Her bedchamber was almost a mirror of my own, except painted green, and the bed had a canopy set above four turned posts, one of which Lady Hester was clinging to for support, panting with fear. Miss Grant held her beloved’s free hand and rubbed her back.

It appeared Lady Hester did not need any help spinning herself into greater agitation. I quickly closed the door and provided the same reassurances I had given my sister.

“See, Lady Augusta agrees with me, dearest,” Miss Grant said firmly. “It was a minor slip. Nothing will come of it.” She looked at me over Hester’s shoulder, plainly unconvinced herself, but I approved her attempt to calm her love.

“We are all forced indoors today,” I said. “Please, if you can bear it, come down for breakfast and then claim the need for rest. Mrs. Ellis-Brant has other fish to fry and I believe this will go unremarked if we do not make it a point of interest.”

“How can you know that?” Lady Hester demanded.

“She thinks your brother is Lady Davenport’s lover and is trying to interfere.”

As I had hoped, the shock of that statement jolted Hester from her track.

“What?” She stared at me for a moment—the information sinking in—and then a glimmer of a smile curled her mouth. “Oh my goodness. Does my brother know?”

“He does. He and Charlotte are playing along in order to distract Mrs. Ellis-Brant. So, you see, she is busy upon her own scandal.”

Hester released her death grip upon the bedpost. “My brother is playing along? But surely he would find such a pretense distasteful. He cannot abide anything that is not of an honest nature.”

Her view of her brother was, understandably, somewhat outmoded. I’m sure there had once been a time when Lord Evan Belford would not have engaged in such a deception—it would have been too dishonorable—but now it was his only way of survival. And, thankfully, he was rather good at it. “Your brother would do anything, I think, to ensure your safety,” I said diplomatically.

I left them discussing that development, but I had no confidence in its distracting them for long. I had ducked Hester’s challenge, but she was right: I did not know if Julia’s mistake had piqued the Ermine’s interest. What concerned me more was Hester’s state of mind. And what impact the imminent news of Lord Alvanley’s and Mr. Brummel’s visit would have upon that state. It was all becoming so tangled and strained.

I stopped at the top of the staircase, suddenly uncertain of where I should go. Back to my sister? To Charlotte? What was the next step? My true desire was to find Evan, but he would be in the bachelors’ quarters. No place for an unmarried lady, or indeed any lady. Not with all the servants busy throughout the hall upon tasks.