Unlacing Lady Thea

Hodge pulled the heavy iron ring that hung by the grill. Faintly they heard a bell, then several pairs of feet on stone steps. The grill was thrown open by two liveried footmen, and an imposing, gaunt figure stood in the opening. ‘Lady Althea, Lord Palgrave. Welcome to Venice.’ He bowed.

‘Edgerton!’ Rhys ignored the man’s bow and shook him vigorously by the hand. ‘Good to see you after so many years. I had no idea you had travelled with Lady Hughson. My letter from Paris to say we were on our way has arrived, judging by your lack of surprise.’

It would take more than the unexpected arrival of a few travellers on his damp threshold to surprise Godmama’s secretary, Thea thought with a smile.

‘Indeed, yes, Lord Palgrave. Allow me to bring you inside.’

They followed him across the courtyard, which Thea supposed served to keep the living rooms well clear of the water in times of flood, up a wide flight of steps and in through imposing wooden doors. It was a palace, she thought, staring around her at the painted, arched ceiling, the high walls, the expanse of inlaid marble floor. Empty, cool, very quiet.

‘The salon,’ Edgerton said, throwing open yet another set of double doors and ushering them into a lofty chamber with pillared walls, gilded carving and high arched windows, swagged with yard upon yard of crimson brocade. ‘I will send for refreshments, but first, I regret, there is a slight problem.’

‘A problem you cannot deal with, Edgerton?’ As Thea sat down on one of the long sofas, Rhys went to the window and gazed out. ‘You surprise me.’

‘You are kind enough to say so, my lord. However, this is not a situation I am able to remedy. Your letter arrived and, as her ladyship’s secretary, I naturally opened it. Unfortunately, she had left the week before.’

‘Left?’ Thea stared at him. Of all the things that could go wrong with her plan, it had never occurred to her for a moment that she would not find Godmama here. ‘Surely not to go back to England, not if you are still here?’

‘Lady Hughson is at present travelling on board the private yacht of Prince Frederico d’Averna.’

‘A prince?’ Thea said, visions of the Prince Regent swirling through her head.

‘Of a very minor principality,’ Edgerton said with a faint smile. ‘A most amiable gentleman, with a most handsome yacht.’

‘It could be an eighty-four-gun ship of the line, for all I care,’ Rhys said, stalking away from the window. ‘When is she due back?’

‘I regret to say that I have no information on that. It could be another month. Or longer. His Royal Highness had the intention of showing her ladyship the island of Sicily, but if the weather remains clement they may well continue around the coast to the Bay of Naples.’

‘On board a yacht with a prince,’ Thea said faintly. ‘That sounds so unlike Godmama.’

‘Indeed, Lady Althea.’ Edgerton’s voice was so dry it would have been used for toast.

‘You do not approve of him?’

‘I believe he is who he says he is—the introductions were beyond reproach. The vessel is lavishly equipped and appears perfectly seaworthy and well crewed. I have been unable to find anything to the prince’s detriment, despite exhaustive enquiries.’

‘On whose behalf?’ Rhys asked.

‘Mine, my lord. I would not countenance Lady Hughson placing herself in such a position with anyone who was not of the utmost respectability.’

‘You intrigue me,’ Rhys remarked. ‘What would you have done if you had found something to his detriment and Lady Hughson did not agree with you?’

‘I would have contrived to have the prince removed from her ladyship’s orbit,’ the secretary said. ‘This is Venice after all.’

Thea decided she did not want to know whether the secretary meant murder, kidnapping or, more probably, a nighttime visit from a group of gentlemen with strong persuasive powers.

‘How very Gothic of you,’ Rhys drawled.

Thea smiled, then realised she was on the verge of bursting out into relieved laughter. No Godmama meant that their idyll was not at an end. She was sorry that Godmama was not there, of course; she loved her and wanted to see her again, but it sounded as though she was having a wonderful adventure of her own.

Then she caught the edge in Rhys’s voice and turned to look at him. Whatever he was feeling was not inspiring him to laughter. ‘This is a pretty coil,’ he said, his mouth a hard line. ‘Now what the devil am I going to do with you?’

Chapter Twenty

Thea stared back at him. ‘Do with me? Why, nothing, my lord!’

