I returned to my house quite late that night.
Naturally, before I'd left Lord Pendleton, I hauled him to his bed and set things up to look as if he'd simply passed out from drinking too much.
Since Marissa had already gone home by the time I arrived at the townhouse (and my lackey was surprisingly nowhere to be found), I undressed and drew myself a bath. The warm water was so soothing that I spent more time lounging in the tub than I needed to and ended up sleeping in a bit the next morning.
"MISS SCANDAL MAKER!!!!!"
I lazily cracked an eye open, the harsh rays of late morning glowing around the edges of my curtains.
"MISS! MISS SCANDAL MAKER!"
Again, the shout echoed through the halls.
"Goodness, who is shouting this morning?" I rubbed my eyes and reached for the glass on my bedside table. Conveniently, it somehow filled itself with water as I brought it toward me.
"It seems Miss Eleanor Vargo is here," Marissa informed me, tipping the water pitcher back upright.
"Mmm I see," I mumbled, replacing the glass after taking a swig. Then I glanced at the clock. "I know I slept in, but isn't it rather early for her to be here?"
"MISS SCANDAL MAKERRRRRRRRR!!!!"
"... she seems a bit excited." Marissa remarked, pressing against her ear. "Shall I dress you first or show her to the parlor?"
I yawned and stretched before swinging my legs to the floor. "It seems I better hurry out to meet her. Grab me a dress, please."
On the way to meet Miss Eleanor, I took a few moments to skim the morning paper. There was nothing of note. A few gossips, a feature on the Count's ball, and the usual boring happenings.
What a relief.
Based on Miss Eleanor's tone, I almost expected the paper to have a front page story about Lord Pendleton.
But it wasn't time for that yet.
I'd made sure one of the incriminating letters would end up in the newspaper's hands. And another in the hands of the academy board. A third went to the closest trading partner of Miss Eleanor's father's business. Since each party only had a single piece of the puzzle, I estimated nearly a week before the truth made its debut in the paper.
Thank goodness the newspaper hadn't decided to act out of turn and ruin the drama of everything.
No, what I wanted for this scandal wasn't a quick takedown like with Baron Winthrop. I wanted whispers of Lord Pendleton to fill the streets. I wanted his colleagues to give him strange looks and wonder if they could trust him. And just when everyone's suspicions reached their peak, I wanted them to be confirmed.
It's the reason I spent so long at the Lord's manor after drugging him. I couldn't take the letters from the book on the shelf second from the bottom, exactly eight from the left. That's the first place Lord Pendleton would check when he awoke. And when he found the letters perfectly safe, he wouldn't bother checking any of his other hiding places.
Which had all been pilfered by yours truly.
Aw, what a satisfying scandal this was going to b-
"Miss Scandal Maker!!"
I had scarcely turned the corner down the hall toward the parlor when Miss Eleanor lunged at me.
"You'll never believe what has happened!" she panted, gripping both my shoulders.
"Good morning, Miss Eleanor," I winced. "Would you like to sit down and have some tea?"
"There's no time for that!" she insisted. "My father has moved up the wedding date!"
I blinked in disbelief. "What? Why?" I now grabbed her shoulders as well. "Wait, that's not important. When? When is the new date?"
"In three days!!" Miss Eleanor cried, slumping over.
"Who in their right mind decides they only need three days to prepare for a wedding?" I frowned. This was bad. It bordered on being the worst case scenario. Still, I was sure we could find some way to fix it, but first I needed to calm Miss Eleanor down.
"Marissa, some tea if you don't mind," I nodded to my maid before grasping Miss Eleanor's hands and leading her toward the parlor. "Please come have a seat and try to relax for a moment."
Once we were seated with steaming cups in our hands, Miss Eleanor finally regained some composure.
"I realize the deadline has moved up dramatically," she offered, "but is there any way to finish the job now?"
"You're right, it is definitely a different game today than it was yesterday," I mused.
Miss Eleanor's father would do everything to cover the rumors of Lord Pendleton if he was already married to his daughter, making all my efforts for naught. Murder was a better option than divorce at that point. And I was pretty confident I could make it look like an accident.
But that's only if I couldn't prevent the wedding in the first place.
"First of all, I need to know why the wedding has been moved up," I explained, setting my own cup down. "Tell me everything you know about it."
"Ah.. well.. I believe my father wants to improve his social standing in order to secure a certain deal with a high-ranked noble," Miss Eleanor detailed. "Apparently it's urgent, which is why he opted to have the wedding as soon as possible."
"Lord Pendleton certainly has a good standing and many connections," I nodded. So it had been about business, after all. Good. That made things simpler. "If that's all this is about then I think I have a solution."
"You do?" Miss Eleanor's eyes grew teary. "Can you really save me, Miss Scandal Maker?"
I smiled reassuringly. "Of course. It's what I do."
Just then, with the most impeccable timing, Wolf burst through the parlor door.
"Oh! Oh, um hello, Marquess," Miss Eleanor jumped to her feet to greet him.
Wolf gave her a curt nod.
"Are.. you acquainted with each other?" the woman asked, glancing between us, unsure if she should sit down again or remain standing.
"Somewhat," I answered before Wolf could talk. "But for now, just think of him as our 'solution'."
"Our solution? The Marquess?" Miss Eleanor's eyebrows knitted together. She looked at Wolf again and then back at me.
"It's simple." I took another sip of my tea. "Wolf, I need you to propose to this woman. Immediately."