"For as long as I can. In the meantime, Lina, I'm delighted you brought your cousin. And Rohan, I'm delighted you didn't bring yours. Etienne is far from my favorite person in this world. "
Rohan looked startled. "I hadn't realized that. Is there a reason?”
“I knew him in Paris years ago. You were just a child then, but I never trusted him. "
"You never said anything about it before," Rohan pointed out.
“I'm dying," Monty said flatly. "I can say what I want and no one can object. People have to do my bidding. "
“Hardly," Lina said with a laugh.
“You're all here, aren't you? I have things I want to say to all of you, and I'll need privacy to do it. I'm certain you can manage to amuse yourselves while I meet with each one of you. ”
"Of course we can, Monty," Lina said. "Charlotte and I could use a walk after being cramped up in a carriage for so long. "