Chapter Ten

S adie did not see Lord Heath the next day. She did, however, receive an apology because he would not attend that night's ball. Sadie was disappointed, but not surprised. Especially when he added that today's vote was absorbing all of Prinny's attention and that the logistics for Prinny's visit to the park tomorrow were proving challenging.

It was a reminder that Lord Heath owed his time to the acting monarch. Fortunately, that gave her time to settle into her new feelings for him. Was this a fleeting fancy borne of last night's liaison? Or was it true love?

A day spent obsessing over those questions did not reassure her. She was not a woman to go mad about a man, and yet, here she was, moping because they'd spent one day apart. What a pathetic soul she was, and so she decided to attend the night's ball with a pleased countenance and a joyful heart.

It did not last. Even before the dancing began, she was approached by Lord Liddican's mother-in-law. The lady appeared wan with shaking hands.

"Mrs. Hudson, is everything all right?"

"You told me it was done. You told me he wouldn't come back."

"No ma'am," she said gently. "I told you I'd done all I could."

"But he came back!" the lady cried. "After the vote, he came straight to my home."

Oh no! Sadie grabbed the lady's hand and walked her out to the back garden. There were people here, but if they kept their voices down, they had some privacy.

"Is your daughter all right?"

Mrs. Hudson began twisting a handkerchief. "I think so. He said they were his property. My daughter! Property!"

Legally, that was true. Morally, that was ridiculous.

"Where are they now?"

"Safe. I sent them away, but I haven't the funds to hide them forever. And what kind of life is that?"

The only one possible. "I don't know what else to do."

"You killed Mr. Carr."

Sadie stiffened. "I did no such thing."

"It is not just for me," she pressed, suddenly gripping Sadie's arm. "He has been saying awful things about you, as well."

She'd guessed as much but hadn't cared. Except now she considered how her moniker would impact Lord Heath. He worked for Prinny. He had children. What would her reputation mean for him?

"What did he say?" she asked.

"Vile things. To anyone who will listen."

She winced, but it was no more than she expected. "That has been true for nearly two seasons from one man or another. He is no different."

"He is different because he is violent. If his slander doesn't work, he will find a way to hurt you."

Sadie squeezed Mrs. Hudson's hand. "Let me worry about that. You take care of your daughter and granddaughter."

The woman shook her head. "I cannot keep them hidden forever."

She had no answer to that. And the only one she wanted to discuss it with was unavailable. Imagine, wishing to discuss matters pertaining to Lady Vengeance with a man. And not just a man, but the one who had humiliated her about her first difficulty, the one who routinely cautioned her and pointed out the problems with her plans.

Good God, she really was in love. And now she urgently needed to speak with Lord Heath.

She made it through the rest of the ball with minimal patience. No one else interested her, and so she pleaded a headache and the countess was happy to oblige. But once they were in the carriage headed home, the lady fixed her with a hard stare.

"I expect you have heard Lord Liddican's slander."

"Only in the most general terms. I am a scheming Scottish whore responsible for the downfall of all of England."

The countess nodded. "That is the gist of it. What do you propose to do about it?"

She wanted to go beat the man to a pulp, but Lord Heath's admonishments rang in her ears. Liddican would only hit back harder later. Or hit someone else, be it his wife, his child, or an unlucky maid.

"The vote is over. He was supposed to go to the country to think on his sins."

"As if a man like that ever would" The countess pursed her lips. "Very well. I give you leave to contact Lord Heath. Since he didn't present himself to me this morning, I assume you didn't seduce him. Perhaps a second night—"

"Countess!" Sadie exclaimed. "I will not seduce a man into marriage."

"Then your prospects are rather dim, I'm afraid. Lord Liddican's lies have done their work. Did you have many dance partners this night?"

The lady knew she had not.

"This season is not going well for you. Not well at all."

What could she say to that? It was true. Last season she had no suitors, a damaged reputation, and no cares. This season she had no suitors, a destroyed reputation, and she did care. That was a failure, even by her lax standards.

She did, however, have one very big positive. She understood herself better now. She had come to terms with her mother's ghost and that made her more settled, less rash, and much less prone to beating up gentlemen who richly deserved it.

"There will be no midnight rendezvous with Lord Heath," she declared firmly. "I will speak to him tomorrow at the park."

"In front of Prinny and the whole ton? "

Sadie frowned. "The ton will be at Hyde Park, not at the picnic tree. This is an impromptu meeting with the royal."

The countess rolled her eyes. "There is no point in accidentally meeting Prinny if no one sees it."

"But—"

"Hush. You have given me a headache. If you do not wish to plan things ahead with Lord Heath, then I cannot help you."

"By which, you mean you have told everyone that Prinny will be—"

"At the Scottish Tree Park, as everyone is now calling it."

"Goodness," Sadie breathed in shock. "I really have become notorious."

"You have," the countess confirmed. "Now you must get royal approval or you are completely sunk."

She didn't care, she reminded herself. She didn't care if her reputation was ruined, if she were sent back to Scotland in disgrace. She would receive the rest of her dowry as her own coin and be free to live her life as Connall's chatelaine.

But now, she did care because she didn't want to be her laird's chatelaine. She wanted to be Lord Heath's wife.

"Damn," she breathed into the darkness.

She repeated it again thirty minutes later alone in her room. Because—apparently—she wasn't quite alone. Lord Heath had climbed the ivy and was knocking on her window while sporting a huge grin.