Max Ransleigh understood that?
‘You, Ransleigh,’ Lady Melross said, turning to Max, ‘I wouldn’t have expected something this lacking in taste and finesse … although after Vienna, I suppose maybe I should have. What a sly thing you turned out to be, Miss Denby,’ she continued as she snatched up Caroline’s cloak and tossed it over her shoulders. ‘There, you’re decent again.’
Lady Caringdon stared at them both accusingly. ‘Aren’t you a rum one, Ransleigh, sneaking around, keeping your distance from the company while you plotted to seduce an innocent right under the nose of her chaperone! And you, young lady, have got exactly what you deserve!’
‘Indeed!’ Lady Melross crowed. ‘Don’t you understand, you stupid girl? Ruining yourself with Ransleigh won’t earn you the elevated position in society you expect, for his father isn’t even receiving him! While you were immured in the country at that dreary horse farm, he was creating a scandal—’
‘Lady Melross,’ Max broke in on the lady’s tirade, ‘that is quite enough. Abuse me as you will, but I cannot allow you to harass Miss Denby. She has suffered a shock and should return to the house at once to recover. Miss Denby,’ he continued, turning to Caroline, his voice gentling, ‘will you allow these ladies to escort you back to your chamber? We will talk of this later.’
‘I should like to settle it now—’ Caro said.
‘No, in this at least, Ransleigh has the right of it,’ Lady Melross broke in. ‘You cannot stand there chatting in that disgrace of a garment! Come along, both of you. Though I cannot imagine what you could say that might excuse your behavior, Ransleigh, before you present yourself to Lady Denby, you’d best go and make yourself respectable.’
‘Perhaps it would be better if I talk with Stepmother first,’ Caroline conceded. Poor Lady Denby would be close to hysterics if the outcry about this disaster reached her before Caro did. She’d need to explain and calm her down before Max called on her.
Lady Caringdon sniffed. ‘Poor Diana. What a tawdry, embarrassing predicament—and with dear Eugenia set to make her bow next spring! Dreadful!’
‘Dreadful indeed,’ Lady Melross said, sounding not at all regretful. ‘Come along now, and wrap that cloak tight about you, miss. I shouldn’t want to shock any of the proper young ladies we might encounter on the way. Doubtless Lady Denby will summon you later, Ransleigh. Perhaps you’d better go and acquaint your aunt with the débâcle you’ve created in the midst of her party.’
‘Don’t worry,’ Ransleigh said to Caro, ignoring Lady Melross’s disparaging remarks. ‘Get some rest. I’ll see you later and make everything right.’ Giving her an encouraging smile, he stepped back to allow Lady Melross to take her arm.
Having a sudden change of heart, Caroline almost reached out to snag his sleeve and beg him to walk in with her. If only they could face Lady Denby now, together, and explain what had happened, surely they could sort it out and keep the dreadful Lady Melross from spreading her malicious account of the events!
But she suspected Ransleigh wouldn’t deign to explain himself with Lady Melross present, and there was no chance whatsoever that the lady would let herself be manoeuvred out of escorting her victim into the house.
‘I will call on Lady Denby soon,’ he told Caro, then moved aside to let them pass.
‘Speak with me first!’ she tossed back as, Lady Caringdon seizing her other arm, the two women half-led, half-dragged her down the path.
They marched her into the house and up the stairs, relentless as gaolers. Initially they peppered her with questions, but her refusal to provide any details eventually convinced them she intended to remain silent.
With a final warning that it was useless to turn mute now, as her character was already ruined, they ignored her and spent the rest of the transit speculating about how devastated Lady Denby and Mrs Ransleigh would be and how fast the scandalous news would spread.
While they chattered, Caro’s mind raced furiously. Should she ask Max Ransleigh to seek out Henshaw, drag him in so they might jointly accuse him? Was Henshaw still at Barton Abbey to be accused?
Trapped between the two dragons, she had no way of determining that. Should she try to explain immediately to Lady Denby, or wait until after she’d consulted with Mr Ransleigh?
She had only a short time to figure out what she wanted, while her whole life and future hinged on her making the right decision.
When she reached her rooms and her erstwhile ‘rescuers’ discovered neither her stepmother nor her sister was present, they finally stopped plaguing her and rushed off. Doubtless anxious to compete over who could convey the interesting news to the most people the fastest, Caro thought sardonically.
She hoped her stepmother would not be one of those so informed, vastly preferring to break the dismal story herself. In any event, Lady Denby’s absence gave her the opportunity to summon Dulcie and change before the tattered evidence of the disaster could further upset her stepmother. Reassuring her maid, who gasped in alarm upon seeing her in the ruined gown, that she was quite unharmed and would explain later, Caro sent her off to dispose of the garment.
Watching the girl carry out the shreds, Caro smiled grimly. It certainly wasn’t the way she would have chosen to do it, but the escapade in the glasshouse had effectively ruined her. At least now she’d be able to purchase gowns that didn’t make her wince when she saw her image in a mirror. With that heartening thought, she scrawled a note asking Mr Ransleigh to meet her in Lady Denby’s sitting room at his earliest convenience.
As she waited for her stepmother to return, she tried to corral the thoughts galloping about in her mind like colts set loose in a spring meadow. How could she turn Henshaw’s despicable conduct to best advantage, managing the scandal so she would be able to return to Denby Lodge and her horses, while leaving Mr Ransleigh’s good name unblemished?
Only one thought truly dismayed her: that having heard Lady Melross testify that she’d received a note bidding her come to the conservatory, Max might think, in blatant disregard of his wishes, she had arranged for Lady Melross to find them, trapping him with treachery into compromising her after persuasion had failed.
Trapping herself?
How to avoid that fate? Too unsettled to remain seated, she paced the room. In the aftermath of Henshaw’s unexpected attack, her still-jangled nerves were hampering her ability to think clearly. The bald truth was she’d underestimated the man, dismissed him as a self-indulgent weakling she could easily handle.
It shook her to the core to admit that, had Max Ransleigh not rushed to her rescue, she probably could not have successfully resisted Henshaw.
How understanding Max had been, lending her his warmth and strength as she had struggled to compose herself. Bringing her back from the horror of what might have been to a reassuring normalcy with his gentle teasing. Renewed gratitude suffused her.
They must find some way out of this conundrum. She refused to repay his generosity by trapping him in a marriage neither of them wanted.
But when she recalled his parting words, a deep sense of unease filled her.
‘I’ll make everything right,’ he’d said. Initially, she’d thought he meant to track down Henshaw and force him to confess his guilt. However, if Henshaw had already scuttled away
