“This sister,” she said quickly, not even glancing at Stephen as she spoke. “Do you know her name?”
Lady Serena pressed her lips together, frowning hard. “She was at my brother’s soiree, along with Lord Chesterton,” she said slowly. “But there were so many guests that I fear I am struggling to recall—”
“Wait!” Lady Catherine’s eyes shot toward his. “On the night of Lord Nottingham’s ball, I recall looking at you, Lord Rutherford—with some disgust, I might add—only for a gentleman to speak to me.”
Stephen’s eyes widened. “He was watching me also?” he said, remembering all too well how he had wanted to ridicule Lady Catherine that night by giving her nothing more than a mocking bow. “Did you recognize him? What did he say?”
Lady Catherine shook her head. “He hid himself in shadow,” she said, now holding his gaze steadily, although there was a faint heat in her eyes that he felt certain was nothing but anger. “He asked if I was acquainted with you and told me that if I was, I ought to end the association at once, for you were not worth my time or my company.” She bit her lip, then looked away, a faint heat in her cheeks. “Might I ask the name of the lady you were with, Lord Rutherford?”
He swallowed, bile rising in his throat as he saw the mortification on Lady Catherine’s face, knowing full well what she had seen and finding himself utterly ashamed of it. “It was Miss Hyde,” he said quietly. “She is engaged to—”
“Lord Swiftson,” Lady Serena finished, a look of shock on her features. “Yes, I recall it now. Miss Hyde is Lord Chesterton’s sister.”
Silence ran around the room as each of them contemplated what had been said and what such things meant. The weight on Stephen’s shoulders grew as he accepted the responsibility for all that had occurred and all that the two gentlemen were trying to do.
“I will go to them,” he said quietly. “There is nothing else I can do.”
“No!” Lady Catherine, Lady Ann, and Lady Serena all cried at once, but he held up a hand, silencing them.
“I must,” he insisted. “I have done them a great wrong—I have done you a great injustice, Lady Serena, and thus I must accept the consequences of it.”
“But death is not the appropriate consequence,” Lady Catherine protested, her features lit with fear. “They might very well take your life.”
He shrugged, feeling a sense of understanding wrap around him. “Mayhap they are permitted to do such a thing, given what I have done to them,” he answered, feeling no sense of fear but rather a sense of certainty that this was precisely what he was to do next. “I think it is the only way to truly turn my back on the gentleman I once was, to bring an end to all that I have done. I want to make it plain that I have every intention of stepping away from that life and, instead, coming to a place where I can live an honorable life, no longer seeking my own gratification.” His eyes rested on Lady Catherine’s, expecting her to look away, but instead, she simply looked back at him directly. “I have you, Lady Catherine, to thank for it all. Your hard words and sharp tongue have been what I have long needed.” He rose to his feet, knowing it was foolish to think that he could leave at this very moment but still feeling the urge to quit the room. “I must prepare what I am to say. Lady Serena, might you find a way to bring Lord Chesterton to your brother’s townhouse tomorrow, at noon?”
She nodded mutely, her eyes wide with both fear and a hint of admiration. He did not want her respect. Rather, he wanted only to bring this chapter of his life to a close, flinging it away from him for good. “I thank you.”
“I will be attending with you.”
Lady Catherine rose to her feet, her expression one of grim determination. “And I shall not allow you to argue with me, Lord Rutherford. I can see why you wish to do such a thing, but I certainly will not let you take your life in your hands, not after The Shadows have worked so very hard to help you.” She arched one eyebrow and Stephen felt like falling at her feet in gratitude. Even now, she had not turned her back on him. He would never find another like her and in his heart, he felt that deep regard for her turn into something more.
“Thank you, Lady Catherine,” he said gratefully. “I will leave you all now.” He bowed, knowing that he would not have even a minute of sleep for what remained of the night but would spend the hours thinking and considering all that had passed, all that had occurred, and all that would soon be mended. “Thank you all, and to you especially, Lady Serena, I can only apologize.”
For a moment, he thought she would turn her head away and remain silent, but then something else came into her expression and she sighed heavily.
“I am glad you seek to become a reformed character, Lord Rutherford,” she said, so quietly that he strained to hear her. “I hope that tomorrow will bring this all to an end.”
“As do I,” he told her, before taking his leave of them all.
12
Having received a note with only a time written down upon it earlier in the day, Catherine and Lord Rutherford had been forced to wait for many hours before they could make their way to Lord Nottingham’s townhouse. Lord Rutherford had been pacing about in his room—Catherine had been able to hear the gentle creak of the floorboards as he went, and had been relieved that her father had been still caught in the depths of sleep, else she would have had a good deal of explaining to do. The Shadows had met that morning, all relieved to know that those behind Lord Rutherford’s attacks were now identified, but thereafter, astonished to learn what he now intended. They had done a good deal of talking and as the other Shadows took their leave, Lady Paxton had called her over and had told her something that Catherine had found profoundly interesting.
Now, sitting opposite from Lord Rutherford, Catherine considered just how much he had changed. When he had first arrived, she had found him just as arrogant and as proud as she had always found him, but within only a couple of days he had been forced to reconsider things. She knew that it had taken a good deal of consideration, reflection, and the like to even allow himself to accept that he might not be the sort of gentleman he ought, but Catherine had to admit that she was glad for his struggles, given that it had brought him to a place now where he wanted to turn his back on all that had gone before. The two attempts on his life had helped that, of course—the thought making her lips quirk—but there was something more there now. When Lady Paxton had told her that he was not with another young lady or creeping around in the shadows but had, in fact, been gravely injured, she had found herself so relieved that it had been hard to keep her thoughts in order.
“What are you thinking, Lady Catherine?”
“Mmm?” She looked up, still a little lost in her own thoughts. “Oh, nothing in particular,” she replied as Lady Ann looked steadfastly out of the other window, perhaps to give them as much privacy as she could. “I was only considering how much you have transformed your character in a short space of time, Lord Rutherford.”
His brows shot heavenwards. “You mean to say that you believe I am not eager to return to the life I once had?” he asked, sounding a little surprised. “You have no doubts about my character now?”