Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

TWENTY MINUTES EARLIER

C hauncy had just observed Sir Edward leave the ballroom in the wake of the servant who was to supply him with sketching supplies. As he turned to locate Anna, he was surprised to see Sir Edward beckon to her.

And now Anna was accompanying her …lover?

He tensed. Sir Edward was not her husband, so why was he involving a woman who could be anyone?

"Chauncy, stay by the entrance in case the suspects try to leave before the artist has returned." It was Sir Simeon, stepping into his path, as Chauncy headed towards the door. "I am off to take up position on the battlements ahead of the Prince Regent's expected arrival. We must not be complacent for the perpetrators of the last assassination attempt could be hiding in the shadows and may not be these suspects at all.

Chauncy hesitated. Was Sir Edward trustworthy? Would he be sufficiently discreet?

Doubt beset him as he recalled the man's patent fear when Chauncy had hinted at the reasons behind his commission.

If Sir Edward was a coward and loose-lipped, involving his mistress, then he only endangered their cause.

"I will be gone but a moment, Sir Simeon," he said. "It's a matter of urgency. Perhaps you could delay your departure until I return."

Chauncy clapped a hand on Sir Simeon's shoulder, noting the man's sour look, before he wove his way through the knots of guests crowding the ballroom towards the door through which the pair had left. Perhaps the caveat had not been made clear enough: discretion at all costs.

Somehow he would have to make this clear to Sir Edward without involving his companion. Anna.

Near the door, he was halted by the syrupy tones of his former mistress. "Your Grace?"

Chauncy glanced into Catherine's warm eyes, halting reluctantly. She smiled at him, then whispered, "I fear you will be lonely tonight."

Chauncy shook his head. "We've had this conversation, Catherine." She looked regal and beautiful in a gown of gold netting over an underdress of ivory, and a headdress of heron feathers. But her allure was nothing compared with Anna's for all he'd heard Catherine and her sister remark upon the fact Anna's ensemble was not up to the fashion of the day. That it had been fashionable, in fact, three years before. Was that why Anna wished to switch allegiance from Sir Edward to Chauncy? Because he could afford to be generous?

He knew he shouldn't be distracted by thoughts of Anna when there was other matters so much more important to worry about this evening.

Nevertheless, he couldn't help dwelling on the memory of their lovemaking. Surely she could not have pretended the feeling she had evinced for Chauncy? He had rarely felt so fulfilled and powerful. He did not want to think it was merely an act on her part.

Just as he could not let Catherine labor under any misapprehension. So he said, firmly, as he turned away, "Our liaison, while delightful at the time, is over, Catherine. I do not want you back in my bed. I'm sorry."

Only the tightening of her mouth indicated her anger.

He wished he had the time to spare that might ameliorate her sense of grievance, for, during the eight months she'd been his mistress, Chauncy had learned the nuances of her temper. Catherine did not like being thwarted and could cause trouble. It was one of the reasons he'd tired of her.

She nodded. "Very well, Chauncy. Then I wish you the very best."

Chauncy was surprised by her apparent gracious acceptance. He watched as she disappeared into the crowd and was about to continue when one of the powdered footmen attending to the guests stopped before him.

"Your Grace, Lord Kenilworth has asked me to pass on a message that he wishes to speak to you," he said, pointing through the doorway. "He is on the balcony at the end of the corridor if you turn left. Apparently, it's a matter of some urgency."

Chauncy stepped into the corridor, hesitating by the half open library door before staring into the darkness beyond. Lord Kenilworth was a friend of Sir Simeon and if it was a matter of some urgency, he presumed this should be his priority.

He would have to trust that Sir Edward would do what was asked of him with no one the wiser.

But Chauncy was troubled. He'd not known Kenilworth was associated with tonight's mission to safeguard the Prince who was due any moment. Was Sir Simeon being indiscreet by involving too many people whose loyalty might be questionable? Just like Sir Edward?

After traversing the darkened corridor, a pair of candle sconces in the far distance gave him enough light to see towards the end.

Beyond that, all was inky darkness, making the indistinct figure in the shadows in the distance impossible to identify.

"Lord Kenilworth?" he called softly when he reached the junction of two stone passages, his ears attuned to movement ahead of him. Here the corridor was brightly lit, but the figure he now saw standing on the balcony on the other side of an open doorway was impossible to identify.

Silhouetted against the night sky, Chauncy could not make him out, though he thought the man more portly than Lord Kenilworth.

"Lord Chauncy?" The voice was hoarse. "Is that you?" The figure put his hand to eyes. "Raise your candlestick so I can identify you."

Chauncy did as he was bid. There was the faintest trace of an accent he could not place. Had Sir Simeon discovered something of which he needed to apprise Chauncy and he'd petitioned Lord Kenilworth, or some other man, to summon Chauncy? "Lord Kenilworth, I received the message that you wished to?—"

Still squinting, Chauncy watched the man in the distance appear to consult a piece of paper or parchment, before he raised his right arm, which he then appeared to point towards Chauncy.

And in that final horrifying moment, Chauncy realized what it was.

Just before he heard the explosion of a pistol.