The Duke's Affair

XXIV

Lauren opened her mouth, feeling her jaw hang helplessly as she watched Tony's face twist into a vision of triumph. His eyes sparkled and he barely restrained himself from grinning.

"How did you -"

Tony slipped the tape into his pocket and pulled the desk chair out to sit on, twisting it round so that his legs straddled the back and he leaned his forearms over the back, resting his chin on them. "I watched the footage. I saw her hide something in her room, but I didn't know what it was until she put it on." Tony paused, allowing Lauren to register that he had seen it. "Like I said, she only watched it the one time, but she watched it over and over, pausing and rewinding for hours. And then when he came to her room it became pretty obvious what she was using it for."

"That still doesn't explain -" Tony put a finger to his lips to silence her and Lauren crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at him.

"Don't interrupt. It's rude." He raised an eyebrow and continued. "And then that other woman started coming by. The one who used to pester you about Henry. The journalist. She wanted information from Annabel. And then Annabel told her there was a tape, but she didn't give it to her until this morning."

Tony whirled his chair round and fiddled with the computer screen, forwarding bits of film of Annabel's bedroom until he reached the beginning of that day's recording. He sat back so Lauren could see and turned up the volume.

Lydia was pacing the tiny bedroom, he dark cashmere coat often blocking the view entirely, but Lauren knew it was her when she spoke. "I need it now. I'll pay you -"

"If I needed the money, don't you think I would have just asked Henry before now?" said Annabel. "I need more than that."

Lydia placed a hand on her hip, flicking the tail of her coat outwards as she did so. "What do you want?"

"I want part of the deal to be that Henry has to marry me."

Lydia scoffed, a noise erupting from her throat like a grunt. "He'll never do that."

"He will if you make it a non-negotiable. A ceremony at Marbedon. A proper wedding."

"Why on earth would you want that?" asked Lydia. "The man is a degenerate. Addicted to whores."

"That's not true." Annabel was seated on her bed, her legs bent beneath her, on hand gripping her own ankle. "Anyway, why I want it is none of your business. The tape is yours if you make that a condition of the deal. If he's going to give everything to Aurelia anyway, then it won't be that big a deal for him to agree to a marriage."

Lydia tossed her head back, her blonde hair tumbling over her shoulders. "Fine. If you give me the tape, I'll tell him. He hasn't got much wriggle room now. He'll have to say yes to everything."

Annabel uncurled her folded limbs and stood up, stretching out a hand to shake Lydia's. "Deal," she said, but Lydia refused to shake on it.

"The tape first." Her tone was threatening and Lauren couldn't' resist a shudder as she watched.

Annabel dropped to the floor and squirmed under the wooden bed frame and reappeared a few seconds later with the tape in her hand. She held it out to Lydia. "Here. Take it."

"Are there copies?"

"No. That's it. I didn't make any. I told him I did, but just to scare him. No one has seen it but me."

Lydia nodded as though she were grateful, and once she had slipped it into her bag she held out her hand and shook Annabel's. "You've done the right thing," she said, before letting herself from the room.