His Lordship's True Lady (True Gentlemen #4)(95)
Lily found the nerve to look Hessian in the eye. She anticipated distaste for a public spectacle, or for a spectacular lapse in manners. Patience maybe, if she was lucky, or even amusement.
She found great, beaming approval.
Hessian kissed Daisy’s cheek, though Lily sensed the gesture was for her.
“You have the right of it, Daisy,” he said. “The widow was not nice. Our Lily, however, like the true lady she is, would have none of that. What say we all go for an ice? I’ve been told that in my absence, Gunter’s has set aside a table for the exclusive use of the Kettering family.”
Hessian took Lily’s hand—again in public, this time before his family—and restored her sense of balance and her hope. Mrs. Braithwaite could start talk, Uncle Walter could bring criminal charges, Oscar could contest the annulment, and the ducal Fergusons might be scandalized fourteen times over, but Hessian would be by her side.
And Lily by his.
Chapter Twenty-One
* * *
“Your annulment,” Worth said, tossing a sealed document onto the desk. “You may thank the Earl and Countess of Rosecroft, who both provided information regarding the suddenness of the ceremony, the bride’s obvious reluctance, and the celebrant’s utter failure to establish her consent. Their recollections match up in every detail with Lily’s version of events.”
“Because Lily’s version is the truth.” Hessian examined the document, reading it word for word and checking the date twice. “I’ll want copies. Can Leggett contest this?”
Worth snorted and leaned back in his chair. “How many ways do you want to ruin him? He can make a fuss, but the facts speak for themselves. To reveal the defect in the license is to reveal Leggett’s own criminal wrongdoing where Lily is concerned. He’s better off leaving the annulment at lack of consent. He can blame that on a misunderstanding or his unruly son.”
Hessian wanted to ruin Walter Leggett as many ways as a man could be ruined. Lily, abetted by her sister, had come up with a plan that met with Hessian’s heartiest approval.
“And how will Leggett account for the money gone missing from the trust accounts?” For he’d lost nearly every penny, thanks to the diligent efforts of the Royal Navy.
Careful investigation over the past week had revealed that, indeed, Leggett had invested heavily in various forbidden trades. While the war with France had been in progress, risk had been low for Leggett and men of his ilk. Peacetime had resulted in more resources devoted to enforcing the laws at sea, and more risk for those intent on eluding justice.
“I’ll be curious to hear his explanation for funds gone missing,” Worth said. “If an explanation he has.”
“Your guests have arrived,” Hessian said as the Leggett town coach rolled up on the street below. “The first order of business for you is to prevent violence.”
“You think they’d be that stupid? We’re bigger, stronger, and faster than either noddy—Leggett Senior or Junior.”
“I’d be that angry. Lily counseled restraint, but I have spent the past week being restrained when I wanted to call out the pair of them.”
Worth rose from behind his desk, shrugged into his coat, and assumed the air of a man of serious business.
“Rosecroft and I have already agreed we’d make a fine pair of seconds. Lady Rosecroft volunteered to bring the medical kit.”
Her ladyship would do it too. Such were the friends Lily had made despite all effort to the contrary on Leggett’s part.
Worth managed the meeting, by arrangement. Hessian remained mostly silent, while Walter Leggett strutted, huffed, and gradually grew quiet, then silent. Hessian’s only possible contributions—“Damn you to hell,” or, “Name your seconds”—would not have added much to the conversation.
“If you insist the vows were spoken under duress,” Walter said, “you can have the marriage set aside. Few females know their own minds, I’ll grant you that. Still, Lily is family, and I expect you to return her to my care.”
Worth sat back, collecting the evidence of annulment. “My lord, what say you?”
Hessian checked his watch. “I say I have never met a greater pair of scheming ne’er-do-wells. The woman in your care is not Lillian Ann Ferguson. That good lady departed for parts north more than a decade ago, intent on becoming the lawfully wedded wife of one Lawrence Delmar. Mr. Delmar well recalls your plan to defraud Lady Nadine’s daughters of their inheritance.”
Hessian tugged the bell-pull. Oscar had gone pale, while Walter rose and glowered down his nose.
“I have never heard such a preposterous tale. My niece is very much alive, and I have paid dearly for Lily’s upbringing. I admit she has become a trifle unbalanced. Her mother was never very steady, and this story fits exactly with what I’d expect from a young lady whose mental condition is rapidly deteriorating.”
Worth pinched the bridge of his nose. “Sit, Leggett,” he said gently. “Nobody alleged that you’ve a dead niece. Nobody but you, that is.”
“Perhaps we’ve heard enough,” Oscar said, popping to his feet. “Lily and I had a misunderstanding, plain enough. I wish her the best, and Father and I will just be going.”
“You haven’t heard nearly enough,” Hessian said. “Did you know your father has been profiting from the illegal enslavement of others, Oscar? From smuggling and trafficking in contraband goods? Or trying to profit? Every groat he could steal from his nieces—note the plural—has been invested in out-lawed trade. Your own inheritance from your sainted mama was similarly squandered.”