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.“There is another topic we must address,” he informed Blair.“It’s rather unpleasant.”“What is it?”“I should have come to you sooner, but with the earl still in residence, I didn’t dare.”“Tell me.”“It’s Emeline Wilson.”Blair sighed.“Isn’t it always? What’s she done now?”“I doubt you’ll believe me.When I stumbled on the news myself, I was stunned.”“Where she is concerned, nothing would surprise me.”Benedict was silent, his rage bubbling up, and he found himself too embarrassed to describe what he’d learned.He didn’t speak, and the vicar pressed, “Well? Let’s have it.My curiosity is begging to be assuaged.”“I apologize for being blunt, but there’s no gracious way to begin.”“Candor is welcome.”“Yes, but this is quite a bit beyond candor.”“Just spit it out.I’m sure I’ll survive.”“She…she…while living at the manor, she’s been engaged in a sexual affair with Nicholas Price.”Blair squinted as if confused.“What?”“They’ve been having a sexual affair.She shared his bed.”“They fornicated? Without benefit of marriage?”“Yes.”“The man is the very devil.I’m convinced of it.”“He is very wicked,” Benedict agreed.“Did he seduce her or was she forced?”“There was no force involved.She might be highly educated, but she’s a fool who swallowed his lies.He probably promised he’d marry her.”“He never would,” Blair scoffed.“You and I know that, but she’s a sheltered female.She wouldn’t understand the physical…urges of a cad like Nicholas Price.”“No, she wouldn’t,” Blair concurred.“You’re positive of this?”“Absolutely.”“How dare she!” Blair hissed.“For shame!”Blair cheeks heated with fury, and Benedict almost felt sorry for Emeline.Almost.Benedict had seen how Blair punished another girl who’d had the nerve to immorally copulate.His reaction had been ugly and vicious, but it certainly kept other illicit couplings to a minimum.“What shall we do with her?” Blair asked.“I have a few suggestions.”“First and foremost, she will be accused of harlotry and brought up on charges.”“Of course,” Benedict said, “but we must proceed cautiously.”“Why? We must make an example of her.” Blair appeared gleeful at the prospect.“The whole town must hear how she’s sinned.I insist on it.”“The earl was fond of her.”“So? What bearing has his sentiment on her crime?”“If he came back and discovered that we’d moved against her, he might be angry.”Blair pondered, then nodded.“That could pose some difficulties.”“I thought we could use that sheriff you know, the fellow we used before.”Blair had an old acquaintance, Sheriff Pratt, who was more than happy to take care of neighborhood situations—if the price was right.They had called on him previously, when they’d been plagued by troublemakers who needed to vanish.The prior four miscreants had all been men, and Benedict had no inkling of what became of them.They hadn’t returned to Stafford, and it was rumored that they’d been transported to Australia.Emeline could be spirited away, and there’d be no trace of where she’d gone.After her antics with the earl over her purported strike, she was generally disliked, so there would be no inquiries about her.However, if questions were ever raised, Blair and Benedict were good liars.They could easily say they had no idea what had happened to her.They were pillars of the community.Who would contradict their story?“What about her sisters?” Blair asked.“In light of this scandal, she’s hardly a fit guardian.”“We could have them placed in the poorhouse, but it might be better to send them on to an orphanage in London.If they disappear, too, everyone will simply assume they went somewhere with their sister.”“I would prefer the orphanage,” Blair mused.“Will you write to Sheriff Pratt or shall I?”“I will,” Blair said.“I’d like to have this handled in the next few weeks.The earl ordered me to move her into a house in the village—”“A house!” Blair gasped.“Of her own?”“Yes.She’s to live there as long as she likes.”“Is he mad? We’re a pious town.He must know we’d never tolerate such indecency.”“She must have been quite adept at earning her keep,” Benedict caustically asserted.“She must have learned just how to please him.”“The filthy slut,” Blair muttered, surprising Benedict with his voicing the crude term.“To think that I’ve had her in my home, that she’s friends with my sister.”“It boggles the mind, doesn’t it?”“Yes, it does, but we’ll have the problem fixed in no time.”Blair’s eyes were burning with the religious fervor that came over him whenever he was gearing up to root out evil, and he’d found an easy mark in Emeline.She didn’t stand a chance against him.She had no one to help her, no one who’d be concerned over her plight, except perhaps Mrs.Merrick.But Emeline would be long gone before Mrs.Merrick realized she was missing.His business finished, Benedict stood.“Contact me when you hear from the sheriff,” he said.“I’ll let you know immediately.”They shook hands, and Benedict left.He whistled all the way to the manor.“Miss Wilson?”“Yes?”A maid peeked in Emeline’s bedroom door.“Mr.Mason asked me to fetch you to his office.He needs to speak with you.”Emeline huffed out an irritated breath.Wasn’t it just her luck? The irksome man was supposed to be at her beck and call as they reopened the school, but since the earl’s departure, he’d avoided her like the plague.Now, when there was no reason to chat with him ever again, he’d suddenly reared his pompous head.The coach fare from Cornwall had been received, and she was furtively packing their meager possessions.She planned for them to leave the manor casually, as if they were simply taking a stroll, but they weren’t coming back.At the end of the driveway, they wouldn’t go to Stafford village, but to a town in the opposite direction.They would spend the night at an inn, then travel on the public coach the following morning.She couldn’t arrive at her post looking like paupers, so they would each wear one of the dresses Lord Stafford had purchased for them.The rest of his gifts would be left behind
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