Chapter 25

Looking For A Remedy

“There is word on the street that you might have published the article,” Robert said.

Edwin looked up from his veal and frowned. Of all the things he thought he would hear that night, those were the words he had expected the least.

“Me?” he asked. “Why the devil would I publish the article?”

Robert shoveled a forkful of chicken into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed it before replying. “I know you did not publish it, but a rumor has been going around.”

“Agnes,” Edwin hissed.

“Most likely,” Robert said.

Edwin was back in the private club in which he had dined with Beatrice. This time, he was having supper with Robert. He had enlisted his friend to help put an end to the madness, so he and Beatrice could live their lives.

There was a quiet bustle in the large room. Servers moved elegantly to and fro with serving platters or small carts, making barely a sound. The patrons conversed in hushed voices. Cutlery clinked against plates as the food was consumed. Every so often, a booming laugh or demure giggle would ring out. In the far corner, a permanent cloud of cigar smoke hung over five portly noblemen.

“Has any evidence of her misdeeds been discovered yet?” Edwin asked.

“None so far,” Robert replied.

Edwin picked up his glass and looked at the plum-colored wine in the light before taking a sip. “So, she has started a rumor that I published the scandal to divert the attention from her?”

“I believe so,” Robert replied. He stuffed another piece of chicken into his mouth and chewed on it. “I do not believe I have ever known a woman so outwardly pleasant to those who do not know her and so devilishly scheming at the same time. I don’t know how she does it, but she is the most cunning woman I know. We do not have one drop of evidence to prove that she is behind this.”

“There is evidence, we just have not found it yet. Agnes might not reveal anything, but she has not done this alone. I don’t believe there are any co-conspirators, but she must have paid people off or threatened them to stay quiet.”

“And all of this for you.” Robert shook his head. “I have known you for years, old chap, but I have never thought you worth fighting for with such venom.”

Edwin gave his friend a sardonic smile. “You jest with me, but I am becoming worried about this. Agnes has a right to be annoyed but no right to take such action. I understand why she would be annoyed. I was promised to her, and we would have wed if not for Beatrice. Yet, our intended marriage was nothing more than a mutually beneficial arrangement.”

“And your marriage with Beatrice?” Robert asked.

Edwin considered his friend’s question for a moment, before deciding to ignore it. “Agnes will find another man to take my place, so she should not have to worry about her future. I would have given her no more than she will get from anyone else. Yet, she has taken the matter to heart, and she means to destroy Beatrice, or me, or the both of us. It was an unfortunate sequence of events, but it should not come with such severity.”

“An unfortunate sequence of events that I was nearly caught up in. And to think that if I had gone to the room, your life would be far simpler right now, and likely mine too. I might have been forced to marry Beatrice, and we would both be in loveless marriages but have far less trouble.”

“What is the word on the street?” Edwin asked. “Agnes obviously wants to stir up trouble by suggesting that I was the one who published the scandal, but what do people make of the rumor?”

“The ton is doing what the ton does best,” Robert scoffed. “Everyone wants to believe it, but I am not sure how many do. It is a great conversation starter at most events, but it will fizzle out eventually.”

Edwin sniffed his wine this time but did not drink it. It smelled mainly of vanilla and blackberries. “Until she starts the next rumor.”

“Many of those who believe the rumor do so because of your reputation. You are known as a cruel and heartless man in many circles because of your previous business dealings, and that works to Agnes’s benefit. Some even say that you forced Beatrice to lie with a commoner and have his child so you could have control over her. They say her reputation was destroyed, so she had to wed you, and now she lives under lock and key, doing whatever you ask of her.”

“Tosh!” Edwin spat. “How can anyone believe such rubbish! Even with the previous lies about me, surely no one can believe I am capable of such things.”

“Of course not, but it is fun for them to discuss, and the more it is discussed, the longer the rumor keeps circling,” Robert pointed out.

Edwin took a large sip of his wine this time and chased it down with a buttered carrot. “I need this whole thing quashed. Elizabeth will debut this Season, and she does not need rumors swirling about her. They will ruin everything.”

“I am doing all I can to help you, but I don’t know what more can be done.”

“I know,” Edwin agreed. “Agnes is devious, but she will not get away with this forever. I should never have agreed to marry her in the first place. When her father approached me to organize it, I took it as an opportunity to have an heir, and her dowry was substantial. I knew of her character back then, but I didn’t care. I was a fool. I knew she had hurt people, and I went ahead with the deal anyway. I have always measured the character of a man when doing business with him, but I did not measure the character of the woman who could have become my wife.”

“And the marriage you entered into?” Robert asked. “Did you measure her character?”

“No,” Edwin admitted. “I rushed into that one as a means to many ends. It will give me my heir, and it has distanced me from Agnes—which is a good thing. But it has brought more problems. I did not know Beatrice’s character before I married her, but even with her history of mischief, she has far more character than Agnes ever will.”

“The Runaway Bride,” Robert noted.

“Quite.” Edwin sliced a thin cut of veal and dipped it in the red wine sauce before eating it. The meat almost melted in his mouth. “She ran away from two marriages but ran into the third. Agnes coined that moniker, of course, and I am sure it is very clever, but it does not have legs anymore, so to speak, now that Beatrice is married.”

“What do we do now?” Robert asked.

“I am afraid we must wait. Keep listening to what people are saying. I have good men working on this for me, and someone will slip up at some point. Agnes has some power, but that only goes so far. I don’t want Beatrice to suffer any longer. Perhaps we are good for each other. We both have a reputation that follows us around, but she should not have to deal with this. Beatrice is a good woman.”

“It is curious,” Robert said.

“What is?”

Robert took another bite of chicken, wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, sipped some wine, and wiped his mouth a second time.

“Oh, out with it,” Edwin groaned.

“Well, the entire time we have spoken of the matter at hand, you seem very concerned about Beatrice’s reputation but not as concerned about your own reputation or that of your family.”

“So?” Edwin said.

“You have spent a long time restoring your family name, and this might set you back or hurt you, but you don’t want to solve the problem because of that. You want to put an end to the rumors for Beatrice’s sake.”

“And?” Edwin prompted.

“And nothing,” Robert said. “It is only curious, that is all.”

Edwin studied his friend some more, but he did not want to deviate from the main issue—what was to be done about Agnes. Or perhaps he did not want to find out the cause of his friend’s curiosity.

Robert wagged a finger in the air to summon a server. “Some cheese and cognac if you please,” he ordered.

The server nodded and went off to fulfill the order.

“Some day, you will look back on all of this and laugh,” Robert assured him.

“We shall see,” Edwin muttered.