Page 50 of An Unexpected Pleasure

Kyria laughed, joined by the other women in the room. “Don’t apologize. You are exactly right. I did want to put her nose out of joint. But I certainly intended for you to come. Please say you will. It should be quite lovely. Lady Cavendish is getting rather old, but she still has a wonderful sense of style. Her parties are always quite fun. You would enjoy it.”

Megan was a little surprised by how much she would indeed like to go to the party. She had never been one who had envied the wealthy their glittering galas and elegant balls, but as she thought now of sweeping out onto the floor in a lovely ball gown, she was aware of a rush of longing. She decided not to consider why the man in whose arms she saw herself dancing was Theo Moreland.

With an inward sigh, however, she pushed aside that dream. “I’m sorry. I would love to go, but I have nothing appropriate to wear to a ball.”

“Don’t worry about that.” Kyria waved away her objection. “We shall come up with something for you. My maid can alter one of my dresses. She is a wizard with a needle.”

“No, one of mine,” Olivia put in. “We are nearer the same size.”

“We are, as well,” Anna said. “And I just bought a whole hoard of gowns when I came to London. You are most welcome to wear one.”

“There, you see?” Kyria said triumphantly. “I am sure we will be able to find something quite lovely.” She studied Megan, her head to one side. “A warm color, gold or—no, perhaps that rust-colored satin that you wore last summer, Livvy.”

Megan looked at them, warmed by their generosity. “I—I don’t know what to say. You are so kind.”

“Why, say you’ll come. That is all,” Olivia told her.

Megan smiled at her, unable to resist. “All right. I will go with you.”

* * *

MEGAN SPENT MUCH of that evening pacing in her room, worrying about what she was doing. She felt increasingly guilty. She hated the fact that what she was planning to do would hurt the Morelands. They had been terribly kind and generous to her, and she knew that when she revealed what Theo had done, they would all regard her as a traitor.

On the other hand, she felt as if she were letting down her own family by even worrying about Theo’s family—and how could she let herself join in their activities, even enjoy them? She should be searching for evidence about Dennis’s death, not eating meals that melted in her mouth with the family of his killer, or jaunting off to charity balls in a dress that probably cost more than her entire year’s salary.

On the other hand, she argued with herself, going to the charity ball was not without purpose. She could get Julian Coffey alone and talk to him there, something that was obviously difficult to do while she was staying at Broughton House.

With a sigh, she sank down into the chair beside her bed. The fact was, she knew, she could bring this whole problem to a close quickly. She might not even have to talk to Julian Coffey again or remain as the Morelands’ tutor if she could put her hands on the pendant that Barchester has seen Theo holding after Dennis’s death. And she knew where she was most likely to find that pendant—in Theo’s bedchamber.

She was holding back only out of fear. Not just fear of getting caught. Megan felt that, of course, for there was absolutely no reason for her to be in Theo’s bedchamber, and if someone walked in on her there, it would probably lead to her immediate dismissal.

But more than that, she knew, she was afraid of finding the pendant, for it would be more evident that Theo had killed her brother. No matter how sure she was in her head that Theo had been responsible for her brother’s death, something in her heart stubbornly refused to accept it. Even today, when she had seen the look on his face as he stared at the exhibit, she had struggled against the obvious interpretation of his moody gaze. She had wished for some other explanation for the crisp, almost unfriendly way he spoke to Julian Coffey, or the way he turned aside questions about the trip he had made, or his knowledge of South America. Could it not be that he was simply remembering the sorrow of her brother’s death? she urged in her inner dialogue.

Still, she knew she had to look for the pendant. She could not simply go on not knowing the truth. She had to sneak into Theo’s room and search it thoroughly. And the sooner she did it, the better. She needed to bring this to a close before her tangled emotions got even more confused.

But when? Megan rose and began to pace again, chewing at her lower lip in thought.

There were always servants about, and she had no idea when Theo might be in his room—or when some other member of the family might be coming out of one of the other rooms and would see her slip into Theo’s. She could try, of course, late at night, when the servants and family were in bed, but then she would have to wait until some night when she knew that Theo was out. Even then, she would have no idea when he might return, and she couldn’t have him walking in on her.

Of course, there was one time when the servants were all downstairs in the servants’ area and the family was also away from their rooms—the evening meal.

If they were home, every member of the family was there, which was not the case with luncheon or breakfast or high tea. There would be no one to see her enter Theo’s room. And as the meal took some time, with all its courses and the Morelands’ lively conversation, she would have a good thirty minutes or so in which it would be safe to search.

Of course, she would be expected to be at the meal, as well, but surely she could take care of that problem by pleading illness. She could get a tray from the kitchen or even go without food, if she had to.

The more she thought about it, the more the idea grew on Megan. It would be the perfect opportunity, and she could seize it tomorrow night. There would be no waiting around to learn when Theo was going to be out in the evening. She could do it and get it over with. And if she could find the pendant, then the whole thing would be over with quickly. She would not have to stay with the Morelands, growing fonder of them every day. She would not have to wrestle any longer with her wayward feelings for Theo.

It would be done with.

And though the idea put ice in her stomach, she was certain it was what she must do.

Megan went through the twins’ lessons distractedly the next day, the search she planned preying on her mind. Her frequent frowns and distracted air caused Alex to inquire if she was feeling quite all right.

Seizing on the opening his remark offered, Megan admitted that she had a headache and planned to lie down with a lavender compress on her forehead after the end of the day’s studies.

When she sent Alex and Con off for their science lesson with Thisbe, Megan went to her bedroom, closed the curtains and did as she had told the boys she would, lying down in her bed with a lavender-sprinkled warm cloth on her head. Later, when one of the maids came in to see if she needed help with her buttons as she dressed for dinner, she raised her head from the pillow and offered the girl a wan smile.

“I am afraid I won’t be able to come down for dinner, Millie,” she told her, hoping that the nerves dancing in her stomach made her look ill.