Chapter Eighteen
The following morning, Milli’s head was pounding like a thundercloud. She had breakfast in her room, which consisted of three cups of black coffee and an egg with half a piece of bread. She picked up the handkerchief Marcus had wet last night. With a frown, she put it on her head, feeling nauseous. She shouldn’t have eaten a thing.
A sickening heat filled every pore of her body when she thought about the way she had acted last night. Marcus must think her a flirt of the worst kind. She had been impulsive, but Marcus hadn’t helped matters. In fact, he was part of the problem!
She was so ashamed of her behavior, that for the rest of the day, she had avoided everyone in the house until Lord Hughmont had come for her at two o’clock to walk to the bookstore. She slipped outside, with him on her arm, wincing as the sun hit her eyes.
“I think I had too much champagne.”
Hughmont frowned. “I told you. But you refused to listen. I vow, when you are set on something, Miss Millicent, you are like a dog with his favorite bone.”
She tried to laugh, but her head hurt. She put a hand to her eyes and grimaced. “I should have listened to you. I’m sorry if I asked you to refill my glass. That was not well done of me.”
He smiled. “I cannot deny you anything.” There was an awkward paused before he cleared his throat. “Well, perhaps you will feel better once we enter the shop.”
Milli’s head thumped with pain. “Do you think the waters help with megrims?”
He halted and gazed down at her. “If it would please you, we could go there first.”
Milli swallowed past the bile climbing in her throat. If she never had another sip of champagne, it was fine with her. “If you don’t mind hiring a chair. I don’t think I could walk that far.”
Hughmont hired a conveyance, and they were in the Pump Room within ten minutes. A small set of strings played a light concerto, but the music banged against her ears like clanging cymbals. People chuckled, twittered, and cackled, adding to the mayhem.
Milli wanted to crawl into a hole and hide. Instead, she sat in a chair, sipping from her glass, hoping the room would stop spinning. Her companion was talking to his father who happened to show up at the same time they arrived. Lord Hughmont excused himself and moved to the opposite end of the room as he discussed something with the older man.
The bookshop would have been quieter, she thought with a frown. She was never going to take another glass of champagne as long as she lived.
“Good afternoon, Miss Millicent.”
Milli looked up to see Lady Horatio and Lady Philomena standing beside Miss Canton. Milli rose on wobbly legs and held to her chair. The older ladies made the introductions.
Milli eased out a small smile and conversed a bit, wishing she had never left the house. After a minute or two, Lady Horatio and Lady Philomena moved on, leaving Milli alone with Miss Canton.
Milli’s knees almost gave out. “I am not feeling quite the thing today. I was feeling a bit ill last evening too and missed meeting you at the ball.”
Miss Canton’s eyes sparkled with sympathy. The lady was so beautiful, she took Milli’s breath away. She smelled of an expensive French perfume, light and sophisticated.
“Take a seat, my dear.”
“Thank you.” Grateful, Milli sighed and folded into the chair as if it were heaven. She peered up at the beautiful woman. “I had too much champagne last night, and those ladies were the last thing I needed.”
Miss Canton laughed as she took a seat beside her. “I understand. Sometimes, they can be a bit too informative on subjects we would rather forget. As to the champagne, I’ve done the same thing. But if I were in your place, I cannot blame you.”
Milli’s brows rose.
Miss Canton looked about the room. “With your money, you could have any gentlemen you want. The choices are endless.”
Milli’s gray eyes sparkled at the blunt comment. “I believe the gentleman will have a say in that. And endless is not quite the way I would put it.”
She felt Miss Canton’s honesty quite refreshing, even if the lady was wrong. She could not have any gentleman she wanted. Not Marcus.
“I believe Lord Knightengale and Lord Hughmont looked quite put out last evening.”
Milli squinted against the sunlight. “I vow, I will never take another glass of champagne. Ever.”
“Oh, you may change your mind some day.” Miss Canton waved to her father across the room. “Papa is partial to Lord Marcus. But he likes all the Clearbrooks. You must miss your father. I know I would.”
