Page 70 of A Dangerous Engagement

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Mr.Ratley’s face went rigid as he stared intently at Mr.Merrick. Felicity held her breath, her blood turning to ice in her veins.

“No, Lady Blackstone,” Mr.Merrick answered. He looked very convincing, so earnest and upright. “I am committed to our cause, and I would not betray Mr.Ratley in such a way. Besides that, there is a girl I have been pledged to marry since we were children, a Miss Geiger from my home county, a friend of the family.”

Was that true? Did he have a sweetheart at home? She felt her heart plummet.

Mr.Ratley glanced at Felicity, and she gave him a tiny shrug and shake of her head.

“Well, one may be ‘pledged to marry but plan to dally.’ Is that your philosophy, Mr.Merrick?”

“No, it is not, Lady Blackstone. I intend to be completely faithful to my wife. Even Miss Hannah More could not fault my marital philosophies.” Mr.Merrick twisted his lips in a wry smile.

Felicity’s heart fluttered at the thought that he admired Hannah More as much as she did. But he could be lying about that as well.

“Well, one does not have to take it quite as far as Miss Hannah More, after all. It depends on the circumstances and the understanding one has with one’s spouse.”

Mr.Merrick cleared his throat. “Forgive me, my lady, but I cannot agree with you there.”

Mr.Ratley stepped toward them. “Lady Blackstone, Miss Mayson wishes to help me search for the key upstairs.”

“Mr.Ratley, Mr.Merrick here has decided he must go and say good-bye to his poor mother, who is deathly sick. But I am uncertain we should let him go. What do you think?” Lady Blackstone had that same narrow-eyed look of suspicion she had given Felicity earlier.

“Oh well ... saying good-bye to one’s dying mother ...”

“But we are so close to setting our plan into motion. I suppose it will all be well.” Lady Blackstone suddenly turned away from Ratley and faced Mr.Merrick. “You will not object to our examination of your things before you go, will you?”

“Examination?”

“Yes, to make certain you are not taking anything with you that you might use against us, to have us arrested.”

The silence that ensued was so thick it seemed to roar inside Felicity’s head.

Finally, Mr.Merrick said, “You may search my things, but I don’t know what I might have done to make you think—”

Suddenly, Lady Blackstone said, “No. I cannot let you leave.” She was staring Mr.Merrick in the eye, and he was staring back. “We need you too much. You have a task to do. We are all counting on you.”

“I would come back in time to—”

“Would you? Would you come back in time? No, we cannot risk it. There is too much at stake. Sometimes, Mr.Merrick, we must think of the greater good. We must let the dead bury their own dead and carry on with what we know is right and necessary. We need you here, Mr.Merrick. Do you not understand that?”

“Of course, my lady. I do understand. But I would only be gone for one week.”

“Your family would not understand. They would try to prevent you from leaving them and coming back here.” Lady Blackstone’s eyes were flashing with a strange light.

“Perhaps you are right.” Mr.Merrick bowed to her. “I was selfish to pursue it. They might even become suspicious, and that is the last thing we need—suspicions to destroy all our plans. Perhaps I will be able to see her after the revolution is over.”

“I am pleased that you are being so reasonable, Mr.Merrick.”

Mr.Merrick sighed. “Perhaps it is best this way. I was never her favorite, and now they can be peaceful without me there. I will see her in heaven.”

“Yes, yes, that is just the way I see it too,” Lady Blackstone said briskly. “You would not wish to see her sick and wasting away. Better to remember her as she was when she was healthy. And they will not need you there. Much better to let them see that you had important business to be about, once the revolution is well underway.”

She turned to Mr.Ratley and Felicity. “What are you two doing skulking there?”

“My lady,” Mr.Ratley said, “as I was trying to tell you a few moments ago, we are on our way up the stairs to look for the misplaced key.”

“You would not happen to know where the key is, would you, Felicity?”