“But why?”
“Because I have always wished you to wed Isabella. From the moment my daughter was in her cradle, her mother and I dreamed of your union.”
Lazzara looked astounded.
The confession surprised Damon as well. Vecchi had caused the various accidents because he wanted Lazzara to marry his daughter instead of Eleanor?
“Why would a series of mishaps thwart the prince's courtship?” Damon asked.
Vecchi shrugged. “Lady Eleanora is a spirited and capable young lady. I judged that if his highness were made to look ineffectual and effeminate in her eyes, she would be less likely to wed him.”
Lazzara voiced an expletive in Italian, but his tone held an edge of bitterness when he muttered, “For my own flesh and blood to betray me this way is beyond belief!”
Damon stiffened as another thought occurred to him. “What about the balloon ascension?” he demanded. “Was Giacomo responsible for releasing the moorings as well as the other incidents?”
The signor shifted his gaze to Damon. “No, I paid an attendant of Signor Pucinelli to loosen the ropes. When you entered the gondola with her, Lord Wrex-ham, I saw the opportunity to further your own courtship of her.”
An attendant who had immediately disappeared afterward, Damon remembered, while he and Eleanor had faced peril with the pilotless flight of the balloon.
He'd played right into Vecchi's hands, Damon thought, cursing the bloody irony of it. They had both harbored similar purposes-to prevent an unwanted marriage between Eleanor and Lazzara. But he had also been intent on keeping her away from the prince for the sake of her safety. Unlike Vecchi.
The larger crime was that Eleanor had been seriously endangered, more than once.
Damon set his jaw, finding it difficult to control his own fury. “You are aware, Signor, that you risked Lady Eleanor's life several times over? She could have been hurt badly, even killed.”
“Yes, and I regret that sincerely.”
As if sensing that Damon was very close to wrapping his hands around the diplomat's throat, Lord Haviland stepped in to diffuse the tension. “I am curious, Signor Vecchi. We might never have identified you as the perpetrator had your servant not arrived at Rosemont. What brought Giacomo here?”
Vecchi grimaced. “He demanded immediate payment for his services.”
“So you hired him to contrive these various accidents but then neglected to compensate him?”
“I had every intention of paying him as soon as I came into the funds.”
It was like so many of the upper class, treating their servants and tradesmen like cattle, Damon thought, uncurling his fists in an effort to calm his urge for retribution. The question of what to do with Signor Vecchi and his lackey, however, still remained.
Turning, Damon addressed Prince Lazzara. “I am inclined to let you mete out justice for your cousin, your highness. We could perhaps press charges against him for assault, but as he is a high-ranking diplomat, it might create difficulties for our government. And I suspect the punishment you choose will be more severe.”
“You may count on it, my lord,” the prince agreed grimly.
“You will, of course, see that he leaves the country immediately?”
“Yes, most assuredly.”
Moving to kneel before the prince, Vecchi clutched his hand in supplication. “Don Antonio… I truly beg your forgiveness!”
Lazzara's expression was one of revulsion. “At this moment I cannot contain my disgust of you. You are a disgrace to our family and to our country.” Pulling his hand away, the prince spoke in a lower, more humble voice to Damon. “I must thank you, Lord Wrexham. You have opened my eyes to my cousin's treachery.” He sent Vecchi a glance of loathing. “I could perhaps comprehend his perfidy toward me, but his heinous acts against Lady Eleanora are unforgivable.”
“Indeed.” The single harsh word had been uttered by Lady Beldon, who had understood enough of the conversation to be enraged.
“This is outrageous, sir!” she exclaimed to Signor Vecchi, her voice trembling with fury. “I never realized what a dastardly blackguard you are. You will understand when I say that you are no longer welcome in my home. I demand that you take your leave at once.”
His expression bleak, Vecchi slowly rose to his feet and exited the parlor. Prince Lazzara, after offering profuse apologies to her ladyship, marched determinedly after his cousin.
Lord Haviland caught Damon's eye. “I will make certain Giacomo doesn't decide to flee the premises.”
Damon nodded in agreement. But once the earl had left, his attention returned to Lady Beldon.
She was still trembling, although he suspected her ire had ebbed a measure, only to be replaced by despair.
Taking her elbow, Damon helped the viscountess over to the sofa, where she sank down heavily and lifted her hand to her forehead. Clearly she was shaken enough that she scarcely noticed him.
“May I fetch you something, my lady?” Damon asked. “Wine, perhaps? Or smelling salts?”
Lady Beldon stiffened at the question, then grimaced as if berating herself for showing weakness in front of him.
Drawing a long, shuddering breath then, she eyed Damon haughtily. “I want nothing from you, Wrex-ham. You are in my ill graces once again for bringing pain to my niece.”
Damon leveled a cool look at her. “Pray, just how did I cause your niece pain, Lady Beldon?”
“With your philandering ways, that is how. Elea nor was highly aggrieved to discover you are still consorting with your ladybird.”
A cold chill ran up Damon's spine. Lazzara must have informed Eleanor about his meeting with Lydia immediately after arriving back at Rosemont.
At his reaction, the viscountess's mouth twisted with disdain. “You might at least have had the decency to wait until returning to London instead of carrying on in this wicked fashion. I sincerely hope you will conduct your affairs with more discretion in the future.”
“Where is Eleanor now?” he asked, his voice hoarse.
“Her bedchamber. She meant to leave you this very afternoon and return to London on her own, but I think I persuaded her to hold off for the time being. Her departure in the middle of my house party would only give rise to scandal. I also told her that she would be wise to overlook your dissolution- Wrexham! Where are you going?”
Damon had spun abruptly on his heel and headed for the door.
“I need to speak to her at once,” he threw over his shoulder.
A sinking feeling tightened his gut as Damon strode down the corridor toward the front entrance hall. Eleanor would be hurt and furious if she thought he had betrayed her once again-enough that she might very well leave him.
The thought of losing her made his stomach recoil. He couldn't allow her to leave. Not now, when he finally realized how much she meant to him. How dear she was to him.
His breath seized, forming a hard knot in his throat. He loved Eleanor, deeply and irrevocably. He'd vowed to keep his distance from her, to guard his heart from the pain she could cause him. Then he'd ignored his own warnings. He'd let himself dance with fire, telling himself he wouldn't burn when the flames touched him. Yet all this time he had only deceived himself.
He couldn't be with Eleanor and not love her.
If he told her of his feelings now, though, she was unlikely to believe him. On the contrary, she would think he was merely trying to make up for his sins.
Damon hurried his pace, mounting the sweeping staircase three steps at a time. Dread drove him, while one thought kept churning over and over in his mind.