Viscount of Vice (Lords of Scandal 4)

“Did I hear you say you were both coming with me to my new home?”

“Just for a bit,” Ada answered.

Diana gave a nod. “Good. We’ll have plenty of time to discuss why you’re not acting like yourself. I never thought I’d see you chase down a man like that.”

Ada wrinkled her nose. “I didn’t chase him down. And we’re not talking about me. Today is about you. Remember?”

Diana stopped giving her a sidelong glance. “If anyone else had just said that, I would think they were deflecting. You’re one of the few people who might actually mean those words.”

“I do,” she sniffed. “Now. Tell us. How does it feel to be Lady Exmouth?”

Diana gave her a glowing smile as Emily looked down at her piece of bread.

Ada spent the day tending her cousins, Emily and Diana, as they helped Diana unpack her belongings in Exile’s townhouse. The couple had decided not to have a honeymoon but they would take a few days to themselves in place of a trip to meet family. Once everything had been settled with Lady Abernath, they’d travel to Scotland to meet all of Exmouth’s relatives.

Climbing in the carriage to return home, Ada watched the London streets slip by, lanterns being lit as the sun began to set. Emily was equally quiet next to her, clearly lost in her own thoughts.

The sky was aglow with an orange-red hue that left her breathless. And it made her think of Vice.

She smiled as the final rays of light slipped from the sky. The carriage slowed, reaching a busy intersection and Ada scanned the crowd of people on horseback, in carriages, and on foot. The city was always busy but this time of year a flood of people returned from the countryside for the upcoming season.

Pale blonde hair caught her notice. It was distinctive in its shade and she recognized the color immediately as belonging to Lady Abernath.

Pulling the curtain tighter to conceal her face, she took note of the neighborhood first. She was near Hyde Park on Cromwell Road.

Her eyes narrowed. “I can’t believe it.”

“What?” Emily said, sitting up a bit. “Is something wrong?”

“It’s Lady Abernath.” She pointed out the window, holding the curtain tight.

Emily partially stood, shifting to the other bench. “She looks awful,” Emily hissed, pressing her face to the glass.

“What do you mean?” Ada studied the woman slowly making her way through the crowd. To her eye the woman looked exactly the same. Tall, statuesque, almost cold in her perfect beauty. The man with whom she walked, however, gave Ada the chills. He was well over six feet, standing out in the crowd, with hard eyes and dark slicked back hair. His mouth was thin and set in a frown while several scars crisscrossed his face.

“Look at her cloak. She bought it ready-made, I’m certain,” Emily murmured. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that, it’s just that her wardrobe is usually impeccable.”

“She lost most of her clothes in the fire, I’m sure.” Ada answered, her eyes still studying the man as she hunched lower in her seat.

Lady Abernath had stolen Cordelia. When Malice had rescued her, a fire had broken out in Lady Abernath’s home. Malice himself had rescued Abernath’s son and Malice and Cordelia had adopted the boy, taking Harry with them to visit with family. “Do you find it odd that Lady Abernath hasn’t even attempted to get her child back?”

“She didn’t tell anyone she even had a child. Everything about the situation is odd,” Emily answered. “But she has even more reason to hate us now that we have her son.” The child had been so clearly mistreated and left in a burning house, they hadn’t had much choice.

“But why not go to the Bow Street Runners? She could accuse Malice of kidnapping.”

Emily tapped her chin. “That does seem like an obvious method of revenge.”

“Perhaps it doesn’t affect Daring directly enough?” Abernath and Daring had been engaged. He was the man the countess most wanted to punish.

“Or perhaps she doesn’t want the child.” Emily suddenly dropped the curtain. “I think she saw me.”

Ada dropped hers too. “We’d better get out of here.”

“The crowd is too thick.” Emily clasped her hands. “We should have brought one of the men with us.”

“Why didn’t we?” Ada leaned forward, wishing Vice was here now.

Emily shook her head. “It was just a carriage ride. We shouldn’t even have been seen.”