He dispatched a note, giving instructions to the footman to ask to deliver it to Lady Josephine and to wait for her reply. He had shamelessly used his father’s seal to make the note appear as if it had come from the duke himself. He had to let her know he was back in London and to be ready to elope in the early hours of tomorrow. They would catch the first train bound for Scotland and would be married before the day was over. He could hardly wait.
But when he finally received a reply, it was not Josephine, but her brother who replied to his missive. It merely said they needed to talk about his sister and invited the duke to pay a call at his earliest convenience. That sounded ominous. A chill of dread settled on Michael’s chest. Had something happened to Josie? Was she ill, after all?
No. More likely, her family wished to discuss her engagement to his brother. By now they had probably realized the betrothal could not stand, and they would wish to apologize and perhaps demand Michael did his duty and marry her. Especially if Josephine told them they had been intimate. Would she tell something like that to her family? He didn’t think it was likely, but it didn’t matter either way. He would be more than happy to stand by her. It was what he wanted most in the world.
Unable to wait anymore, he decided to pay a visit straight away. Without even changing from his traveling clothes, he set off on foot for the earl’s townhome.
He was immediately escorted to the study. But it was her brother who stood from his seat behind the desk at Michael’s entrance, looking surprised to see him. He had a split lip, a black eye, and he moved with the careful motions of someone who had a few bruised ribs. “I say, Lord Michael, I did not expect you to be the one to call.”“My father is in the country, and so is my brother. Since I am in London, they asked me to call on Lady Josephine and inquire about her health.” A fib, but at this point, he didn't know how much they knew and he had to play cautiously.“I guess it doesn’t matter. You can relay the message to your father and brother.” Lord Benenden sighed and motioned for Michael to sit. “Have a seat, if you will.”
Relay the message to his father and brother? So maybe Benenden didn’t know it was Michael whom Josephine wanted to marry? What exactly had she told her family? Edginess and foreboding were crawling up his spine. He had no wish to sit and discuss anything with her brother.
“I need to see your sister,” he ground out, barely leashing his impatience.
“It is about my sister that I wish to talk.” Benenden shuffled toward a credenza that held bottles and very deliberately poured himself a drink. Every muscle in Michael’s body urged him toaction, to run up the stairs and search the house until he found Josie, but sanity prevailed. He would get nowhere by acting like a madman.
“Brandy?”
“No, thank you. Let’s get straight to business. Your family left my father’s estate under distressing circumstances. I wish to see Lady Josephine to reassure myself of her well-being.”
The other man furrowed his brow and made a show of returning to his desk and resuming his seat, contemplating his drink as if the answers to everything were found at the bottom of the glass. His dithering did not reassure Michael in the least.
“I wish I could be sure of my sister’s well-being myself,” Benenden finally said. “Alas, she has made her choice.”
“What the hell are you talking about? Where is she? What happened to her?” Michael was not even aware of stalking toward the desk until he banged a fist on it, upturning a small figurine sitting on top of a stack of papers.
Benenden held his hands up placatingly. “Our family would like to offer our most sincere apologies for any embarrassment caused. We are as distressed as you are at the possibility of scandal. At least her betrothal to your brother had not been formally announced yet, so it should not affect your family much.”
“To hell with scandal!” He was screaming now and did not care. “Tell me this instant what happened to Josephine and where is she or I will jump over this desk and choke it out of you!”
“Jaysus, man, calm down. Don’t know why you are acting as such. This will affect our family much more than yours. My sister has eloped. She ran off with a man. A foreigner.”
“What?” It was all he could utter. His chest had caved in on itself and then dropped to his stomach.
“I’m so sorry. She had met him a time or two during her season and flirted with him, but we thought nothing of it, as she appeared to be happy with her betrothal to your brother. We are absolutely baffled by her choices, I assure you.”
“You are lying. She would not have run off with another man. What have you done with her? Where is she? Answer me, or I swear I will call the police!”
“The police? As distressing as this news is to both our families, there’s no need to involve the police. My sister left of her own free will.”
“That is not possible. She had promised to marry me.”
“You? Surely not! She was betrothed to your brother.”
Something terribly foul was afoot. Benenden was pretending he didn’t know about his sister’s intention to break her engagement. Michael needed to think, but he could barely breathe. Josephine was missing. He did not believe for one second she had eloped with another man. Her brother was lying, God knows with what intent. Maybe they meant to send her out of the country and force her to marry someone else. Could they do that? Was that even legal? He had to consult a barrister. He had to call the police.
“She broke the engagement.” He managed to speak past the knot desperation had lodged in his throat. “She spoke to your parents about that. It was likely the reason they departed the house party so precipitously, before the announcement was made.”
“I assure you that is not the reason. The morning they left the house party, she was indeed ill. Or maybe she just pretended to be, for she recovered quite swiftly as soon as she arrived in London. She never said a word about breaking her engagement. We had no idea she was dissatisfied with the marriage the family had arranged for her until she eloped.”
“I don’t believe you. Who is this man she allegedly eloped with? Where is the proof that she left of her own free will?”
“The man is Pasha of Suez. He has spent quite some time in London this season, as our government is interested in the negotiations taking place for building a canal. My sister met him at a ball, and they danced one dance too many. So we forbid her to see him again.”
“No. This story doesn’t make sense.” This was a nightmare from which he couldn’t wake up. None of this was real. It didn’t make sense. “Why would she promise to marry me if she planned to elope with another?”
“I don’t know. Who can understand my sister? Her choices have baffled all of us. But I promise you it is the truth. The injuries you see I’ve sustained were received while trying to prevent her departure. The pasha’s men attacked me.”
Benenden indeed looked the worse for wear. But still… he could have received those injuries in a fight. That was no proof.
