Rubbing the back of his neck, Langham gave a theatrical sigh. “I have had second thoughts, Miss Hardcastle, but alas, I am already committed. And if I don’t go through with it, the men who’ve bet on me will break my knees.”
At Caro’s gasp, Val hurried to assure her Langham was joking.
“I should have known better than to believe you,” she chided the duke.
Hyde was called away just then, and Val decided they’d better speak to Langham while they had the chance.
He said with a casualness he didn’t feel, “May Caro and I have a word with you in the dressing room?”
The duke’s brow furrowed. But he didn’t try to evade them. “Of course,” he said, ushering them through the nearby door.
The room was sparsely furnished beyond a sofa and a few mismatched chairs. A dressing table held a variety of unguents and creams used for the treatment of bruises and the sorts of injuries caused by flying fists.
“Miss Hardcastle,” the duke said, once Caro had been seated, “I would offer you a cup of tea, but I’m afraid the only beverages I have are whisky and gin. Neither of which I fear would meet with Wrackham’s approval.”
“We didn’t come for a tea party.” Val leaned against the wall nearest Caro, crossing his arms over his chest, his eyes flinty. Langham might have been his friend for years, but he didn’t appreciate being lied to. His tone hardened. “We came because you didn’t tell me the truth yesterday about the nature of your relationship with Miss Warrington.”
The duke’s jaw clenched. “I’m not sure what you mean, so perhaps you’d better state your business, Wrackham.”
“You led me to believe that you are in a relationship with Nell Burgoyne,” Val said. “I have since learned that not only have you spent time in the greenroom as part of Miss Warrington’s coterie, but you were also seen leaving her townhouse in the early hours of the morning.”
Langham’s face progressed from disbelief to outright scorn as Val spoke. “I don’t know who’s been telling you these things, but they’ve got their details wrong. The facts of what they told you are, yes, accurate, but not the reasons for my actions.”
“Why don’t you explain to us, your grace,” Caro said firmly. “Because as it looks now, not only have you been unfaithful to Miss Burgoyne, but your behavior also makes you a suspect in Effie’s disappearance.”
The duke moved to where a bottle of whisky and a single glass stood. Pouring a few fingers, he took a large gulp before setting the glass down again.
Lowering himself into the chair beside Caro’s, he addressed his words to her—ignoring Val. If it was his intention to annoy Val, he was succeeding. “Not that it’s anyone’s business, but Nell and I have not been together for several months now. Nell asked me to keep the matter quiet while she considers whom to bestow her favors upon next. So, there is no question of my being unfaithful. Not that the same sorts of rules apply between a man and his mistress as husbands and wives, mind you.”
“Keep to the subject at hand, please, Langham.” Val’s voice held a warning note. He’d already risked Caro’s reputation by bringing her here. He didn’t need to worsen the situation by enlightening her on subjects she no doubt would claim it was high time she knew about.
“I’m hardly ignorant of the way such arrangements work, Val,” Caro objected, shooting him an exasperated look. “Even if I weren’t friends with Effie, Kate and I spoke at length with Julia yesterday. You needn’t shield me like a hothouse flower.”
“My apologies, Wrackham,” the duke drawled before Val could respond to Caro’s scolding. “I’d assumed, since Miss Hardcastle seemed to think it appropriate to question me about my—”
Val cut him off. Between the duke and Caro, he was going to end up with back teeth ground down to nubs. “Move on to another topic.”
“You’ve certainly brought the right man along to protect you, Miss Hardcastle.” Langham winked. “Well done.”
“Perhaps you can explain your actions, your grace?” Caro asked, not showing any response to Langham’s outrageous flirting. The devil might be good with women, but he wasn’t good with his woman. Val bit back a smile.
“I will tell you the truth, Miss Hardcastle,” the duke said. “There is no romantic relationship between myself and Miss Warrington. As much as I admire her, she and I have only ever been friends.”
“Then why gaze at her with longing at the theatre?” Caro asked. She sounded like Eversham questioning a witness.
“I don’t know which occasion your spy was speaking of”—Langham crossed one long leg over the other—“but I can only guess that it was the night after that worm Tate accosted her in the greenroom. I wasn’t there to hear what was said, but Nell told me Miss Warrington was quite shaken up. She asked me to come to the theatre the next night to make sure she did not have to suffer the man’s verbal assault again.”
“Nell asked you to do this even though you are no longer together?” Val asked, skeptical.
“I don’t know how it is with you and your mistresses, Wrackham, but—” The duke broke off at Val’s expression. “That is to say, Nell and I are on good terms. I care about her and she is like a mother hen with the other actresses at the theatre. Even Miss Todd, who is as merciless as a tiger.”
Val considered the veracity of what the duke was telling them. It would be foolish to lie when his story could be so easily checked with Nell. Furthermore, his explanation did make a degree of sense—and was more fitting behavior for the man Val had always considered a friend.
“And the early morning visit?” Caro pressed, clearly unwilling to let him brush by the other incident in Tate’s accusation.
“Again, whoever your observer was, he misinterpreted the matter,” Langham said breezily. “On that morning, Miss Warrington was not, in fact, even there.”
“What do you mean?” Caro demanded. “Why were you there, then?”
“She’d asked me if I could assist her in finding some legal information.” For the first time since he’d begun speaking, Langham looked uncomfortable. “I cannot help but feel as if I am breaking a confidence. Despite what you may think of me, I am not in the habit of betraying promises.”
“Why you?” Val asked. His annoyance with the other man had lessened now that his behavior didn’t seem nearly so suspicious. But he was curious about this legal business. “It’s not as if you’re a solicitor.”
“Which is exactly what I told her.” The duke shrugged. “I suppose the thought was that as a duke, I’d have dozens of solicitors at my disposal. And, if we are to be entirely honest, she was correct. I was able to connect her to a man who was able to answer her question within an afternoon.
“I simply dislike breaking my word not to disclose what I found.” He scowled. “And in my defense, when you first came to me, Wrackham, you mentioned nothing about legalities. You said you suspected an obsessed admirer was responsible for her disappearance.”
Caro’s expression softened. “If it weren’t of the utmost importance, your grace, we would not ask you to do so. Whatever she asked you to investigate might be the reason behind her abduction. You see, information has come to light that she was searching for her natural parents. And her disappearance might be related to that.”