If it did come to it, if Deele insisted upon taking Hester, what would Evan actually do? Would violence ensue? I suspected it might, for I could not see Evan allowing his brother to lay hands upon their sister again.

We joined Julia and Mr. Kent, Lord Alvanley and Mr. Brummell, and Lady Eleanor and Miss Ponsonby in the library. Miss Ponsonby and Julia were seated, Lady Eleanor stationed at the door, and the men ranged alongside the hearth. Julia waved me over to sit beside her on the sofa.

“Your hair is all squashed,” she said, reaching over to tease out a flat curl. She twisted the offending lock around her forefinger and let it loose. “There.”

Apparently, it was important to have symmetrical hair when one was confronting a furious adversary.

A loud thumping upon the front door echoed through the cottage. A fist, I would say, four times upon the wood. I shifted a little more to the edge of the sofa. I did not want to recline too much; facing Lord Deele required a stiff spine and the ability to rise from the seat at any given moment.

“Where is she? Where is my sister?” Deele’s voice boomed through the hallway. “Get out of my way, you stupid slut!”

I hoped the poor maid managed to dodge out of the way of his wrath.

Lady Eleanor glanced around the quiet room: were we all ready? Everyone nodded: we were.

She opened the library door and said, “What is this commotion?”

“Lady Eleanor! Where is my sister? I know my brother has brought her here. I demand you take me to her now!”

“Ah, Lord Deele, do come in,” Lady Eleanor said graciously. She stepped back into the library, forcing him to follow.

He stalked into the room, his rage obliterating any civility. The fury had reddened his face, a vein pulsing at his temple. He cast a hard glance about the room, then rocked back upon his heels.

“Alvanley, Brummell, what are you doing here?”

“We are on our way to Underbank Hall,” Lord Alvanley said mildly.

“Do you know what is going on here?” Deele demanded.

“We do,” Mr. Brummell said. He lifted his quizzing glass and viewed Deele through it.

A less furious man might quail under such observation, but Deele turned his glare upon Evan, standing beside Alvanley. “Then you know my brother here is aiding our sister to run away with her female companion! It is monstrous!”

Lady Eleanor cleared her throat.

“Really, Deele, do take note of where you are,” Brummell said.

Deele looked from Brummell to Lady Eleanor, coming to a somewhat belated understanding of whose house he stood in. “Well, I did not mean to say—” He huffed, flailing somewhat.