“Yes.” If Nicholas had wanted anyone else present, he would have specified.
“Any clue what this is about?” Alec murmured as he escorted her downstairs.
“I thought one of the boys, but . . .”
He stopped her at the bottom and braced his hands on her shoulders. “Whatever it is, you’re not to worry. I’ll protect you, and so will Nick.”
“Thank you.”
She prayed he was correct. If this was about Fletcher, she had no idea how Nicholas would react. She wanted to kick herself for not telling him everything days ago.
Henderson opened the door to announce them. “Miss Knight and Captain Gilbride, sir.”
Victoria preceded Alec across the threshold but almost immediately stumbled to a halt when she saw who stood by the fireplace. Though Alec bumped into her, she hardly felt it.
Fletcher gazed at her with so much fury and loathing it was a wonder she didn’t immolate on the spot. “You thought you could hide from me, Miss Knight. And hide your heinous crimes from the rest of the world.”
“Please refrain from such dramatic pronouncements, Mr. Fletcher,” Nicholas said in a cold tone. “Come in, Miss Knight.”
Shaking away the sensation that a viper’s gaze had paralyzed her, she looked at her fiancé, and her heart promptly took a dive. Nicholas looked very much like the remote, unwelcoming man she’d met that first day at Kinglas. Of course, he’d be angry. She’d lied to him, to the man she loved, the man who had shared all his dark secrets with her.
She knew that to him, such a betrayal was the worst of sins.
“Come along, lass,” Alec murmured. “Don’t be worried. I’m right here.”
She cast him a lopsided smile over her shoulder, then headed for the chair in front of Nicholas’s desk. She sank down on the cool leather seat and smoothed shaking hands over her skirts.
“What’s going on here, Arnprior?” Alec asked, taking up position behind her.
Nick sank heavily into the desk chair, as if a terrible weariness dragged on his bones. “I suspect you already know something of why Mr. Fletcher is here.”
“Perhaps, but I’d like to hear it firsthand from your visitor.” Alec put up a warning hand as Fletcher opened his mouth to speak. “But let me be clear that Miss Knight is under my protection. Nothing will happen to her that does not meet with my approval.”
“She’s undermyprotection too, Gilbride. And if you’d bloody well told me about this, I could have done a better job of managing it.” Nicholas threw a disgusted glance at Fletcher. “Instead of having this man issuing threats.”
“I’m simply demanding justice for my murdered son,” Fletcher said. “You’ve all done your best to hide the jade away, so no one could find her.”
Nicholas leaned forward, his gaze menacing. “I’ve warned you, Mr. Fletcher. If you continue to address anyone in my household in such terms, I will throw you out to the street.”
Fletcher clamped his lips shut and fumed. Obviously, he’d already said a great deal about her character. This was exactly what she’d feared—when she’d finally have the chance to defend herself, it would be too late. In the eyes of the world, only a guilty person didn’t stay and fight. Only a guilty person ran away and hid.
“I’m so sorry,” she said to the earl. “I wish I’d told you.”
“She was under strict instructions from Sir Dominic and her brother to remain silent on the matter until it was completely resolved,” said Alec before Nicholas could respond. “I also counseled her to do the same.”
Fletcher sneered. “You were all trying to hide her away, but I hired an inquiry agent to track her down. It wasn’t all that hard to find her.”
“Because we weren’thiding her away,” Alec growled. “We wanted her out of town to allow the gossip to die down. Such gossip, by the way, would do nothing for your son’s reputation or the reputation of your family if the truth got out.”
Nick fastened a hard stare on Alec. “It would appear that plan was rather flawed.”
Alec shook his head, exasperated. “Obviously, but Dominic had the matter in hand when Victoria left London.”
“Even the great Sir Dominic cannot shove a murder under the rug,” Fletcher said contemptuously.
“She didnotmurder your son,” Alec said. “Your son assaulted her, and she defended herself.”
“That’s a lie,” Fletcher shouted. “She’s a whore who tried to seduce my poor boy. When he wouldn’t marry her, she murdered him in cold blood. I have the evidence to prove it.”
