Miss Walch huffed, blowing an exaggerated breath upward, ruffling the fringe of brown bangs that hung just above her eyebrows. “I am your best friend and your closest confidant. You are obligated to share all your secrets with me.”
Miss Loery’s intense blue eyes looked up at Mrs. NeVille, and ever so subtly, the lady’s maid gave her a stiff nod of the head. “Fine, fine,” Miss Loery said, barely missing a beat, “I’ll tell you everything.” She swiveled on the seat then so that she was facing both Miss Walch and the semi-open doorway. Leticia took a small step backward but had no time to pull the door closed to conceal herself further.
“Richard is the perfect husband,” Miss Loery began, placing both hands on her knee and sitting up primly. “For my plan to succeed, I needed to find a foolish man who was willing to believe every single lie I told him.”
Miss Walch’s gasp was quite luckily loud enough to cover the one Leticia made out in the hallway. “You’ve been lying to the Duke?”
“Of course,” Miss Loery replied with a prissy snort. “You know I am in love with Matthew.”
“Your footman?” Miss Walch asked. “But I thought that was just a harmless flirtation.”
Now, Mrs. NeVille puffed up her chest and turned toward Miss Walch. “Matthew is my son, and I tell you that he importuned Miss Loery honorably. He earned her love and affection.”
“But…” Miss Walch stammered, “I don’t understand.”
Miss Loery sighed dramatically and slumped in her chair, her lithe frame wilting as if under a tremendous weight. Her eyes drifted toward the window, and she said mournfully, “I do wish that I could marry Matthew, but we all know my parents wouldn’t even entertain such a union. So, once the Season started, and the Duke began paying me his attentions, I came up with a plan.”
“What are you going to do to the Duke?” Miss Walch asked, her large brown eyes widening fearfully as her hand came up to cover her small mouth.
“I am not going todoanything to him,” Miss Loery scoffed. “I don’t need to. Our marriage, just like our courtship, will be one of convenience. He needs a wife, so he can carry on his family’s name, and I need a husband. Matthew will come to live here at Braxton Manor, and all will be as it should.”
“So, the Duke knows of your plans?”
“Of course not,” Miss Loery replied with a gentle roll of her eyes. “He may be aloof in most matters, but I imagine if he knew I was planning to have my lover live with us, he’d probably call off the whole thing.”
“But—” Miss Walch began, and her befuddlement was clearly etched on her face. While she might be Miss Loery’s dearest friend, she obviously didn’t know the first thing about her.
Miss Loery held up her hand to silence her discomforted friend. “Take heart. No one will be hurt by our little scheme. Matthew and I will live together happily…His Grace will carry on with his everyday business, just as he always has…and in a few years, when we can take it no longer, and we’ve managed to squirrel away a fair share of His Grace’s wealth, Matthew and I will make our escape.”
“Your escape?” Miss Walch breathed. “But where will you go?”
Now, Mrs. NeVille re-entered the conversation. “Wherever they want!” As the ladies in the chamber burst once again into tumultuous giggles, Leticia reeled. The low heels she’d been wearing suddenly seemed much taller, and she tottered as she fought to maintain her balance.
Miss Loery doesn’t love Richard? She doesn’t even like him or respect him? Oh, malicious woman!
Furiously, Leticia took a step toward the door, determined to barge in there, confess what she overheard, and dare Miss Loery to deny her whole miserable plot, but then, she got another idea.
She hitched up her skirts and dashed down the hall, eager to find her friend and warn him away from this imprudent marriage.