She thought of Ralph, but again, he might not be there whereas Silverton was close by. Close enough so she could seek his help and his advice.
She told herself that her decision to seek him out first had nothing to do with wanting to show him how clever she, alone, had been; that it had nothing to do with the fact she loved him to distraction—still.
None of this was evident when she was admitted to his drawing room, and he faced her from the other side of the sofa with an expression of mild perplexity, for they had parted—for good, it would have appeared, not long ago. And his marriage was in just days.
“Silverton.” She simply breathed the word. She was delirious with her cleverness. Then she carefully laid the box on the low table and waited
for realization to sink in or curiosity to get the better of him.
He received her alone in his drawing room where it appeared he’d been playing cards. There was no one opposite him at the small walnut table, and when he glanced up after she was announced, a gamut of emotions flickered across his face. Then he rose, and flicking just the barest of glances toward the box, stepped forward and placed his hands on Kitty’s shoulders. “I don’t believe it.”
“Silverton…are you not you proud of me?” His worried frown had not been swept away by delight.
“You put yourself in grave, grave danger.” Kitty did not like the hint of suspicion in his tone when he asked, “What did you have to do to get this?”
She shook her head. “He hasn’t touched me if that’s what you’re worried about. In fact, it was all astonishingly easy. Dorcas had been supplied the exact location by a friend who’d been to Debenham’s house, and then when he invited me into his bedchamber—” she glanced down and blushed, “I had a vial of powder that Mrs. Mobbs had given me to put in his drink.”
“Dear Lord, Kitty, I don’t believe it.”
He turned back to the box and finding the lid locked, was instantly supplied the key by Kitty, who said, “I knew exactly where that was, too. Open it, Silverton. I want to see what it contains.”
“A treasure trove,” he murmured.
It was as if Debenham was proudly keeping an inventory of each evil extortion attempt and other felonies in which he’d been involved. Indeed, here was all the evidence they needed to convict him of a multitude of crimes, including the blackest of all—treason. Beneath the list of those whose secrets he’d ferreted out, and those who’d paid to have their scandals suppressed from threatened publication, were his notes from three years earlier on how he and his associates intended to bring down Parliament following their attempt on Lord Castlereagh’s life.
“Dear Lord, not only is so much in his handwriting, he’s signed all manner of incriminating correspondence,” breathed Silverton. Carefully closing the lid, he rose and drew Kitty into his embrace, but when she moved her head slightly, he kissed her on the top of her head.
“You have done what no one in the Home Office has managed in more than two years. You are a ….” He put her away from him and stared with wonder into her face. Kitty’s heart hitched, and it took all her willpower not to throw her arms around his neck and hug and kiss him rapturously, for excitement—and pride—were fast flowing through her veins.
“Say it, Silverton,” she murmured. “I want to hear what you think I am.”
“I’ve always known what you are,” he said with more energy this time though he didn’t move his head closer. “You are the most courageous, beautiful, astonishing young woman I have ever met.” His eyes glowed as he lowered his voice. “If we existed within the pages of a romance, we would get our happily ever after.”
“It’s too late now.” She moved but did not entirely pull away. “You are not going to abandon your worthy bride at the altar, throw me astride your white charger, and gallop into the sunset to where a priest is waiting to preside over our holy vows.”
“It doesn’t mean I wish I couldn’t.”
She smiled. She felt the familiar tug at her heartstrings; the pain in the back of her throat as she fought the tears. “The inevitable is too hard to resist. There’s too much of everything to fight. Our marriage would simply not be accepted. I’d be shunned, and possibly, so would our children…our female children, certainly. I wanted respectability through marriage, but I wanted love more. And now I can’t have either.”
“Where are you going?”
She turned at the door and looked over her shoulder. “Home,” she said simply. “I’ve achieved my greatest wish—to deliver to you what you wanted above all else.”
In two strides he was at her side. He restrained her with a hand upon her shoulder. “That’s not what I wanted above all.” He glanced back at the box on the table, then again at her, his look full of meaning.
“But we know it can’t be.”
Reluctantly, he nodded. “But you can’t go home.”
“I realized that, of course. It’s the first place Debenham will look. After here, of course. No, Mrs. Mobbs has a bed for me.”
“Kitty, I can’t let you go. It’s too dangerous.”
“I certainly can’t stay here.” She put her hand on the doorknob. “Not with your mother in residence.” She pulled away, more firmly this time. “Good night, Silverton. I’ll slip out the servant’s entrance.”
“I’ll take you.” But when Kitty protested strongly, he finally persuaded her to accept an escort of one of his servants, and wearily Kitty made her way through the streets in a hackney, suddenly exhausted. She’d proved herself, and now she felt she could sleep for a year.
She didn’t sleep more than an hour, it seemed, for Mrs. Mobbs was soon rousing her urgently.