“I do not believe that we have met. You are not Lord Peters.” Lord Montague’s voice was low and filled with an anger even Alice could hear. “You have brought me here under false pretenses.”
“Much like I was brought to the copper hells in East London under false pretenses.” Lord Foster’s voice was clear. “You need not pretend. I am well aware of who you are, Lord Montague. You held Lord Gillespie’s fate in your hands, and you used his situation to your own advantage, did you not?”
There came a couple of seconds of silence before Lord Montague began to laugh. Alice closed her eyes and shuddered a little, afraid that the man was about to deny everything, but in the next moment that fear blew itself out.
“I shall not pretend to be anything other than what you have laid before me.” Lord Montague’s voice was cheerful, as if he were glad that Lord Foster had discovered him. “It is as you say. Alas, your fortune was given to me, and I can do nothing other than continue to use it as I see fit. After all, the wager was lost.”
The mockery in his tone made Alice’s skin crawl and despite her fear, her hands curled into tight fists.
“That is not the truth. I was tricked into that game. I have no recollection of signing any documents or of promising you my fortune. Whatever it was that you placed in my drink that evening had the desired effect.”
Again, the man’s voice filled the room with laughter. Quite how Lord Foster withstood it, Alice did not know. She wanted to burst into the room, stride towards Lord Montague and demand that he return Lord Foster’s fortune without delay, but her promise to Lord Foster lingered in her mind and she knew she could not.
“Is that so?”
“It is.” Lord Foster’s voice had risen with anger. “Lord Gillespie was the one who sent my friends and I there, but it was at your behest, was it not?”
There was a breath of silence.
“I will not be pushed into details, but nor will I take the entirety of your supposed blame. Many gentlemen play at those copper hells. You cannot truly think that there was anydeliberateaction involved in you sitting at the same table as I.”
“That is precisely what I think.”
Another curl of laughter came from Lord Montague and Alice drew back from the door as his voice came nearer.
“You are a fool. You can gain nothing from this. I may as well be on my way, for there is very little point in this discussion. You shall not take your fortune back from me. It was given to me in all truth, and you shall not have it.”
Alice closed her eyes and breathed deeply, pushing down the panic which swirled in her belly. Was Lord Montague about to leave? It seemed as though Lord Foster’s ventures were quite lost. Yes, he had found the culprit, but there did not appear to be anything which could be done in order to force Lord Montague’s hand.
“That is where you are a little mistaken.” Much to Alice’s surprise, there was a confidence in Lord Foster’s voice, a confidence she had not expected. “I did not think that any sort of discussion would convince you to return what is mine, what was stolen from me. I did not expect you to be a gentleman with any scruples. Therefore, I thought to do much as you did to me.”
There was a short silence.
“What do you mean?”
The man had not yet left the room and, to Alice’s delight, there was a faint hint of concern in Lord Montague’s voice. He no longer sounded as confident as she had heard him be at first.
“Your brandy did not taste a little strange, I hope.”
A darkness flitted in and out of Lord Foster’s voice.
“You can do nothing.” Lord Foster’s words did not appear to have had any effect on Lord Montague, who continued arrogantly. “Even if I am a little overtaken by whatever you have placed in my brandy, I shall not give you what you want. I have enough strength of mind for that. And bear in mind, Lord Foster, I knowexactlywhat it is you have planned. You, however, were much more easily led than I shall ever be. In a way, I pity your weakness.”
Alice’s fingernails bit into the soft skin of her palms as she fought back the anger which built in her chest. A door opened a little further down the hallway, and as Alice stared at the approaching figure, she realized with horror that it was none other than the broad-shouldered fellow who had been with Lord Montague in the days before. To her mind, it now appeared as though Lord Foster had no other option but to give up. If this man made his way into the room, then he would do precisely as Lord Montague bade him, and Lord Foster would no doubt find himself grievously injured.
I would rather live in poverty than see him so injured.
Taking a step forward, Alice lifted her chin and stood directly in his path. To her surprise, he lifted an eyebrow inquiringly, stopped, and crossed his arms while still gazing at her. He did not appear to want to enter. Perhaps he was waiting for his master to call him in.
I promised Lord Foster that I would not go into the room. That does not mean that I cannot do something here.
“You must not go in.”
Taking a step closer, Alice folded her arms across her chest, copying the stance of the man in front of her.
“I am afraid that I must.” The man tilted his head, studying her. “It appears you are not a lady of the night as I had first thought. What are you, then?”
“I am a friend. I come only to support my… friend, who has been poorly treated indeed. And it is your master who has done it.”