Lord Scoundrel Dies Read Online Free Page A

the debts weren’t a problem for there was plenty of
money. That wasn’t the point and it hadn’t been why Edward had been
unhappy. Rather, his unhappiness stemmed from a very real concern
that his wife did not seem to be able to stay away from the kinds
of places a fellow did not want the woman he had married to be
seen. Celeste had promised him faithfully that she would be good
but it seemed she had lapsed.
    ‘I realised quite quickly that I was being
foolish, really I did Aubrey. I decided I would leave immediately
and return home. But I ran into somebody at the door and they
recognized me and… and…’
    ‘They recognized you? That’s hardly
surprising, surely.’ He still was not sure what the problem was.
Not that he wasn’t trying. Celeste’s outburst was making him late
for an appointment and he was eager to reach an understanding,
bestow absolution and be gone. He was meeting several fellows at
Gentleman Jackson’s for a good go round with the master and he was
going to be deuced late if they didn’t move this along.
    ‘I did not want to be recognized in such a
place and my mask had fallen off –’
    ‘You were wearing a mask? What the devil
were you doing that for? I thought it was some sort of club.’
    ‘It is. The Pharaoh Club, which is
absolutely the rage right now. Unfortunately it is the kind of club
that Edward might not like me being seen in so I wore a mask to
ensure nobody recognized me,’ Celeste explained in a small
voice.
    Aubrey shook his head. ‘I can quite see why
Edward flies up in the boughs about this gambling business. It
sounds decidedly shady.’ When Celeste’s lips quivered again, he
held up a hasty hand. ‘But never mind about that now. Your mask
fell off and somebody recognized you. Proceed, I beg you.’
    ‘The man I ran into
threatened to tell Edward where I was and what I was up to if I did
not give him some money!’ The words exploded out of Celeste
forcefully. ‘I am being blackmailed Aubrey and I do not know what to do.’
    Aubrey looked at her in astonishment.
‘Blackmailed? The deuce you are. Who would dare to do such a
thing?’
    ‘Lord Sutton,’ Celeste quivered. ‘Who is
absolutely the very worst person who could be blackmailing me as
Edward dislikes the man intensely.’
    Aubrey could not help but
take a moment to wonder who his sister-in-law would consider to be
a better sort of
blackmailer. A good friend? An amiable acquaintance? Not that it
was any surprise to learn that Edward did not like Sutton. He
didn’t care for him any more than his brother did.
    ‘Are you telling me that Arthur Sutton had
the impertinence to try and blackmail you?’
    ‘Indeed. It is rather a
hobby of his. He is one of those unfortunate creatures that appear
when you least want him to and discovers all manner of things one
would prefer him not to know. Why, he managed to get nearly two
hundred pounds off poor Selena Winton. Of course, she was having an affair, but
even so, it did seem rather wicked. Selena ended up having a
breakdown and retiring to Kent. Can you imagine?’
    Aubrey was astonished. Clearly Society was
harboring a snake in the grass. This was intolerable behavior. ‘Why
doesn’t somebody do something about it?’
    Celeste looked at him, perplexed. ‘What do
you mean?’
    ‘I mean, why doesn’t somebody call the
blackguard on it? A man cannot go round scaring funds out of people
in such a manner. It’s just not done.’
    ‘Well the thing is, nobody wants their
secrets aired in public and so they pay up,’ Celeste explained,
clearly surprised that her brother-in-law needed to be told such an
obvious thing. ‘What else are they supposed to do?’
    ‘Tell him to go to the
devil, I’d say,’
Aubrey retorted grimly.
    ‘Well that’s all very well for you, Aubrey
dear. You don’t care what anybody knows about you. Besides, you’re
a man and men can get away with anything. Women cannot. Our
reputations are so very fragile.’
    ‘But he wouldn’t