Suddenly, Kitty laughed. “Revenge!” She said it on a gurgle of amusement, but he took her seriously and laughed with her, and that’s when Kitty realized how much power she had over Lord Debenham.
For if he really thought she would seize such an opportunity, then she had all the evidence she needed to pass on to Ralph. She just needed to see how Debenham concocted this plan.
“Come, let us go to supper, Miss La Bijou, and we can mull over the details. Madame Mirabeau’s?”
She’d be taking a risk, but she had to if
she were going to find a way of helping Silverton escape his nemesis, and help Lissa and Ralph achieve their ends.
So, smiling to cover her fear, she accompanied him in his carriage and issued out into the crisp night air and up the steps to the famous salon where she prayed she’d not see someone she knew.
Lord Debenham ordered champagne once more, and after a few glasses, Kitty was feeling far braver, though far from allowing his Lordship the license he obviously desired. For when he suggested they repair to one of the private parlors Kitty shook her head. “Not yet, my lord. I am not one to rush into encounters and besides, you have not yet explained how I might find my revenge.”
“A woman after my own heart. Hear the bargain first and then decide if the gains are worth it.” He leaned across the table and ran a finger lightly down her cheek. “I think the most innocent looking are the most dangerous. I wouldn’t want to be in Silverton’s shoes for I imagine you’ve already plotted a fine revenge. So I shall have to persuade you of the merits of my little proposal.”
“And what might that be, my lord?”
What on earth might Lord Debenham be concocting? She’d wanted to leap up in outrage, but now she was all ears.
He took a sip, considering. “Surely, my dear, you have run over the possibilities. Losing a lot of money can hurt. I know his Lordship is plumpish in the pocket, but he can’t afford to throw away his blunt now that he has the upkeep of a plain wife—yes, it has to be conceded. What Miss Mandelton might offer in terms of pliability and amiability she lacks in looks. Silverton will soon cast his gaze elsewhere, and then he’ll have rather large expenses, won’t he?”
Kitty considered this. “I don’t know how I might achieve that. I mean, see that he lost a great deal of money.” She looked innocently at him. There, let him suggest something.
Lord Debenham examined the moons of his right hand. “Perhaps during your intimacy with his Lordship, you’ve learned something he may wish to keep secret, Miss Bijou.”
Kitty feigned ignorance. “And if I had, how will that lose him a great deal of money?”
Lord Debenham chuckled. “Ah, you really are either the innocent…or the opposite,” he added thoughtfully. “My dear, secrets are worth a great deal of money.”
“Blackmail?” Kitty gasped and shook her head. “I couldn’t possibly blackmail Lord Silverton. He’d immediately suspect who was responsible for the leak, and then what do you suppose would happen to me?” She needed to appear self-interested and doubtful. Lord Debenham would be less suspicious than if she eagerly complied with his every suggestion. For now she realized how important it was for Lord Debenham to finally involve her in the trade of secrets with which he was lining his pockets. This was what would implicate him. This is what Lissa and Ralph were after, but it would be Kitty who’d release them all from their burdens. For once, Kitty would be the sister who saved the day.
“Yes, blackmail, my dear Kitty. Tell me what you know about Lord Silverton that he might be willing to pay to withhold. Simple. Pillow talk is the best means of gaining such information.”
“Pillow talk? How would you know, my lord?” Kitty angled an impish look at him, and to her surprise, he obliged her like a lamb. But then, men like Debenham loved to brag about their exploits.
“In the golden afterglow of a night of fleshly pleasures, it’s astonishing how forthcoming a satisfied man can be.”
Kitty frowned, feigning ignorance. “So you’ve divulged secrets you’ve regretted in such instances?”
“Lord, girl, what do you think?” His frown was swept away as he chuckled. “You were funning me; I see that now. No, I have girls who are only too willing to offer me the secrets they’ve discovered when entertaining certain high-placed gentlemen. It’s a lucrative pastime, I assure you, and one from which we can both profit, Miss Bijou.” He reached across to touch the fur tippet around her neck, then gently caressed her cheek. Kitty closed her eyes, pretending to relish the experience while her insides churned with fear and revulsion.
“You enjoy nice things, don’t you, Miss Bijou.”
“Oh yes,” she whispered, imbuing her words with a breathlessness he might easily mistake for sexual longing.
And being the kind of man he was, he did.
“Well then, tell me what you know about Lord Silverton, and I can make sure you enjoy lots of nice things. Those who fear me do so for a reason, but those who please me know that I can be a very generous man.”
Kitty thought wildly. What would satisfy Lord Debenham that she had an axe to grind with Silverton? What did she know of his past exploits that she’d be willing to offer Debenham?
Slowly, she said, “I was very relieved to learn my maid had been unsuccessful in making use of some letters that Mrs. Montgomery—I believe it was—had ordered be secreted in his study. Apparently, they’d been written by him some while ago to a certain prominent MP’s wife and had been stolen.” She shook her head and added, “But Dorcas confessed and since, at the time, I truly believed Silverton was going to marry me, it was a huge relief to me.”
“It wasn’t enough, in any case, to make Silverton cough up the blunt. He had less to lose than the lady in question. Think, Miss Bijou.” He leaned across the table and looked into Kitty’s eyes. “What do you know of Silverton’s exploits that would be so embarrassing or terrible that he would be prepared to part with a great deal of money to spare the public. Or is he so snowy-white that not even you, who know him intimately, can come up with anything?”
Kitty thought hard. She bit her lip. Then she reached across the table and said softly, “Silverton is a spy.”
Debenham blinked. It was the only indication that her response had made any impact. Then he put his head on one side and looked at her inquiringly.