Daisy frowned. She hated herself for thinking it, but she’d seen the glances Helena cast at Geoff. Geoff hadn’t. It was as though he didn’t realize Helena was there. It was sad, and it was futile, but could Helena think that Geoff would notice her if her employer were gone?

Daisy didn’t want to think about it.

But she wasn’t sure of anyone now. She sighed. It didn’t matter. Someone had laid information against her. True or false, she knew enough about the law to know that a woman never did well in the prisoner’s dock, and one who’d been a convict wouldn’t get a fair chance in court. But she also knew that if you had friends in high places, the law didn’t apply to you. She needed a man of wealth and power to protect her with more than his cooperation. She needed his name.

But she didn’t want to prostitute herself, be a liar or a cheat. And she’d vowed she’d never be a prisoner again: not any man’s or any state’s. Still, if she had to marry, then was it too much to ask that she find not only peace, but pleasure in her future?

Could she?

Or should she just pack up her things and disappear into the countryside? She could give herself a new name and live out her days alone. And never have a baby to call her own. Well, she mightn’t be able to anyway. Daisy sighed again. It wouldn’t matter to Geoff, she supposed. He had his heir. Leland had said he didn’t care, though.

But was that fair? She had to decide soon.

Daisy didn’t sleep that night.

Chapter Seventeen

“I’ve got the special license,” the earl said, patting his pocket. “Everything’s been signed and stamped, and is ready to use.”

Leland nodded, then kept moving his head one way and another as he stared into his mirror. “Not too high,” he finally murmured, “not too formal, but certainly not so casual. This will not work,” he told his valet, who was hovering behind him. He stripped off his neck cloth. “Bring another, please. The trick will be to get the fall just right,” he told Geoff.

“You will, you will,” the earl said absently, still patting his pocket. “Have you the ring?”

“Of course,” Leland said, as he lowered his chin into the crisp, clean white folds of the neck cloth his valet had just handed him. “Ah. Perfect! Thank you. Have you my bags packed?” he asked the valet.

“I’ll just make sure all is in order,” the man said, bowed, and left his master and the earl alone in Leland’s bedchamber.

“Are your bags packed?” Leland asked the earl.

“It’s all done,” he said. “I’m not so fastidious as you.”

Leland cast a critical eye over him. “Obviously. That waistcoat will do for the coach ride, but you can’t mean to wear it in the chapel.”

“No one will notice,” the earl said impatiently. “I’m not posing for a painting. It’s a marriage ceremony, over before you know it. It’s not as though there will be throngs of invited guests. Just a few people we both know. Anyhow, I’ve been through it before. Trust me, nothing is noticed but the bride.”

“I’ll notice,” Leland said.

“Damn it, Lee, but a sorry, hurried, hole-in-the-wall sort of ceremony it will be, too,” Geoff said, ignoring the comment about his clothes. “I know it’s necessary, but I can’t help but wonder. Are we doing the right thing, after all?”

“No, of course we’re not. We ought to have the ceremony in Newgate, with the bride carrying her chains instead of a bouquet, and the jailers as bridesmaids, blotting tears from their cheeks with their truncheons. How novel. It might start a new style,” Leland said caustically. Then he sighed.

“Don’t you think I’ve been over this in my mind for a week now?” he asked in a softer voice. “It isn’t the right thing, but it’s the only thing. Whoever laid information against her is adamant. Someone has either paid a great deal of money to the right people in high places, or else he or she lives in them. As it is, now there’s enough reason for Bow Street to keep her in prison ’pending investigation.’

“They can’t prove anything but they don’t want her getting away until they do,” he went on. “It would be a hideous experience for most young women even if it were only for a few hours. But once they have Daisy, it could be for longer. They might say they have to bring witnesses or evidence or whatnot from the Antipodes. You of all people must know what that could do to Daisy, even if we paid to have her kept in the best apartments at the place.”

The earl nodded, but didn’t look happy.

“I know it’s a scrambling sort of affair, and I know she deserves better,” Leland said. “But there’s nothing better to be done for her right now. Once she has that ring on her finger, and a new name to go with it, she’ll be untouchable. Or at least she will be unless there’s much more compelling evidence than simply one person’s word against another’s. We haven’t found out who that person is yet, either.” He frowned, and turned to meet the earl’s eyes. The earl looked away.