Milli closed her eyes, trying to block out the pain from the champagne and from the lady’s question. “I miss him everyday.”
Miss Canton tapped Milli’s hand in a comforting manner. “Papa says the investigation is still ongoing. Well, you probably know that already. But I do not want you to give up hope.”
Milli’s lids jerked open. Investigation?
“They do try to keep the women out of it, do they not?” Miss Canton went on.
Milli clamped her lips shut, her mind going a hundred directions. She took in a deep breath, and finally spoke. “I am not told much at all.”
“Ah.” The lady leaned forward, whispering. “Woman to woman, I admit, I read the papers on Papa’s desk the other day. It said something about the murderer being found, but it will take some time. It must be terribly hard for you.”
Milli’s eyes became as round as the glass she had put aside. What was this lady saying? “Murderer?” she stammered.
The lady didn’t seem to catch on to Milli’s bewilderment. “Quite disturbing, I daresay. But you are handing it quite well.”
Milli wanted to scream. Was the lady saying what she thought she was saying? “Yes, well, it is all rather disturbing.”
“Quite so. The man was your father. Your very own papa. I vow I have no idea how I would go on if someone murdered my dear papa.”
Milli almost fell off the seat. She felt sick. Her hands shook. Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. She grabbed her water glass for something to do. She squeezed it so hard, she thought it might break.
Luckily, the lady kept talking. “Of course, no one knows I have any knowledge about this at all. But lady to lady, I am certain you do not mind, do you dear? An ear to the wall, they say . . .”
Milli shook her head, her throat thickening with dread.
“But goodness,” the lady continued in a low voice, “to die by poison is a terrible thing. However, I am certain they will find the murderer. My papa is very good. And Lord Marcus is on the trail, as well as his brothers. Oh, and you know Lord Stonebridge has quite the background in detective work. They were all secret agents in the war against Napoleon. Oh, dear, I don’t know why I am telling you what you already know.”
Milli swallowed hard. Her world was spiraling out of control.
Miss Canton bit her bottom lip, shaking her head. “But it sounds so intriguing in a way. One of your suitors is most likely the villain. Money was the reason your father was killed. I daresay the move to Bath was an ingenious plan. Keep the villain in a more targeted area. He wants your fortune, of course.”
Move to Bath...Villain...Marcus...fortune...
The room kept spinning, making her dizzy.
Miss Canton sighed. “No doubt, that is why you are pretending to be in love with Marcus. And he with you. I admit I am a bit jealous when he pays his attentions to you. But he has no idea I know about the investigation or his part in it.” She let out a giggle, taking Milli’s hand in hers. “We ladies must stick together, must we not?”
With her other hand, Milli put her glass to the side, trying to curb her racing heart. Goodness gracious, was the lady telling the truth?
“You are so brave to seek out your father’s murderer. To be the bait takes unbelievable courage. I envy you.”
“Oh, Millicent!”
Milli looked up to see Lady Bringston, Marcus’s mother, strolling toward her. The lady was in her fifties, with black hair streaked with gray. When she moved, she seemed to float like a goddess from one part of the room to another. She was draped in a gown of sky blue, holding her cat, Egypt, in her arms. She peered through her spectacles, not the least be deterred about wearing them as her sister Lizzie was. Lady Bringston was still pretty and her new husband adored her, as did Milli.
“My dear, how wonderful to see you. I left Bath with my dear husband just before you came, and now, I have returned to help with all the festivities.”
Milli hugged the lady and then burst into tears.
Lady Bringston let a purring Egypt slide to the chair as she peered at Miss Canton and raised her delicate brows in accusation.
Miss Canton bit her lip. “Family matters, you know,” the lady replied. “I believe being a Bath bride is all too much for her. London might have proven a better hunting ground.”
Lady Bringston’s eyes widened. “Indeed. I will take her home straight away.”
