She glanced in Neville’s direction. Their eyes momentarily locked. She reddened and looked away, and Neville’s stomach dropped. Willard had been mocking him to Millie, a clear attempt to gain her favor.
Yes, Willard’s intervention was an even greater menace than the simple man-to-man slight Neville had first considered. Whatever Willard’s purpose—a warning to Neville, a provocation to Asquith, a threat to Millicent—the stakes had just increased.
Neville sighed as Millicent dropped a pretty curtsey and Willard, a gentlemanly bow.
Neville could not yet prove Willard was the true criminal behind the false allegations against his brother. And unless he could, his brother, and quite possibly their whole family, would be ruined. And now Millicent had, without her knowledge, been drawn in, too.
Neville’s nightmare had just become even more hideously complicated. And Neville could only blame himself. But, no matter what the cost, for the second time in Neville’s life, he would end Willard’s heinous games.
Chapter Two
In Millie’s bedroomat D’Acre House, Adrian and Eliza’s London townhome, Millie looped together the ends of her night rail’s sash and tied them. Relieved to finally be free of her confining garments, she stretched out her arms. As confusing as the night had been, all she wished to do before climbing into bed was immerse herself in the comforting ritual of combing her sister’s hair.
She maneuvered a chair in front of their shared dressing table, bid Lenora to sit, and picked up their mother’s silver boar-and-horsehair brush. However, no sooner had she started taming Lenora’s locks than Nettie, along with Adrian’s younger sister Lady Emily, burst into the room.
As usual, they were both bubbling over with giggles.
Capped, braided and already dressed for sleep, they climbed up onto the mattress, lay crosswise on their stomachs, and then rested their chins on folded arms. Emily’s dimpled cheeks and chin framed blonde curls. By contrast, Nettie’s rounder face was haloed by the same thick, chestnut locks that Nettie, like the rest of the Wainwright sisters, had inherited from their mother. Both young ladies, however, wore mutual expressions of expectant excitement that made them look far younger than their eighteen years.
“So…?”Nettie prompted.
“If you want me to answer you,” Millie replied, “you are going to have to ask a full question.”
“Funny.” Nettie wrinkled her nose at Emily. “Just then, Millie sounded almost as sententious as Asquith’s friend Lord Neville.”
“I did not!” Millie scowled. She never did anything like Neville.
“Nettie’s just teasing, Millie.” Lenora twisted in the chair. “And sententious? Really, Nettie. Have you been reading the dictionary again?”
“No,” Nettie replied. “I’ve been readingEnglish Synonyms Explained, in Alphabetical Order.”
“Come on, Millie!” Emily thumped her leg against the bed. “Youknowwhat Nettiereallymeant to ask: Was this Wednesday night Assembly as dull and insipid as the last?”
“Thatwasn’t what I was going to ask,” Nettie objected. “Well, at least, notjust.”
“Nettie,” Emily sighed. “Facilitating a discussion about any potential courtship follows the same rules as courtship itself—you mustfinesseyour way to the matter’s heart. You cannot skip right to the…” Emily lifted her brows, closed her eyes, and puckered her lips in an exaggerated fashion.
Millie snorted. “There wasnotany…” She stuck out her lips. “Besides, no amount offinessingwould change my answer. And I never said the Assemblies were dull. I said I find Almack’s rules confining.”
“In other words…” Nettie smiled. “Dull.”
“Dull, indeed? Even tonight? How odd.” Emily tapped her chin. “Why, then, would my brother tell me you were very much in demand?”
“An exaggeration,” Millie snapped. “Nothing of consequence happened.”
Nettie’s gaze moved over Millie’s shoulder. Then, Nettie’s lips started twitching. Millie swiveled around to find Lenora shaking her head and repeatedly mouthing the wordlies.
“Don’t just tease, Lenora!” Nettie whined. “Give us all theon dits.”
“There are noon dits! And all three of you”—Millie pointed the brush at each—“should know better than to gossip.”
“You can tell us now, or make us wait,” Emily reasoned. “You know my mama is sure to tell me everything.”
True.
The lady Emily referred to as ‘mama’ was her stepmother, Mrs. Vane, who had married the prior Lord Redver when Emily was quite young. Mrs. Vane had been present at Almack’s with her new husband, so she had witnessed everything. And she would likely give Emily a full account during her visit on the morrow.
“Besides,” Emily continued, “Nettie is only interested in your welfare, which is not the same thing as wanting to gossip. In fact, as your sister, concern for you is her right.”