Joseph took another step toward him. “I know you do not with to be bothered, Your Grace,” Joseph went on, “and I understand that your fortune and standing is such that if Montrose succeeds in his treachery, it will not harm you deeply. But it will harm whoever his next victim turns out to be, because Montrose stands to make a great deal of money off of your land development deal. And it will harm the people who move into the houses you build, as Montrose apparently has plans to ensure shoddy workmanship so that the scheme fails.”
Westminster shook his head. “Montrose may be an investor, I do not know for certain, but he has no control over the contractors I select for the actual construction. Whoever has given you this information has convinced you to believe in fairy tales, sir.”
Joseph forced himself to take another breath to steady his indignation. Once again, the implication was that he was too young and inexperienced to know whether he was having the wool pulled over his eyes.
That view of him would never change. Joseph realized it in an instant. None of the older, more experienced men around him would believe that he was more than they’d already decided he was unless he showed them with his actions that he was a man to be taken seriously.
Instead of arguing, he stepped toward Westminster, holding out the letter.
“Please take this, Your Grace,” he said with steadiness and dignity. “I am aware that you question my credibility, which is why I will not attempt to sway you through conversation. But I do hope you will be swayed by facts and hard evidence.” He presented the letter, and nearly shouted in triumph when Westminster took it. “If I cannot convince you, I trust the information contained in that letter will.”
He stepped over to Ellen, taking her hand, then went on. “Please forgive me for intruding on such a private moment, Your Grace. Miss Garrett and I were genuinely not aware of the use of this room before we entered.”
“I…I suppose we should have had an attendant at the door to inform people of its use,” Westminster muttered. He glanced from the letter to Joseph, then to Ellen. “I trust you will enjoy the remainder of the ball, Miss Garrett. Good evening, Mr. Rathborne-Paxton.”
With that, Westminster opened the door and strode out into the hall. Joseph had no wish to keep Ellen in such a room for a moment longer, so he whisked her out to the hall as well. They stepped to the side and watched as Westminster tucked the letter into his jacket pocket, then disappeared back into the noisy ballroom.
Joseph let out a sigh of relief. “Part of me is astounded that he took that letter from me,” he said, mostly to himself.
“You were very brave,” Ellen said, though without the excitement in her voice that he would have expected.
Joseph turned to her, alarmed to find her looking as sad as she’d been when they’d run off after Westminster. So sad, in fact, that she stepped away from him and leaned back against a clear space on the wall. She crossed her arms and stared glumly at the door to the ballroom.
“Do you want to return now?” Joseph asked hesitantly. “We could have another dance. My brother will probably seek me out to introduce me to his friend again. Would you like to meet a prince?”
Ellen shook her head, then lowered it to stare at the floor.
Sudden panic wafted through Joseph. He didn’t know what to do to bring the joy back to Ellen’s eyes.
“I’m certain Westminster won’t say anything about where we encountered him,” he said, trying to reassure her. “None of the grand ladies of society will know where you have been.”
Ellen let out a huff of laughter. “None of the grand ladies of society will so much as look at me, let alone speculate where I have been.” She glanced to the ballroom door again. “They do not like me, and I have come to the conclusion that they never will.”
“That isn’t true,” Joseph said. He stepped in front of her and slid a hand under her chin to tip her face up to him. “They will love you. What is there not to love?”
“A great deal,” Ellen said, her eyes glassy with tears and her voice wavering. Joseph was about to contradict her when she shook away from him and said, “Please just take me home, Joseph. I don’t wish to be here anymore.”
“You…don’t wish to attend the ball?” he asked, following as she started down the hall. “The ball that you worked so hard to be invited to?”
“I shouldn’t have even tried,” she said, picking up speed and heading past the first ballroom door. “I should never have fooled myself into thinking that I could fit into this society. I should never have set my sights above me, and I never should have come to England in the first place.”
“Stop,” Joseph said, catching her by her arm and spinning her back to face him. “I won’t have you say that. If you’d never come here, we never would have met, and that is a tragedy that I do not want to contemplate.”
Ellen broke into a watery smile. A moment later, her face pinched as though she might sob.
“Oh, dear,” she said, raising a hand to her mouth. “Please take me away from here, Joseph. Quickly. I fear I’m going to cry. A lot.”
Joseph nodded, then shifted so that he could offer his arm to Ellen and escort her properly. He walked her down the hall toward the house’s grand front door as swiftly as he could. There were still a few late arrivals waiting to be introduced into the ballroom, and unfortunately, several of them turned to stare at Ellen.
“Excuse me,” he hailed one of the footmen as they reached the door. “Could you please find Mr. and Mrs. Mercer and inform them that Miss Garrett has taken a turn and that I am escorting her home?”
“Yes, sir,” the footman said, then walked off to deliver his message.
“There,” Joseph said as he whisked Ellen through the door and out into the chilly night. “That’s taken care of. Now all we need to do is get you home.”
That was easier said than done. Park Lane was a crush of carriages waiting to drop off late-arriving guests and those who had already discharged guests and were now attempting to find a place to wait until they were called to whisk people away home. There was no way Joseph would be able to find his family’s carriage, or hire one until they were well away from Grosvenor House.
Once they had traveled far enough to be free of the traffic from the ball, they were already halfway to Mr. Mercer’s house.