“She is doing precisely as you asked her,” William reminded him. “Your daughter knows exactly what her future is to be in either circumstance. Should she not have that choice? I offer her more hope than your future for her ever could.”
“Which is precisely why I have accepted him.”
A calm clear voice interrupted William’s discussion, and he turned just in time to see Miss Lawrence gaze up at her father with stony eyes.
“I cannot permit this.” Lord Blackford swiped through the air with his hand, separating William and Miss Lawrence. “Youcannotmarry him. I will not have it.”
“I can and I will.” Miss Lawrence placed her hand over William’s, and he immediately tucked it under his arm. “You cannot deny me, father. You may have forgotten when my birthday is, so let me remind you – I have my majority. The choice is mine. I have done as you asked, and now you seek to pull me away from the only happiness I might ever have. Iwillmarry Lord Foster and I will be happy, whether or not he recovers his fortune.”
A gasp came from William’s left, and he turned his head to see one of the most prolific gossips in all of London hurrying away from them. He was not angry but rather filled with relief as he settled his gaze upon Lord Blackford once more. The man’s eyes were following Lady Greenwood as his shoulders slumped. Evidently, he realized that there was nothing for them to do but accept the situation, as it now stood.
“Should you like to take a turn about the gardens, Miss Lawrence?” With a broad smile, William turned toward his betrothed. “Lord Wiltsham can join us, unless Lord Blackford wishes to be your chaperone?”
Inquiring eyes were met with a blank stare and, with a shrug, William turned away, leading Miss Lawrence away from her father with Lord Wiltsham coming only a few steps behind. They walked on in silence for a few moments until Miss Lawrence began to laugh.
“I am afraid we cannot escape betrothal now, my Lord. If Lady Greenwood has heard of it, then all of London will know of it by the morning.”
“I do not find myself concerned in that regard.” William smiled at her. “I find myself a little relieved. The worst, it seems, is over. I did not know how your father would react, but at least now there can be no separating us.” He pulled her a little closer. “You are tied to me now.”
“And I am glad of that.”
Miss Lawrence smiled back at him and for a moment, William lost himself in her gaze. It was not until Lord Wiltsham cleared his throat a little distinctly that William recalled the reason he had wanted to speak with her.
“The letter.” Taking a deep breath, he set his shoulders, hoping that this would bring him the answer to his struggles. “You found something in the letter?”
“I took the letter with me, Lord Foster.”
Pausing in her walk for a moment, Miss Lawrence pulled it out of her pockets and handed it to him.
William’s heart quickened as he unfolded it. The dim light made it difficult to read, but he thought he could make out the words, once he drew a little closer to one of the torches, so that he might read it carefully. His eyes ran over the page once, twice, and then he let out a small exclamation of surprise. Miss Lawrence was by his side in a moment.
“What is it?”
Lord Wiltsham was there too, looking over William’s shoulder at the paper.
“It seems that Lord Gillespie was a man in great difficulty.” Handing the note to his friend, William shook his head. “I had no idea that he was struggling so very much. That note warns Lord Gillespie to do as he has promised, else the money will be taken from his own dwindling coffers. It seems Lord Gillespie had very little choice but to obey what was being demanded of him.”
Lord Wiltsham nodded slowly, before returning the note to Miss Lawrence.
“It does give me a trifle more sympathy for the man.” Lord Wiltsham shook his head. “The fellow must have been in significant difficulty, and now that I find myself in financial difficulty, I can understand his desperation.”
“As can I.” William admitted.
“There is no signature.” Miss Lawrence handed the note back to him with a swift shake of her head. “It has Viscount ‘M’ written upon it, but nothing else.”
William’s hopes dashed themselves against the rocks at the moment.
“Then I am lost. Just when the clouds began to part, they return to enfold me again. There aremanyViscounts in London whose title begins with such a letter. Our only course of action is to attempt to distinguish one from the other and thereafter, spend time following each of them in turn to make certain, somehow, that they are, or are not, the gentleman in question.” He threw up his hands, knowing he was being ridiculous but at this present moment, he could see no brightness whatsoever. “The note is clear, but it is maddening given that there is no direct path which we are now to take.”
“That is not so.”
Miss Lawrence’s gentle voice was a balm to his fractured soul. Gazing back at her, he held her gaze steadily, seeing the small smile which lifted the corners of her mouth. The hopes which had been splintered slowly began to piece themselves back together as the three began to walk forward once more, not wishing their conversation to be overheard by anyone.
“The reason I disappeared from Lord Gillespie’s study was because I followed after the two men who were in the room with us.”
William stopped dead, staring back at her with horror crawling across his skin.
“You need to not look at me with such shock. It was the only thing I could think to do, for we must know who these men are. It is important for you, is it not? How else are you to discover the reason that they searched through Lord Gillespie’s study?”