“You don’t think she did it, do you?” Leland asked incredulously.

The earl shook his head. “No. I admit I pondered it. But no, I don’t think she did.”

“Nor do I. And once she’s titled, with wealth and position behind her, her accuser will have to slack off. She’ll be free.”

“But married,” the earl said.

“Well, yes, that’s the point,” Leland said.

He turned back to the looking glass and brushed a tiny speck from his jacket. It was a sober blue jacket, worn over a light blue waistcoat, and it looked simple but elegant with his slate gray breeches and black half boots. His hair was brushed back; he had a single sapphire pin his neck cloth, and a single gold signet ring on his right hand.

The earl, reflected in the mirror behind him, wore a dark blue jacket, blue waistcoat, black breeches, and a troubled expression.

“You look like you’re going to a funeral, not a wedding,” Leland remarked over his shoulder. “Having a change of heart? If you want to change your mind along with it, do so now. Once we get into the coach and head into the countryside, it will be much too late. Riding away with the pair of us for an overnight trip will certainly ruin her even if the charges against her don’t. And remember, the slightest hint of a loss of resolve on either of our parts will send Daisy running on her own. You saw her face when she agreed to this. It’s not what she wants, either.”

“Do you think she’ll come to wanting it,” the earl asked nervously. “Or at least reconcile herself to this marriage, in the days to come?”

Leland turned away from the mirror. His expression was sober. “I do, so much so that I’ll lay a wager on it, if you like. Daisy wouldn’t agree under any circumstances if it went against her deepest desires, and you know it. She’s a very opinionated creature,” he said with a small smile. “In fact, I think this is the best thing for her, however she came to it. I also think that one day she’ll thank that nameless informer. Because instead of ruining her, this will make her happier than she’s been in years. At least, so I earnestly hope.”

“Yes, so do I, of course,” the earl said. “I just wanted to be sure you’re totally in agreement.”

“Oh no,” Leland said. “It’s merely a whim on my part. Every so often I just feel the need to cancel all my engagements, throw my clothes in a basket, get into my coach, and leave London in the middle of the night, to ride off into the west. I’m funny that way, I get these mad impulses…”

“Don’t jest, Lee!” the earl said sharply. “It’s not just inconvenience for her; it will change her life forever. I, at least, worry about that. I love the girl and don’t want to see her make a bad choice in order to avoid what might or might not be a worse fate.”

Leland stood still and lifted his chin so it seemed as if he were looking down his long nose at the earl. “Firstly,” he said frostily, “she is not a girl. She’s a woman. Once married and now widowed, in fact. Secondly, I at least don’t happen to think it’s a bad choice for any reason. And thirdly, if you have so many doubts, then I don’t think you should be part of this in any way. If you leave now, that likely will break her heart. But if you do go on with this, I’ll ape the ceremony and ask you to speak now, or forever hold your peace. Well?”

The earl sighed and held out both hands in a gesture of surrender. “I have spoken; I won’t do so again. I have doubts, but you know my reasons. However, I agree. This is for the best. I can think of no other solution. It would be better if she’d come to the decision of her own free will instead of having to accept in order to preserve her freedom. But good things can come from necessity as well as from free choice. It’s the right thing, it’s only that I tend to worry. I raised a child, you see, and took on two others, so I’m in the habit of it.”

“Don’t,” Leland said gently. “It will be for the best, my lord, you’ll see. So,” he said, squaring his shoulders. “The Runner has been sent on a false trail, we’re in readiness, and it’s dark as it will get tonight. Shall we get on with it?”


* * *

Daisy hesitated.

“Afraid of making a misstep?” Leland asked, at her side. “Don’t worry, I’m here, it won’t happen.”

“But it’s like stepping into the dark,” she said.

“The coachman can’t light his lamps,” he whispered. “We don’t want to be seen. It’s best that whatever enemy you have is unaware of this step you’re taking. But take my arm, I won’t let you fall.”

The carriage had come around back of her hotel, to the servants’ entrance, near the stables. There were lanterns burning on either side of the rear door, and some by the stables, but they didn’t illuminate the scene. Daisy leaned on the viscount’s arm, and then with him to guide her, she ducked into the coach.