Milli looked up, wiping her tears. “I c-came with Lord Hughmont.”
Lady Bringston’s expression was furious as she glared at Miss Canton and spoke to Milli. “We will find him and tell him you are coming home with me.”
“Mother!” Marcus walked into the hall just as Lady Bringston and Milli arrived at the Bath home.
Marcus halted at the stern expression on his mother’s face. “What?”
Without a word, Lady Bringston deposited Egypt onto the floor and straightened.
Marcus was ready to give the lady a hug when she slapped him on the shoulder. “How dare you treat this innocent baby with such callous disregard.”
Marcus regarded Milli’s red eyes and winced. She couldn’t even look at him. His mother, on the other hand, was shooting daggers his way.
Marcus grimaced. “If you are speaking about those kisses—”
“Kisses?” the lady squeaked, her eyes widening in alarm. “Why in the blue blazes . . . what kisses?” His mother’s eyes darkened.
He swallowed, casting a wary glance toward Milli. She was no help at all. The female had dropped her gaze, and her fists were clenched. What the devil had she told his mother?
“Now, Mama. I assume Bringston is here as well?”
“My dear husband is still at his estate,” she said in a regal tone. “But I am your mother, and as your mother, I demand to know what the devil is going on!”
Egypt screeched and scurried down the hall, out of sight.
Marcus’s eyebrows went up a notch. His mother had never talked so sharp to him. Lord Bringston’s doing, he presumed. The man let the lady do whatever she wanted, including using words a lady should never use.
His mother kept glaring at him.
He felt as if he were on the witness stand for murder. His temper flared. “Hell’s teeth! I have no idea what you are talking about?”
“Don’t you swear at me, young man.” Another swat.
“Ouch.”
Milli peeked up past her long wet lashes. Her red rimmed eyes seemed to gleam with laughter.
Marcus softened his voice as he addressed his question to her. “Do you have any idea what my mother is talking about?”
Milli’s berry lips became a thin line of contempt.
Marcus blinked. Was she still angry from yesterday? Milli wasn’t one to cry and tell tales to her mother over something like a few kisses.
“Milli?” He took her trembling hands in his.
She jerked away, her dark, angry gaze locking with his. “Your wonderful mother is talking about Miss Canton’s conversation with me.”
“Go on,” he said gently.
“The lady informed me,” she said, her words as icy as a winter storm, “about certain information from the Home Office and White Hall.”
Marcus held back a curse. He was getting a bad feeling about this. Had Milli discovered information about some of his covert missions. “What exactly did you learn?”
“What the devil is all this commotion?” Roderick came down the stairs, his face hard as stone.
Marcus scowled. Bath was becoming a hellhole of problems.
The duke and duchess were not getting along, and Roderick was constantly in a bad mood. And now this!
Roderick froze when he saw his mother. “I thought you were coming next week.”
Lady Bringston glared back at her oldest. “I do not care a whit if you are the duke or not, you big baboon. You had best treat Jane with a little more tenderness than what I have heard. She has lost a baby and you have been heartless.”
Roderick shifted a dangerous gaze toward Milli.
Milli glared back. “I didn’t say a thing.”
With a scowl as dark as midnight, Lady Bringston waved her two eldest toward the nearby study. Marcus looked at Roderick and shrugged.
Milli followed, but Lady Bringston patted her hands. “My dear, I want you to go to your bedchambers and take a nap. When you wake up, you can change for dinner, and we will have this entire mess straightened out by then.”
After Milli left, Lady Bringston closed the doors to the study and glared at her two sons.
Marcus felt about five-years-old again.
Roderick folded his arms over his chest, acting like his pompous self. “What is all this about? But I warn you, Mother, anything that has to do with my wife is strictly off limits.”
That,” Lady Bringston said, her blue eyes flashing, “is not the topic I wish to discuss at the moment.”
Marcus swallowed and exchanged a quick glance toward his brother. He wondered if his mother had discovered some of the things Roderick and he had done long ago.
