fainted at the sight of Colchester?”
“He does have a peculiar effect on certain females, does he not? First Bess, and now Theodosia Slott.”
“Bess’s reaction was understandable, given the circumstances. She took him for a ghost or a vampire. But what of this Theodosia Slott? What is her excuse?”
Horatia gazed out into the crowded street. “It’s an old tale and, as is the case with so many of the old stories concerning Colchester, I have no notion of how much of it is true and how much is fiction.”
“Tell me what you know, Aunt Horatia.”
Horatia glanced at her. “I thought you did not wish to hear gossip about his lordship.”
“I have begun to wonder if perhaps it would be wiser to be more fully informed. It is difficult to know how to respond to a situation when one does not know what is going on.”
“I see.” Horatia settled back with a thoughtful expression. “Theodosia Slott was the reigning belle of her Season. She contracted an excellent marriage to Mr. HaroldSlott. His family was in shipping, I believe. Mr. Slott was somewhat elderly, as I recall.”
Imogen grew impatient. “Yes, yes. Do go on. What happened?”
“Nothing all that unusual. Theodosia did her duty by her husband. Gave him an heir. And then she promptly formed a connection with a dashing young man named Jonathan Exelby.”
“Are you saying Theodosia and Exelby were lovers?”
“Yes. Exelby frequented the most notorious gaming hells. One in particular, The Lost Soul, was said to be his favorite haunt. It was very popular with the young bloods of the ton. Still is, for that matter. In any event, one night he encountered Colchester there and the two men got into a violent quarrel. A dawn meeting was arranged.”
Imogen was horrified. “Colchester was in a duel?”
“That is the story.” Horatia made a small, dismissing movement with one hand. “No one will ever confirm it, of course. Dueling is illegal. The parties involved rarely discuss the matter.”
“But he could have been killed.”
“From all accounts, it was Exelby who was killed.”
“I don’t believe it.” Imogen felt her mouth go dry.
Horatia gave a small shrug. “To my knowledge, Exelby was never seen again following the events of that dawn. He simply disappeared. Dead and buried in an unmarked grave, people say. He had no family to raise questions.”
“There must be more to the story.”
“There is, actually.” Horatia warmed to her tale. “Theodosia claims that to add insult to injury, Colchester showed up on her doorstep later that same morning to claim her favors.”
“
What?
”
“Colchester apparently told her that she had been the subject of the quarrel and, as he had won the duel, he naturally expected to take her lover’s place in her bed. She claims she had him thrown out into the street.”
Imogen was speechless for a second. When she managed to pull herself together, she exploded in protest. “Outrageous.”
“I assure you, it was the
on-dit
of the Season. I recall it well because the scandal even replaced the dreadful story of the Demon Twins of Dunstoke Castle which had been on everyone’s lips that year.”
Imogen was briefly distracted. “Demon Twins?”
“A brother and sister who conspired to burn down a house in the north. It happened shortly before the Season began,” Horatia explained. “Apparently the sister’s aged husband was in his bed at the time. Charred him to a cinder. The Demon Twins were said to have made off with the husband’s hoard of gems.”
“Were the twins ever caught?”
“No. They disappeared along with the fortune. For a time everyone wondered if they would show up in London and attempt to seduce and murder another wealthy old man, but they never appeared. Left for the Continent, no doubt. In any event, as I said, people stopped talking about the Demon Twins after the Colchester affair.”
Imogen frowned. “Colchester would never have gotten involved in such a
“He does have a peculiar effect on certain females, does he not? First Bess, and now Theodosia Slott.”
“Bess’s reaction was understandable, given the circumstances. She took him for a ghost or a vampire. But what of this Theodosia Slott? What is her excuse?”
Horatia gazed out into the crowded street. “It’s an old tale and, as is the case with so many of the old stories concerning Colchester, I have no notion of how much of it is true and how much is fiction.”
“Tell me what you know, Aunt Horatia.”
Horatia glanced at her. “I thought you did not wish to hear gossip about his lordship.”
“I have begun to wonder if perhaps it would be wiser to be more fully informed. It is difficult to know how to respond to a situation when one does not know what is going on.”
“I see.” Horatia settled back with a thoughtful expression. “Theodosia Slott was the reigning belle of her Season. She contracted an excellent marriage to Mr. HaroldSlott. His family was in shipping, I believe. Mr. Slott was somewhat elderly, as I recall.”
Imogen grew impatient. “Yes, yes. Do go on. What happened?”
“Nothing all that unusual. Theodosia did her duty by her husband. Gave him an heir. And then she promptly formed a connection with a dashing young man named Jonathan Exelby.”
“Are you saying Theodosia and Exelby were lovers?”
“Yes. Exelby frequented the most notorious gaming hells. One in particular, The Lost Soul, was said to be his favorite haunt. It was very popular with the young bloods of the ton. Still is, for that matter. In any event, one night he encountered Colchester there and the two men got into a violent quarrel. A dawn meeting was arranged.”
Imogen was horrified. “Colchester was in a duel?”
“That is the story.” Horatia made a small, dismissing movement with one hand. “No one will ever confirm it, of course. Dueling is illegal. The parties involved rarely discuss the matter.”
“But he could have been killed.”
“From all accounts, it was Exelby who was killed.”
“I don’t believe it.” Imogen felt her mouth go dry.
Horatia gave a small shrug. “To my knowledge, Exelby was never seen again following the events of that dawn. He simply disappeared. Dead and buried in an unmarked grave, people say. He had no family to raise questions.”
“There must be more to the story.”
“There is, actually.” Horatia warmed to her tale. “Theodosia claims that to add insult to injury, Colchester showed up on her doorstep later that same morning to claim her favors.”
“
What?
”
“Colchester apparently told her that she had been the subject of the quarrel and, as he had won the duel, he naturally expected to take her lover’s place in her bed. She claims she had him thrown out into the street.”
Imogen was speechless for a second. When she managed to pull herself together, she exploded in protest. “Outrageous.”
“I assure you, it was the
on-dit
of the Season. I recall it well because the scandal even replaced the dreadful story of the Demon Twins of Dunstoke Castle which had been on everyone’s lips that year.”
Imogen was briefly distracted. “Demon Twins?”
“A brother and sister who conspired to burn down a house in the north. It happened shortly before the Season began,” Horatia explained. “Apparently the sister’s aged husband was in his bed at the time. Charred him to a cinder. The Demon Twins were said to have made off with the husband’s hoard of gems.”
“Were the twins ever caught?”
“No. They disappeared along with the fortune. For a time everyone wondered if they would show up in London and attempt to seduce and murder another wealthy old man, but they never appeared. Left for the Continent, no doubt. In any event, as I said, people stopped talking about the Demon Twins after the Colchester affair.”
Imogen frowned. “Colchester would never have gotten involved in such a
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