Page 45 of Dared By a Lyon
“Are you Miss Vickers?” he asked.
“Yes, I am Miss Elizabeth Vickers, and I would like to know what has happened to my beloved cousin Ashlyn,” Elizabeth Vickers said, stepping forward, her eyes shooting sparks of anger. “Yes. I’m really Miss Elizabeth Vickers. You must be Lord Ravensthorpe. Ashlyn wrote me about you, and you look as handsome as she described you.”
A man and a woman edged their way in and stood next to her.
“Beatrice, you’re here!” Mrs. Dove-Lyon said, turning to the elegantly dressed older couple. Gabriel assumed they were the parents of the American heiress. The gambling doyennegracefully stepped forward to embrace the woman she’d called Beatrice.
“None the worse for wear, of course,” Mrs. Vickers said. “Although, admittedly, the journey took much longer than William and I had anticipated.” She turned to her daughter. “I thought you said Ashlyn was here, darling.”
“She was, and she’s a lovely young woman,” Mrs. Dove-Lyon interjected. “But you just missed her. She left minutes ago. My lord, you would be wise to follow that beautiful lady,” she added to Gabriel.
He was shocked to hear that Ashlyn had left. He’d assumed she was in her room, resting. He had intended to speak his mind with Lady Paula and then go up to see her. But now it made perfect sense. She’d been humiliated. Of course she would leave.
But he was now wasting time. He needed to go after her.
All eyes turned to Lady Paula, who stood in front of them wearing a self-satisfied expression.
“Lady Paula broke into her room and stole her diary and spread the pages amongst the guests. Apparently, it was full of personal feelings, as well as her deception,” Mrs. Dove-Lyon said.
Furious, Gabriel snatched the pages from all the guests and jerked the leather book from Paula’s hands, still trying to digest everything that had occurred.
“I see,” Elizabeth said. She took a deep breath and then continued in a voice that was as imperious as a queen’s. “I can assure you that my cousin’s deception was neither her fault nor of her making. It was my fault, and I am the one who asked her to pretend to be me. It’s a long story. But the short version is, I convinced her to take my place here. Ashlyn hated the idea and tried to convince me otherwise. My cousin doesn’t have a deceitful bone in her body. She is the most honorable person Iknow. So…” She walked over to the woman whom Gabriel had just pulled the book from. “You are Lady Paula Ashbourne?”
“I am,” Lady Paula said, giving Elizabeth her haughtiest look.
“Good. I just wanted to make sure,” Elizabeth said with a small smile on her lips. Then she stepped forward and slapped Lady Paula, sending her reeling backward with a shriek. “That’s how we settle scores in America. Not behind your back. But to your face, you horrible she-devil.”
“Now see here! You can’t strike my daughter,” puffed Lady Ashbourne, bustling to her daughter’s side.
Elizabeth turned and faced the mother, who said nothing else. Instead, she tried to hug her daughter, but Lady Paula pushed her away.
“Well done!” Mrs. Dove-Lyon said, her lips twitching in humor.
Gabriel noted that Miss Vickers’s parents had the same expression of satisfaction on their faces as their daughter did.Bravo.The members of thetoncould learn a thing or two from how Americans dealt with problems head-on.
“My God! I must find her,” he said, gripping the damaged diary in his hand.
“She took my carriage and is headed back to Ravenswood,” Mrs. Dove-Lyon said. “You need to go after her.”
Gabriel glanced down at the book in his hands before nodding his thanks.
“I think it’d be better if you let her explain everything to you, rather than read it,” Elizabeth said. “Give her the book and let her decide. Those are her private thoughts, and what these people did to her was awful. Please tell her we love her,” she added, touching his arm. “And tell her I’m so sorry for everything.”
“I will.”
Ashlyn had had a considerable head start, but he’d make up the time on horseback. Thank God she was going to Ravenswood first. He’d wasted enough time dealing with the likes of Lady Paula and Lord Pervis. It was time to find the woman he loved.
Chapter Twenty
Ravenswood
“Ican’t stay.I need to leave before Lord Ravensthorpe returns,” Ashlyn said, sitting on an oversized green couch in the drawing room. “He’s so angry with me, I doubt he’ll ever want to see my face again.”
“Nonsense. That cannot be true,” Lady Ravensthorpe said, pulling her closer. “Iknowthat’s not true. You were theonlyreason he went to that silly house party. What in the world happened there?” She turned to Alice. “Alice, can you shed some light on this?”
The maid looked to Ashlyn, who gave a small nod. She was in so much emotional turmoil, with so many thoughts swirling in her head, that she could barely speak.
“From what I saw, my lady, the house party became Lady Ashbourne’s attempt to marry off her son and daughter to wealthy partners—though her daughter was quite vicious.”