Well, then, Roderick was in more trouble than he. He bit back a smile at Roderick’s unease.
“And you,” she said to Marcus, “I cannot believe you would lead that little girl on, making love to her in the gardens.”
“What?” Marcus asked, flabbergasted.
“After hearing about those kisses, I can only guess that you moved her to that wandering maze. It isn’t called Lover’s Walk for nothing.” She lifted her brows in anger. “I daresay, I wonder how the girl even stays in this house.”
Roderick glared at Marcus. “Kisses,” he roared. “You were not to go that far! And what the blazes is Lover’s Walk?”
“It is that maze in your backyard,” Lady Bringston snapped. “And no innocent girl should be walking there with some man!” She shot Marcus an accusing glare. “All of Bath knows about it. The last man who rented this place was forced to marry after what happened in that maze!”
Marcus bit his cheek, trying not to explode. “Now, Mama, tell us what is really bothering you.”
“What is really bothering me?” she huffed. “Good grief. I just heard from Milli who heard from Miss Canton, who read it from the general’s papers, that someone murdered William Shelby! In cold blood! Poison, to be exact!”
Marcus jerked. “Hell’s teeth.”
Roderick swore.
Marcus swung his gaze toward the duke. “Now, what? This is quite a pickle.”
“Pickle?” Lady Bringston screeched. “Some nefarious person poisoned our dear William, and you call it a pickle?” Her high voice started increasing in volume as she pointed toward the window. “Some murderer is out there, and you are using my little Milli to lure the villain. I will not have it! Do I make myself clear?”
“Is that what she thinks?” Marcus replied, biting back an oath.
Lady Bringston paced the floor, muttering to herself, asking herself what she had done to deserve such addlepated nitwits for sons.
Marcus leaned against the wing chair and frowned. “What the devil do we do now?”
Roderick sat against the edge of his desk, looking thoughtful. “Miss Canton may have a big mouth, but I am guessing she thought Milli knew of the murder before she started talking.”
Marcus twisted his lips as he watched his mother continue to pace. “The point is, has the lady been talking to anyone else?”
Roderick glowered at him. “Thunderation, you will have to find out, won’t you?”
Lady Bringston spun on her kid slippers, her gown swooshing about her feet. “I suppose all the men in this family know what is going on, and the women have no clue, am I correct?”
Marcus scowled, knowing where this was going. “We wanted to shelter them. We believe the villain killed Shelby for his fortune, and he is now after Milli and her money.”
The lady’s eyes tapered to little pinpoints of anger. “Oh, that explains everything,” she said sarcastically. “Milli was the bait? Like some wiggly worm on a hook that was thrown to the sharks?”
Marcus stiffened. “Milli is the object of the villain’s eye. If we didn’t do something, he would eventually move without us watching. Would you want that?”
Lady Bringston frowned. “No. But I will not have her hurt.”
“We would never hurt her.”
“No?” she said, glaring at him. “If you kissed that little innocent, you hurt her. She is not used to your ways, Marcus. If you thought that paying attention to her would attract other gentlemen, you are entirely correct. But she is not used to Society’s norms.”
She lifted an accusing brow. “Or men in general. She has a delicate disposition, no matter how dramatic she takes things. That tiny female may seem strong, but she has no mama or papa to watch over her. Elizabeth and Stephen are her family, and so are we.”
Roderick turned a hard gaze in Marcus’s direction. “Jupiter and Zeus! I cannot believe you kissed her. She is family to me. Like a baby sister.”
Marcus clenched his hands. “She is no sister to me, by Jove. I would never have kissed Emily like that!”
Lady Bringston and Roderick stared at him.
A frosty hush descended over the room.
“What the devil are you looking at?” Marcus stammered.
Lady Bringston shot him a thoughtful look, then with a huff, strode angrily toward the door. “I want this murderer found within the week. And that’s all I have to say about it.”
With those last words, the lady swept from the room, leaving Marcus and Roderick to stare at each other in dumbfounded silence.