Now what the blazes is she annoyed about? Rhys suppressed an exasperated sigh. It was he who was responsible for her, he who would have to sort out this mess.

‘I can remain here until Godmama returns, can I not, Mr Edgerton?’

‘Certainly, Lady Althea. There is a most respectable widow living nearby who has become quite a friend of her ladyship’s. I am sure she would be delighted to move here and chaperon you if I were to explain the situation.’

‘What situation?’ Rhys demanded. One word out of Edgerton that implied that he knew Rhys was anything other than Thea’s courier and he would be retrieving his teeth from his gullet.

‘That her escort has had to leave Lady Althea here without a female companion,’ the secretary rejoined smoothly. ‘There is no need for the contessa to know that Lady Althea has not travelled with an older woman at her side.’

Rhys felt the flare of temper subside. He knew perfectly well what the matter with him was. Since he had left Thea’s bed last night, his conscience, subjected to a thorough dose of reality with the prospect of the end of their journey, was giving him hell.

‘That would seem to be the best solution. Thank you, Edgerton.’ He raked his hand through his hair and tried to think like a responsible friend and not a frustrated lover. ‘I had best remove myself and find some other lodgings. What would you suggest?’

‘Oh, no,’ Thea protested before the secretary could speak. ‘That is unfair. Why not stay here? Your obliging contessa does not need to know when we arrived, does she, Mr Edgerton?’

‘No, indeed, Lady Althea. And it is normal for ladies to go around the city masked, so you may see the sights incognita until Lord Palgrave leaves Venice. And, as you say, her ladyship would wish you both to stay here.’

‘You see, Rhys! You would be so much more comfortable here, and I know Godmama would expect it.’ To Edgerton Thea’s face would reveal nothing more than a concern that her travelling companion was not inconvenienced, but Rhys read a plea and a promise that she put into careful words a moment later. ‘I am sure there is a room for you where you will be...undisturbed.’

That was a promise not to come to his chamber at night. Thea was a woman of her word: their liaison had been for the duration of the journey and she was not expecting him to put any greater strain on his conscience by making love to her in their godmother’s home. After all, last night she had done nothing to keep him at her side, had said nothing when he had left her bed.

The problem was, it was not his uneasy conscience that was giving him most pain, despite it reminding him constantly that he should never have slept with Thea, that having done so, he should never have continued and, having continued, he should do what society would consider the only right thing: marry her. The real problem was that the thought of parting from her was agony, yet it was obvious that, as good as her word, she did not want this liaison to last. And he...he did not know what he wanted.

But he was a man, not a boy to throw a tantrum over the loss of something precious. Thea had just made it clear that she expected their liaison to end but that she still wanted his company. He owed it to her to give her what she wanted.

* * *

Rhys looked reluctant to stay. Perhaps she needed to speak to him alone and assure him she had no intention of making demands on him. Absently Thea rubbed the small of her back, where a dull ache was worsening. It would be good to retire to bed and not be travelling, just at the moment. She supposed she ought to be relieved that her courses had begun that morning, but, somehow, she felt nothing of the kind. Perhaps, deep down, she simply had not been worrying because she trusted Rhys so much.

‘I am rather tired,’ she said. ‘Perhaps you could show me to my room and send my woman to me, Mr Edgerton. I will rest until dinner.’

Rhys came to her side as she followed the secretary out. ‘You look a trifle pale. Are you unwell?’

‘Goodness, no. I suppose it is journey’s end—I will be much better for a few hours with my feet up and nothing rocking, jolting or shying under me!’

‘We need to talk, Thea.’

‘No.’ She stopped and gave them a little space as Mr Edgerton walked on ahead. ‘There is nothing to talk about, not in the way I think you mean, Rhys. Nothing to warrant that serious face, at least.’ She smiled up at him, loving the way he worried about her. ‘And we cannot talk now, in any case. I will see you at dinner.’

* * *

Polly was waiting for her in what proved to be not just a bedchamber, but a suite of rooms. ‘There’s the bedroom and a dressing room and a room for me and a sitting room, my lady,’ she reported. ‘Lovely, it is. But you come and take your gown off, and those stays, and lie down and rest. This is no time of the month to be travelling, that’s for sure.’ She fussed around and then, as she helped Thea into her wrapper, remarked, ‘At least it means there’s nothing to worry about, if you know what I mean.’