To Deceive A Duke

Chapter 21

Clarissa spends the rest of Sunday in her room with her mother attached to her hip. She doesn't do much but Marie is a welcome distraction as she prevents Clarissa from retreating into the prison inside her mind. She begins to feel better after she is fed properly, and manages to rationalise the last 36 hours by talking through the events with her mother and Alice. She leaves out the specific details related to the fires, but simply discussing what was reported in the newspaper helps her to work out what to do next. Also, Wyn's name becomes banned in the Lenoir household as Clarissa begins to patch her the mess that is her feelings. 

On Monday she drags herself to interrogate Rupert Topson. It's a messy process, but between her and Jack, the poor traitor spills all he knows and reveals the true extent of his betrayal. Apparently, he had been trickling information to Baines and Lestrade for over a month in return for a pretty coin, and then was paid a handsome fee to set up the structure for the fires. 

Once he is dealt with, Clarissa talks to Anne, who is a whimpering mess, and after a few hours of interrogation, she lets the whore return to her house and work in The Strand. On Tuesday she and Peter discuss their next moves, during their meeting he informs her that Lord Wellesley has agreed to see her on Saturday for tea. Then she visits Florence in the afternoon and spends time with Chuck and Iwan. Construction of the new ports has already begun at her insistence and by the time Wednesday rolls around Clarissa is feeling more like her normal self.

On Friday afternoon she is sitting in The One-Eyed Duke, a glass of water in front of her. Her fingers run up and down the glass, deep in thought about tomorrows ball. Florence sits next to her, a borrowed book open in front of her and Iwan is studying on the floor nearby. Clarissa looks up as Peter comes out of his study. 

"You are still going?" He asks, not looking up from the papers in his hands. She rolls her eyes at his attempt at sounding casual. She told him about the ball on Monday and he immediately disapproved but she managed to convince him to see the lack of danger. 

"I have little choice, the dowager invited me personally," She reminds, spinning on her stool to watch him sit down at a table. 

"I don't like it," He says, finally looking into her eyes. 

"Neither do I, but I cannot hide from my peers," She reasons, hopping off the stool, "I cannot have them thinking that I am weak." 

"Do you feel ready? I would feel much better if you took one of us with you, Wyn..." He pauses when the temperature in the room drops below zero. Flo and Iwan share an uneasy look before glancing at her warily but she doesn't react, although her stomach and fists tighten. She forces a smile, ignoring his suggestion. 

"I will be fine with my sister, nothing will happen," She says, "I have been to many balls before and they are always dull and uneventful." 

"Hmmm," Peter doesn't continue to argue but tension still wracks his body. Iwan and Florence turn back to their books and Clarissa takes a seat next to her godfather so she can see what he is looking at. She notices that his documents are the construction plans for the new ports, she slides one of the drawings to her and examines it. Rather than rebuilding the ports which were a few years old, they are making improvements to the design so they can increase the capacity of boats that dock per day. 

"I've diverted our business from Victoria North and Strada to St George and Millbank, they should be able to handle the extra ships until the other two are in working condition," Peter tells her. 

"That's good..." She stops speaking as everyone's attention is drawn to the door as a mass of yellow taffeta frills bursts inside. She swaps a confused glance with Florence as Peter jumps to his feet and approaches the stranger.