Mr. Dalrymple Revealed Read Online Free Page A

at the drapery shop. Counterfeit
coins.”
    The lady stared, speechless.
    “You, Lady Katherine, have a date with the hangman’s noose,”
he told her with deliberate brutality.
    Still she stared through him, her eyes blank. Edmund could
almost see the wheels turning in her brain as she tried to find a way out of
the web he’d so cleverly spun about her.
    Finally, her eyes narrowed. Bending her head meekly, the lady
smoothed a crease from her glove. In spite of his orders, Edmund felt a pang
of conscience that he’d handled this delicate blossom so roughly. It was a
wonder indeed that her fumbling attempts at robbery hadn’t landed her in
trouble before this. Now, he thought, now she would throw herself upon his
manly (under the ruffles) bosom and beg for his help. Not disliking the
prospect, he braced himself for her embrace, even improvising a few flowery
phrases to bring her comfort and him her undying gratitude. A pleasantly warm
sensation flooded him as he imagined her warm softness in his arms once again.
He would pat her shoulder as she wept with gratitude and--
    “What!?” he shouted. Edmund looked at her in growing
disbelief and annoyance. The lady was not, he reflected irritably, reacting
the way any normal female would.
    For the Lady Katherine was laughing softly. Her eyes, he
noticed, worried, were blazing with excitement.
    “I asked,” she repeated, challenging him, “why then am I not
in custody already?”
    Edmund ground his teeth and glared at her. “Because,” he
began loftily, then stopped.
    The expression on Lady Katherine’s face changed to one of
ill-concealed smugness.
    "Shall I tell you what I think, Mr. Dalrymple?” Before
he could frame a reply, the lady continued. “I think you’re dealing very deep.
But I also know that it takes two to play, and I, Mr. Dalrymple, have no
interest in your little game.”
    Edmund glared at her impotently. An excellent card player, he
had forgotten the first rule of gaming: never underestimate one’s opponent.
The woman in front of him had trumped his ace, and he had no one but himself to
blame.
    He searched his mind for the right words, words which would
reveal nothing, yet put her back in his complete power. "The accusation
is valid, Lady Katherine,” he informed her coldly. "The coins are in my
possession, to be used against you in a court of law.”
    “Fiddlesticks. Whatever coins you may have I did not give you
directly. Once they passed through the hands of a third party, your alleged
case collapsed like a house of cards.”
    She stood suddenly, forcing him to step back. Her eyes were
on a level with his, eyes that were filled with anger and contempt.
    “You see, Mr. Dalrymple,” she spat, her voice low and shaking,
“you have no case against me. I suggest you leave, now, and threaten me again
only at your most dire peril.” With that, she turned on her heel and swept
away.
    In spite of the predicament, Edmund’s lips twitched. The
lady, it seemed, had a theatrical flair. He should have known this from the
previous evening. “Lady Katherine,” he called, but she ignored him. Striding
after her, he caught her by the arm, spinning her about to face him.
    “You’re quite right. I have no solid evidence against you.”
    Lady Katherine stared unflinchingly back. “You’re hurting me,
sir. Must I call a constable?”
    Instantly, Edmund released her. “My apologies.”
    The lady moved to leave once more. Edmund leapt in front of
her, hands up in mute promise not to grab her again.
    “Any barrister worth his wig could get the charges against you
dropped,” he told her, deadly serious. “I can, however, make your life a
misery until that time. I can see to it that your name will appear in every
newspaper in the country and your reputation ripped to shreds. By the time the
case is dismissed, neither you nor any one of your family will be received in
polite society again. You will be vilified beyond redemption the length and
breadth of