Free The Waylaid Heart by Holly Newman

whatever happened, it was worth it just to bring that light into Cecilia's expressive eyes.
    In the end, they winnowed down the list of Randolph's cohorts to three names: The Honorable Reginald Rippy and Sir Harry Elsdon, both of whom were with Randolph after the opera; and Lord Havelock whose family's estate had burned to the ground some years past. There were, perhaps, one or two others of his cronies that he spent as much (if not more) time with; however, in correlating their lists, those three names were the only ones of his immediate circle who were in attendance at Lady Amblethorp's musicale. They were also, interestingly enough, the only ones that they agreed were likely to possess the moral turpitude for murder.
    Afterward, Lady Meriton professed herself amazed at the number of gentlemen she considered capable of cold-blooded murder. It made her shiver just to consider it. In high dudgeon she wrote a letter to her husband relating that fact, and in agitated tones she importuned Lord Meriton to return to England at his earliest convenience. It was the most crossed and recrossed letter she'd ever written to her globe-trotting spouse, and one she nearly did not send. In the end, Loudon saw it conveyed to the mails and Lady Meriton heaved a sigh of relief. She'd finally told him of her niece's madcap schemes and therefore felt absolved of ultimate responsibility. Happily she returned to her paper and scissors, taking care to order from the stationers adequate supplies for her journey south to Oastley Hall.
    As Cecilia anticipated, Randolph's friends were quick to respond to the invitation. Randolph nearly cried off, but his friends shamed him into attending. He grumbled and argued that Oastley was "a dashed dull dog of a place," but no one listened to him; after all, it was the home of the infamous Franklin Cheney, one time rumored highwayman and smuggler, now fourth Duke of Houghton.
    Soon talk of the proposed house party dominated salon conversation throughout Mayfair, and Lady Iantha Cheney, the Duchess of Houghton, was moved to write an agitated letter to her daughter demanding to know what stories were being circulated about the proposed gathering. It seemed she was suddenly besieged with letters from people proclaiming long lost friendship and saying wouldn't it be nice to visit together. It was keeping her secretary busy devising imaginative delays. The duke, on the other hand, replied to any who had the effrontery to write him in a similar vein with the words, " No, and be damned! " As it was a response in keeping with this eccentric peer's personality, no offense was taken in any quarter.
    Ultimately, thirty-eight guests would stay at Oastley, well within the bounds of the capabilities of the Cheney staff, some of whom were long time retainers who remembered the wild orgies held by the duke in his bachelor days. Those parties saw over one hundred young bucks and doxies in attendance. Of course, with that crowd private accommodations were not always necessary, nor private beds a requirement.
    But those days were long past and the thirty-eight guests invited to stay at Oastley would fill the guests rooms nicely. On the night of the ball, with the addition of the surrounding gentry to the lists, the mansion would be filled to the rafters. As a consequence of the enormity of the party, Cecilia and Lady Meriton journeyed to Oastley three days before the invited guests in order to help oversee the final arrangements. They took with them Lady Meriton's dresser and Sarah, a young housemaid with aspirations to be a lady's maid.
    Cecilia entered into the preparations with a verve that raised her grandmother's thin, aristocratic eyebrows and caused her grandfather to pound her on the back and bluffly proclaim he knew her various and sundry illnesses stemmed solely from inactivity. It was unfortunate his action coincided with her swallowing a small sip of sherry. It set her coughing and sputtering dreadfully, for which he