The Lord and his Lady (Forbidden #2)

Chapter Twenty Nine

Miss Cavendish had gone back inside a few minutes of idle conversation later, allowing Belinha to relish the silence on her own. She walked a little down that narrow pebble path leading to the back gardens with the roses and petunias she loved to see blossom with the Duchess during their walks.

The sky was now pitch black, the ripples of purple in the soft orange canvas nowhere to be seen. It was as if it had been wiped clean by the Creator to start anew. This would be another gorgeous view for Lord Caldwell to paint.

Fingers of wind caressed her skin and forced tendrils of curls to loop around her shoulders. She attempted to push it back into a safe bun, but they would not cooperate so she let it be.

As she got closer to the enclosed side of the yard covered solely by hedges acting as walls, where she had found Lord Beau admitting his feelings to Lady Harriet, she spotted a small glimpse of something orange.

A scarf? she thought, peering into the darkness of the trees caging the item in. She stepped closer, craning her neck to get a better look. No. Red hair. When her vision settled into the darkness, she could make out the silhouette of two figures pressed up against one another; one more feminine and petite against the stump of an oak tree. In a white petticoat, Lady Harriet, her lips in a passionate embrace against...

Lord Devonport?! she thought with an internal gasp as he cupped her face. Startled at the scene before her, Belinha covered her mouth and backed away as quick as she could.

This is so wrong, she thought, why else are they keeping it a secret? Their embrace didn't look very innocent. The sleeves of her dress had been removed halfway to reveal pale white shoulders and just the top of her bosom.

Belinha shook her head, trying not to think of what else had occurred before she'd arrived—or even what was going to happen. Lord Devonport was so much older than Lady Harriet. And poor Lord Beau! What would happen to him? That was the only thing running through her head as she all but ran back inside like a loon, the door slamming open with a bit more fervour than she had anticipated.

Everyone turned to look at her but she could only think of hiding when she was intercepted by Lord Caldwell near the entrance, who made a joke out of it to ease the tension. It had relaxed her a little bit, but her racing heart only increased. Seeing him, she knew the right thing to do was to tell him.

And as her confidant, he would know what to do. She...she trusted him to a degree.

After telling him that she needed to speak with him, his features slowly turned serious. They moved aside when the Duchess stopped her.

"What is the matter, Louise?" she looked her up and down as if looking for injuries to herself.

"I'm fine, Your Grace. I...I saw something I wasn't supposed to see."

"She said there was something urgent she needed to speak with me about, mother," said Lord Caldwell, not looking away from Belinha to gauge the situation through her face alone. "Let me have a talk with her in my study."

The Duchess nodded as Lord Caldwell led her up the stairs to the second floor and to his study away from the noise.

"I'm sorry for always causing trouble during moments where you relax," she said.

"You seem to have forgotten how much I despise these affairs," he said with an easy smile. "You have done me a favour, Miss Price."

The door to his study was ajar only a little as to follow the rules of society and he sat comfortably in the chair as he gestured with a hand for her to begin.

She paced for a little while, and he hid the amusement flickering across his features when she turned to him fully. "I didn't know who else to tell this to, my lord," she said, voice trembling. She swallowed hard. "I found Lady Harriet in an embrace with—with your friend. Lord Devonport."