Eve stiffened on Helena’s arm, and Helena drew her closer to her side. Sebastian would protect his sister if he were here, and since he wasn’t, it fell to Helena to be Eve’s champion.
“You speak out of turn, madam,” Helena said. “The baron is perfectly sane.”
The woman’s sneer became more pronounced. “Is that so, Lady Prestwick? How is it you come by this knowledge? Have you known many Bedlamites?”
Helena lifted her chin, her stubbornness rearing its head. Lady Lovelace would not come out the victor in this altercation. “I know Lord Thorne is sane because he wants nothing to do with you. What better measure of sanity is there?”
A few twitters traveled through the line of onlookers.
“Lady Prestwick has a valid argument,” a voice from behind the folding screen piped up. Lady Norwick circled the screen and smiled sympathetically at Widow Lovelace. “You do have a tendency to chase off any gentlemen with their wits about them, Celeste.”
Lady Lovelace’s blush matched her lip rouge. “Bianca, how could you?”
The countess lifted her shoulders in a sheepish gesture. “I couldn’t very well allow you to disparage Miss Thorne’s brother, especially when you know you are in the wrong. Lord Thorne has been nothing but kind to you. Don’t be bitter because his interests lie elsewhere now.”
The widow huffed and bolted from the chair. “I—we—I’ve never had anything to do with that man.” She stormed for the door and slammed through it, leaving several eyebrows raised in her direction.
Lady Norwick smiled sweetly at the lady who had been waiting to use the looking glass. “It is your turn, Mary.”
“Thank you, my lady. I thought I might be here all night.” As soon as Mary sat, gossip began to fly around the room, but this time it wasn’t about Sebastian or Eve. Lady Lovelace had made herself the center of attention.
“I almost feel sorry for her,” Helena murmured.
Lady Norwick scrunched her nose in distaste. “Don’t you dare. It is time Celeste had a taste of her own medicine. Perhaps she will think twice about spreading rumors about others now.”
“I thought Lady Lovelace was your friend,” Eve said.
Lady Norwick placed her arm around Eve’s shoulders as if the countess were a mother bird taking a hatchling under her wing. “True friends never talk behind your back, my dear. It pays to keep those people close, however, then you know what they are about.”
Helena had mixed emotions as she watched Eve and Lady Norwick together. On the one hand, once Helena left Town she need not worry how Eve would fare with Lady Norwick at her side. But Helena also experienced a hollowness in her gut. She would miss Eve a great deal.
And God help her, she would miss Sebastian even more.
***
Sebastian was in the breakfast room perusing The Morning Times when Eve and Mother joined him the next morning. He hadn’t rushed off to the club with the newssheet before they came belowstairs like he usually did, because he expected the matter of his sister’s virtue had been settled now.
There was an advertisement issuing an apology from Benjamin Hillary to Sebastian and his family. The scoundrel accepted responsibility for his “unconscionable actions” and proclaimed Eve blameless. The apology was late in coming, so Sebastian would have no mercy on him if Hillary should cross him again, but at least he could rest easier knowing his sister’s reputation had been cleared.
Thankfully, there was nothing in the gossip column about their ridiculous duel. Sebastian supposed everyone knew about it already, since half the gentlemen of Mayfair had attended, and those who hadn’t witnessed it heard about it by the time he had arrived at his club. His name did appear in the gossip pages, but he wasn’t painted in a bad light for once. Apparently a jealous widow with a vicious tongue made quite a scene over him at the theatre the previous night. At first, he feared the rag was referencing Helena, but all descriptions of the widow pointed to it being Celeste.
Eve paused at the head of the table, her mouth turned down in a puzzled frown. “What are you doing here?”
“I live here,” he said with a raise of his eyebrow. “My name is on the deed, in case you’ve forgotten.”