“No, my lord,” Louis said, taking a step toward the man. “Believe me when I say that you must be in attendance at the ball at the Château de Saint-Sottises. It is a matter of the security of the British Empire.”
“Oh,” Lord Lytton said, his brow shooting up. “In that case….” He moved toward a carriage parked along the street.
Louis took Solange’s hand and squeezed it, then nodded to Marshall and the others. “We will rendezvous at the palace and bring you the documents we need to end Lafarge’s reign of terror.”
“I look forward to it,” Marshall said, sending Louis a triumphant grin then taking Dorothy’s hand and dashing for Lord Lytton’s carriage.
Chapter 9
If she had had more time to contemplate the bizarre situation, Solange was certain she would have found a thousand reasons to be anxious about how easily the police had justified apprehending their group, and how quickly they’d been willing to let the lot of them go. Something else had to be at work. Lafarge would never have allowed them to walk free so easily unless he wanted them to. She could only conclude that he never intended to capture them completely, only to delay whatever they might do to counter his next move.
Which was why there was no time to lose. She and Louis raced back to the Grenelle flat to retrieve the papers she’d stolen from Lafarge’s trophy room, then journeyed out to the Château de Saint-Sottises, praying that they made it before Lafarge sprung his trap.
The moment they dashed into the palace, out of breath and disheveled from the whirlwind of the day they’d had, it was clear that nothing was going to plan.
“Please stay, Madame d'Aubigné,” Roselyn begged as she scurried after a middle-aged lady with a powdered face and lavish ballgown who appeared to be trying to leave the party as Solange and Louis entered. “There is so much still to happen. You cannot let one mishap intimidate you out of confronting Monsieur Lafarge.”
“My lady,” the Frenchwoman said, pausing to face Roselyn, her eyes wide. “Those who do not flee the tidal wave that that man has brought with him will surely drown under the weight of their sins.”
She continued her flight, and Roselyn continued to chase her, saying, “It was only a small revelation, and Monsieur DuBois admitted that the truth was already known. Surely one little whisper about someone else isn’t enough to crack your resolve.”
“One whisper is fast turning into a hundred,” Madame d'Aubigné said, picking up speed and flying out the palace’s front door.
“What’s happening?” Solange asked, changing directions to intercept Roselyn.
Roselyn dropped her shoulders, letting out a squeak of disappointment. “Monsieur Lafarge had started at least a dozen chains of gossip that have been making their way around the ballroom this evening,” she admitted. “Everyone we gathered to confront him is losing their nerve.”
“Lafarge is here?” Louis asked, a murderous light in his eyes.
“He is,” Roselyn admitted.
Solange didn’t wait. She took Louis’s hand and pushed on to the ballroom.
On the surface, there didn’t appear to be anything unusual about the ball. A few couples danced as a band played a waltz. Twice as many people and more hovered around the edges of the room, though, all whispering and huddled together in conversation. To Solange, they looked like cattle who had just discovered they were about to be led to the slaughter.
“Where are Dorothy and Damien?” Solange asked, scanning the room for them. “And Lord Reith and Lord Gregory.”
“They disappeared earlier and haven’t returned,” Roselyn said as she caught up with them. “We’re all so worried.”
“Lafarge must have found a way to stop their carriage and prevent them from getting here,” Louis said precisely what Solange was thinking.
“He didn’t stop us, though, and we’re the important ones,” she said. Whichever of Lafarge’s henchmen had stopped the others must not have realized she and Louis had gone in a different direction.
“Well, somebody has to stop something,” Roselyn said, tilting her chin up as though she would lead the front line of an army if she had to. “Where is Evangeline?”
Roselyn marched deeper into the room, heading toward Evangeline, who stood near one of the ballroom’s massive fireplaces. Lafarge was with her, and even from a distance, it was clear that whatever their conversation was, Lafarge had the upper hand. Solange had never seen Lady Evangeline McGovern look so frightened in her life. Evangeline’s face was pale and her eyes were wide with horror. She clutched Lafarge’s sleeve and said something with a look of desperate pleading.
“We need to do something to help her,” Solange said, tugging Louis deeper into the room.
Their arrival drew attention, and guests stepped back to let them pass. That caused even more eyes to turn their way, including Lafarge’s. His face pinched with shock as he saw them, then hardened into a mask of hatred. He shook Evangeline off and strode not toward Solange and Louis, but to the front of the dais where the orchestra sat.
“What is he doing?” Louis growled, pulling Solange to a stop in order to watch as Lafarge silenced the orchestra, then turned to address the room.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” he said in a booming voice. Every conversation stopped with unnatural speed, and the couples that had been dancing fled to the sides of the room. Lafarge held up his hands as if to either silence the whispers he’d created or to command that the heavens rain down on everyone present. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he repeated into the hush. “It is time that I reveal my purpose for calling you all here tonight.”
“He didn’t call them, Roselyn and Evangeline did,” Solange said.
“If he claims credit, it gives him more power,” Louis told her.
“I have a tale for you,” Lafarge went on. “A tale of corruption and betrayal. A tale of conspiracy and treason. It is the story of the McGovern family and how they came to flee England or face ruin.”
Gasps and murmurs filled the room. Lafarge’s expression turned downright wicked as he seemed to feed off of the fear he’d generated.
“As we speak, my press is printing a special edition of Les Ragots, one that will titillate and horrify you,” he went on. “One that will expose every secret of the villainous McGovern family once and for all.”
“I won’t stand for this,” Solange said, breaking away from Louis and cutting through the stunned and curious guests to make her way to the dais.
“It is a tale that will cause you to lose sleep at night and wonder how evil like this has been allowed to—” Lafarge stopped dead the second he noticed Solange charging toward him. Irritation filled his expression, and he worked his mouth as though he’d tasted something sour. “What is the meaning of this?” he demanded as Solange stepped up onto the dais beside him.
Solange didn’t hesitate. She faced the panicked guests, standing tall, her head held high. “My name is Solange Kouassi Lafarge,” she announced. “This man seduced my mother, as I’m certain he has seduced or meddled with far too many of you or those you love. But his time has come to an end.”