“She was excellent when I saw her in Romeo and Juliet,” Ralph conceded, “but she’d better not get mixed up with this Lord X. The gossip reporter is wasting his time being cryptic, for all the world knows he’s referring to Silverton. And Lord Silverton is part of the fast set to which my not-so-very esteemed employer, Lord Debenham, belongs.” He raised one eyebrow as he explained. “Debenham is fond of the gaming hells. So is Silverton.”
Lissa couldn’t meet Ralph’s smile. Her mind was racing too fast.
Kitty La Bijou was the name her younger sister had always said she’d adopt if she ran away to London. A few weeks before, Lissa had received a letter from their mother admitting that Kitty had been gone for some weeks; that following another of their regular arguments, she’d stormed out of their cottage. Her mother said she’d been certain she’d return, however, Kitty had finally written to say she’d found work in London and wasn’t coming back.
Kitty had never hidden the fact she loathed her life in the small village in which they’d been born. While Lissa and Ned had both kept a low profile and ignored the taunts from the village children regarding their shameful birthrights, Kitty had been more outspoken. Often, Kitty would return from having trespassed onto the grounds of The Grange, their father’s estate, where she’d gone to spy on their half-sisters. Enviously, she would describe the lavish clothes and other luxuries their half-sisters took for granted.
Lissa let Ralph continue to read while her thoughts ran riot. Kitty La Bijou. It couldn’t be her Kitty? Surely? Having her name associated with a man of dubious reputation, or any man at all, in a news sheet? No, it couldn’t be.
Mrs. Nipkins bit off her cotton thread and put down her work. “Lord Debenham is your employer, Mr. Tunley. Regardless of what you feel, it’s unwise to speak uncomplimentary of him.”
“Even to the two ladies I trust most in the world?” He grinned. “Should I fear losing my job or worse because I confide intimacies to you?”
“Of course not, Mr. Tunley, but you never know who’s listening or standing behind a door at this very moment.”
A loud rap on the thin door to their cramped living quarters made them all jump. Now Lissa and Ralph did exchange fearful glances.
Just as Ralph reached the door to open it, the rapping continued, and a lady’s hurried, anxious voice intruded.
“Forgive me for arriving so late and with no warning.”
Lissa watched with surprise as a slight young woman entered. With graceful hands their visitor pushed back the hood of her cloak, revealing, to Lissa’s shock and incomprehension, the familiar face of Mrs. Crossing.
Astonished, she made the introductions and then Mrs. Nipkins rose to say goodnight, so that Mrs. Crossing could occupy her seat once it had been established that her visit was in strict confidence.
Immediately Mrs. Crossing folded her hands in her lap and leaned forward. “I am leaving tonight for France but I had to see you first.” She looked at Lissa then nodded toward the window. “My carriage is waiting for me outside, and I shall be meeting Sir William in Calais in three days’ time. He is returning to Constantinople and I shall accompany him.”
Lissa wasn’t sure how to respond. Perhaps asking the obvious question would help. “You are leaving your husband?”
“Sir William and I have planned this for some time. We were waiting for his position to be secured so that he would have a permanent residence where I could safely join him. Of course, our elopement is a closely guarded secret, and no one must know.”
“Then, with respect, why tell us?” asked Ralph.
“Because Sir William desires your involvement, Mr. Tunley, in an important mission, which was the reason for his brief return to London.”
Lissa jerked her head around to see Ralph’s expression flicker between hope and concern. For her own part, she didn’t know what to think.
“We know something of the matter about which you speak, but why is Sir William not asking me, himself?”
Mrs. Crossing handed him a sealed missive. “He entrusted this to me to deliver to you before I left London.”
“Rather cloak and dagger.” Ralph laughed uncertainly.
“It is,” Mrs. Crossing agreed. “A new world to me, also, but I am slowly learning. Mr. Tunley, I understand you are still officially in the employ of Lord Debenham, who will be back from his wedding tour in a month?”
The scandal involving the elopement of Miss Araminta Partington with dangerous Lord Debenham had had London town agog and Miss Partington’s name considerably sullied. Word was that the daring debutante had accepted a marriage offer from Lord Debenham’s nephew, Mr. Woking, the night prior to her elopement with her betrothed’s uncle.
“I am,” agreed Ralph.
“It is Sir William’s desire that you will accept his offer of a position as his attaché, as you will read in his missive. I shall be living in Sir William’s household as his widowed cousin, and his hostess. There are other matters for which he has enlisted my help, and this is one.”
Pain slashed through Lissa like a sword. This was the kind of work Ralph had always dreamed of. But there was no place in such a new life for her. An attaché was constantly roaming the world.
Ralph cleared his throat. “I would be honored, however, Miss Hazlett and I are affianced. I could not abandon her to live abroad.”
Lissa gasped. He was refusing an opportunity that promised him so much? This was the most concrete affirmation of his loyalty and intention to keep her safely by his side that she’d received, though she had no doubt of his affection.
Mrs. Crossing cocked her head. “When are you to be married?”