Chapter Seventeen

"A ball?"

Edmund nodded.

"So soon after your literary event?"

"Indeed, Mother," Edmund answered, lifting his cup so he might take a sip of his coffee. "The invitations were sent out earlier today and I fully expect to receive some responses very soon."

His mother paused as she stood there, looking back at him and clearly thinking about what she ought to say next. "I did not expect you to throw a ball."

"Why ever not? Dinah deserves one and, given that I fully expect Lord Weatherly to come and seek her hand very soon, it could be a celebration of their impending marriage."

The Duchess frowned. "You are contented with Lord Weatherly?"

"Yes, I am."

That frown quickly faded. "That is good. I must say, I like him very much and think him more than suitable for Dinah. I presume that her brother would be contented for you to arrange the match, yes?"

At the mention of Lord Fullerton, Edmund's expression darkened. "I presume so, given that he asked both of us to be her chaperones for the Season. That means that we are entirely responsible for her, does it not?"

The Duchess nodded and smiled. "Yes, that is quite so. I think it an excellent choice for she is clearly quite besotted with him – and he with her!"

"And that is the best situation, is it not?" Edmund murmured, as his mother sighed contentedly. "You should like that for me also, would you not?"

At this, the Duchess' eyes flared wide. "Do you mean to say that you have an affection for Lady Vivianne?"

Edmund laughed and shook his head. "No, indeed not. I am quite in love with Lady Lillian and fully intend to propose once I have ended the courtship with Lady Vivianne and waited an appropriate length of time, of course." He watched as various emotions flicked across his mother's face though, much to his relief, her smile lingered still. "I do hope that you will be glad for me, Mother. Lady Lillian is a wonderful, inspirational young lady and I have lost my heart to her."

"I did think that you might," came the reply. "Though with Lady Vivianne, there is still a requirement and a consideration there, is there not? What of her?"

"She does not want to be attached to me either," Edmund assured her, quickly. "Mother, Lady Vivianne is caught up with another also, though I am not certain who that is as yet."

"Then why do you still court?"

Edmund hesitated, choosing in the end not to say anything to his mother. "I must speak to her brother," he said, after a few moments. "Lord Jedburgh will not be pleased but it must be done. However, I do wish to be sure that Lady Vivianne can find the same happiness as I, so therefore, the conversation must be done very carefully."

His mother nodded. "I quite understand. I will say nothing to anyone, of course, though you will have enough to do with Lady Dinah and Lord Weatherly! I am sure that Lord Fullerton will be delighted with the news whenever it comes about. Will you write to him about it all?"

"I shall," Edmund smiled, hiding the worry which quickly rushed over him. "Dinah is going to take her letters to the solicitors very soon and I might well be able to add in my own additional note."

"The solicitors?" His mother frowned. "Why would she go there?"

"Because they seem to know where Lord Fullerton is at present and can send them to the correct address," Edmund explained, seeing his mother's frown deepen. "Why? Is there something wrong?"

"But he is not abroad still, my dear!" the Duchess exclaimed, a hint of a smile dancing about her lips. "Did I not tell you that he was in Scotland only last month?"

A cold hand squeezed Edmund's heart. "Scotland?" he asked, no longer any lightness about his tone. "How do you know that?"

His mother's smile faded to nothing. "Because Lady Campbell wrote to me. She is my very dear friend, you know, though we do not often see each other given that she is in Scotland and I here in England."

"But what did she say that told you Fullerton was in Scotland?" Edmund asked, a little more urgently now. "I must know, Mother."

She looked back at him in surprise, perhaps astonished by his sharp and somewhat demanding tone, only to lift her shoulders and then let them fall again. "She told me that she had been at a soiree and that Lord Fullerton had been present. I thought he might come back to London once his time in Scotland had come to an end but it could be that his business has kept him there for a little while longer. That is why I asked if Fullerton would be contented with you giving consent to Dinah's match to Lord Weatherly."

"Because her brother is back in England."

"He could be back in England," his mother corrected. "But that does not matter. If he has not written to you to confirm his presence, then I do not think that you need to concern yourself about Dinah. She will be very happy with Lord Weatherly and so, I think, will Lord Fullerton be."

Edmund swallowed hard, a chill running through his body. If his cousin was back in the country, why had he not been informed of it? Why had he shown no interest in taking Dinah to her presentation to the King and Queen? Why had he not been there for her very first ball? Edmund had always presumed that Fullerton cared for his sister, just as Edmund cared for his own family but now, he began to grow concerned that there was no true familial affection there.

"You appear troubled."

Bringing his gaze back to his mother, Edmund forced himself to smile. "It is nothing severe, Mother. I must hope that my letter reaches Lord Fullerton quickly, then, so that if he has any protestation to make about Lord Weatherly before the engagement is made, he will let me know of it! In fact, I think I shall write to him at this very moment!"

