“Should I call your mother?”
“Please don’t. She’ll nag. She doesn’t like me to drink.” He said turning to her.
“Well doing too much of anything is not a good thing,” she said.
“I know,” he looked gloomily at the empty bottom of the glass. “I know.”
“Why don’t you close your eyes? Rest awhile.”
“Stay with me.”
“I can’t. I must return to the party. Your mother has been kind enough to throw the party for me,” she explained.
“But Caro—“ he pulled too hard on her arm causing her to fall against him on the sofa.
Just as she was pressing on the sofa to right herself the door opened.
“What goes on here?” Was asked by the man who was a stranger to her.
Two gentlemen entered the room. One looked vaguely amused at having interrupted the lovers’ tryst, while the other looked like he had pure murder on his mind.
Caroline blushed deeply. “Charles has had too much to drink—“ she began to explain.
“No need to explain,” said the stranger. “My brother and I are intruding.”
Caroline swallowed. “Brother?”
Val looked coldly at Caroline and then spoke. “This is my brother Rowland. Rowland Pierce, allow me to introduce Caroline Derry.”
“Caroline Derry. What a beauty you are,” he grinned.
Before Caroline could say anything, Victoria Lyttleton entered the room and saw her son sprawled on the sofa.
“Charles! What are you doing?” She said exasperated.
“Leave me alone Mother. Caroline was just about to accept my marriage proposal before you interrupted,” he said slurring his words.
Caroline began to shake her head but Victoria waved her away. “I’ll have the footman come to take you to bed.”
“Caroline mu
st stay with me,” he whined.
“Charles control yourself!” She said sternly. “I’ll go get the footman,” she told them and disappeared.
Caroline could feel Val’s eyes on her as the footman was dispatched and Charles was taken upstairs to his room. Rowland had since returned to the party which left them alone in the library.
“Well.” He said coldly. “Miss Derry. It seems while I was thinking you were joking about Charles; you were entirely serious.”
“Then you’re a fool.”
“Am I?”
“He was drunk. Obviously. I was actually trying to get him to tell me about Irene. If he knew Irene. If he was the mysterious lover.” She told him hotly.
“How hard did you try, Caroline?” He asked his eyes on her.
“What do you mean?”