“I thank you,” she murmured, as Betty began to usher Olivia towards the staircase. “You are very considerate, Lord Monteforte.”
He smiled at her, although the steel had not yet left his eyes, and—arm in arm—they walked together towards the drawing room.
“Good gracious, man, whatever happened to you?!”
Olivia held back as Lord Watt strode across the floor to slap Lord Monteforte on the shoulder, aware of the look of concern in the man’s eyes. Lady Watt smiled a gentle greeting, although there was a hardness in her gaze that matched that of Lord Monteforte. Clearly, Lady Watt knew precisely what was going on.
“I am quite all right,” Lord Monteforte told him, as Olivia shook her head. “A little crack on the head, I think, but with some rest and some refreshment, I feel a good deal better.”
“You do not look it,” Lord Franks muttered, getting to his feet and shaking Lord Monteforte’s hand. “You still look quite pale.”
“I am not about to fall over, if that is what you fear,” Lord Monteforte told him, with a small chuckle. “Lady Olivia will be able to attest to the fact that I almost did so on a number of occasions when she first found me.”
Olivia flushed as all eyes turned to her. “I am glad that Lord Monteforte is so well recovered now,” she said, a little embarrassed. “But he will still need a good few days of rest if his head is to recover from its injury.”
Lord Watt grimaced, then turned back to Lord Monteforte. “I presume you need us to accompany you to wherever you now intend to go?” he asked, with a slight lift of his eyebrow that told Olivia there was more to his question that he had not quite expressed. “You will need to rest.”
Lord Monteforte surprised Olivia by coming towards her and putting one arm around her shoulders. Heat burned in her cheeks as she looked up at him, seeing how he smiled. Her stomach began to swirl as he cleared his throat, knowing that he was to make some sort of announcement.
“Lady Olivia and I are now betrothed,” he said, eliciting a gasp from Lady Watt and a shocked look from Lord Watt and Lord Franks. “She is aware of everything, Lord Watt. I have kept nothing back from her. Therefore, whatever needs to be done, whatever needs to be said, we will say in front of her.”
There came a few long moments of silence, and Olivia dropped her gaze, feeling more than a little embarrassed. Were they about to condemn Lord Monteforte for his decision to wed her?
“My hearty congratulations!”
Letting out her breath in relief, Olivia managed to smile as Lord Watt came over to them both and slammed one hand down hard onto Lord Monteforte’s shoulder for what was the second time since their meeting. “How wonderful,” he said, grinning broadly at Olivia. “I must hope that this will bring you a little relief in what will be some very difficult days.” His smile faded, his expression now a little serious. “For we must speak to your uncle, and if we discover what we think is the truth, then we shall have to take him from his estate and remand him elsewhere.”
A small shudder ran through Olivia’s frame but she held herself as tall as she could. “I quite understand,” she said, even though she felt as though someone had punched her hard in the stomach. “It is what must be done.” She threw a glance towards Lord Monteforte. “And after what he did to Lord Monteforte, I must believe that I do not know my uncle very well at all.”
Lord Monteforte squeezed her shoulder gently, took her hand, and then led her towards a chair, where he waited beside her until she sat down before taking the vacant seat next to her. “Lord Dayton is absent this evening, having gone to play a game of cards or some such thing,” he told the group. “I must surmise that he is finalizing his plans with Lord Cammish and whoever else he might have involved. Lord Cammish and Lord Dayton intend to remove the Prince from his role as Regent by taking his life from him.”
“You mean to say that you believe there are other gentlemen aside from both himself and Lord Cammish who are just as willing to remove the Prince from his position as regent?” Lord Franks asked, frowning hard. “I thought you believed it was only the two of them.”
Lord Monteforte nodded. “I think that Lord Cammish and Lord Dayton can use other gentlemen to fulfil their intentions without said gentlemen being fully aware of what they are being used for,” he explained. “Lord Dayton might ask a gentleman to ensure that he informs Lord Dayton if the Prince is without a drink in his hand, with Lord Dayton mayhap pretending that he believes his staff might be insufficient for such a task.”
“I see,” Lord Watt murmured, looking at Lord Monteforte thoughtfully. “And what is it that these gentlemen intend for the Prince?”
Olivia’s heart began to thump furiously, a cold sweat beginning to bead on her forehead as she heard Lord Monteforte speak of what her own uncle planned to do. It was so monstrous, so utterly terrible, that she could barely believe
he was involved.
“They intend to put something into the Prince’s drink,” Lord Monteforte said. “I do not know what it will be precisely, but I must presume it will be added when the Prince does not notice that what he is drinking does not taste the same as usual.”
Lady Watt wrinkled her nose. “You mean, when the Prince is in his cups, as he so often is these days, they will give him something that will steal his life away?”
Lord Monteforte said nothing but only nodded. A silence wrapped around the room as they each looked at one another, as though seeking to find an answer to what was a very difficult situation.
“Then what must we do?” Olivia asked, a little breathlessly as everyone turned their head to look at her. “There must be something that we can do to prevent this from occurring. The Prince – whilst he may be something of a wastrel – cannot be murdered in such an odious fashion!”
Lord Monteforte bit his lip then shook his head. “Do you know the Prince’s next social engagement?” he asked quietly, looking to Lord Franks. “When will he next be here in town?”
Lord Franks cleared his throat and spread his hands. “He is here this evening,” he said quietly. “I have gentlemen from the League present with him, of course, and they will be keeping a watchful eye on anyone who tries to draw near to the Prince.”
“Where is he?” Olivia asked, her chest tightening just a little. “Where is he visiting this evening?”
Lord Franks cleared his throat. “The Prince can be found at the home of the Earl of Waterston this evening,” he said, as a bolt of lightning crashed through Olivia’s mind. “But as I have said, I have gentlemen present.”
“But they will not know to be careful of what the Prince drinks,” Lord Monteforte cried, getting to his feet in such a state of urgency that the rest of the group could only follow his lead. “Lord Waterston’s home is exactly where Lord Dayton has gone this evening. Come now, we must go there at once!”