"Now?"

"Why ever not? There is no time like the present," Edmund declared, rising from his chair in the drawing room and making his way towards the door. "Thank you, Mother. I am grateful to you for telling me." Without another word, he quit the room but, instead of going to his study, made his way directly to the front door. Taking his gloves and hat from the butler, he did not wait for his carriage to be made ready but instead, hurried along the street towards Lord Huxley's townhouse. A sudden, dreadful fear had grasped a hold of his mind and, try as he might, he could not seem to shake it.

What if this had all been some dreadful ruse and he was caught right in the middle of it?

***

"My dear Dinah, thank goodness I have found you." Edmund grasped his cousin's hand, seeing the way that Lord Weatherly's eyes flared, then how his gaze darted to Lord Huxley. "Have you been to the solicitors?"

"Yes, we have," Dinah said, clearly confused as to why Edmund was speaking to her so fervently. "Whatever is the matter?"

Lord Huxley grimaced. "We have come to the conclusion that it might very well be your brother who is involved in all of this, Lady Dinah. I do not mean to speak ill of him for, of course, he is known to me and is someone I would consider to be a good acquaintance but, all the same, I cannot pretend that there is not some merit in all that the Duke has said."

"My brother?" Lady Dinah's eyes rounded, her face paling just a little. "Surely you cannot think that – "

"You should tell the Duke about the address to where your letters have been going," Lord Weatherly touched Lady Dinah's arm and Edmund's heart began to pound. He had gone directly to Lord Huxley's townhouse and, having found him at home, had explained his theory directly. He had presumed that, had his theory been foolishness, his friend would have told him so but instead, Lord Huxley had agreed with everything that Edmund had said and had suggested they go in search of Lady Dinah in order to ascertain what the solicitors had told her. Now, Edmund presumed, he was about to discover it.

"I heard something very strange from the solicitors, which has troubled me," Lady Dinah told him, her lips pursing for a moment as she looked to Lord Weatherly who nodded for her to continue. "It seems that my letters were going to Scotland and the last two letters have gone to Bath."

Edmund blinked. "To Bath?"

Lady Dinah nodded, her worries evidenced in the gentle lines of her forehead. "I was just about to make my way back to the house in order to inform you," she said, as Lord Weatherly nodded. "But you appear to have been so eager to discover it, you have come out into town yourself!"

"I could not wait." Edmund closed his eyes for just a moment, attempting to gather himself. "That is very distressing, I am sure."

Lady Dinah nodded. "It is," she answered, her voice quivering and betraying the great swell of emotion. "He is my brother! He gave you responsibility for me given that he was to be away during my come out, but now I find that he was first in Scotland and now in Bath? Why did he not want to be present with me? Why did he have no interest in being there when I was presented?"

"I cannot say," Edmund answered, as Lord Weatherly took Lady Dinah's hand and pressed it, offering his support. "This does concern me a great deal, however, for now that I know he is present – albeit supposedly in Bath – it does mean that there might be a reason for the Mad Duke rumour."

There was no surprise in Lady Dinah's eyes as she looked back at him. "My brother was never truly happy in your company, was he?"

"No, he was not," Edmund admitted, quietly, aware that there were others present. "I spent a good deal of time with your father, assisting with his inventions and the like. My own father was most displeased with such ideas and therefore, I sought solace in the late Lord Fullerton. Your brother did not appreciate the time I spent with him, I know that."

"But to spread a rumour like that?" Lord Weatherly asked, confusion lining his forehead. "Why would he do such a thing, knowing that it would affect Dinah?"

Edmund shrugged. "I cannot say. It may be that he hoped Lady Dinah would find a match regardless or mayhap he heard that there was an interest there with you, Lord Weatherly. All the same, I am convinced that he is the one behind the rumour."

"And I did write to tell him about the experiments and the like," Lady Dinah added, her face heating. "I did not go into any great detail but I certainly mentioned it."

Edmund smiled to reassure her. "I do not blame you for that in any way. That is just what would be expected, for a sister to tell her absent brother about all the goings-on during their time apart. Besides, it is not as though Fullerton is unaware of my interest in such things! He knows all too well that I still have a love for natural philosophy, though he has never said a word about it."

Lady Dinah held his gaze for a long moment before swallowing tightly and then looking away. "I am sorry for it if it is his responsibility. Though unrelated to Lord Jedburgh and Lady Vivianne?"

Edmund spread out his hands. "It appears so."

"Then what shall you do?" Lord Weatherly asked, moving just a fraction closer to Lady Dinah. "How will you find him?"

"I do not know as yet what I will do or how I shall find him!" Edmund exclaimed, as Lord Huxley let out a small exclamation, perhaps feeling the same frustration as Edmund in that there was no easy path forward. "But we have found the beginnings of the truth and I can assure you, I will not stop until I find it all."