He’d turned his attention to the newspaper, and suddenly he went very still. “It says here that Victoria is in residence at Balmoral.”
“Not unusual. She spends considerable time at her castle in Scotland. To be honest, I think she has a tender for John Brown.” He’d once served as a gillie for her husband, Prince Albert, but after the prince’s death had become personal assistant to the Queen.
“My sister recently married a man with an estate in Scotland.”
“The Earl of Tewksbury.” More widely known as the bastard Benedict Trewlove, although he’d gone by the monikerBeast, before his true origins were discovered. One day he would inherit the dukedom of Glasford. “What are you thinking?”
“We’ve been striving to determine who was involved in the plot by making inquiries and attempting to catch snippets of conversations that might reveal something useful. But what if we were able to bring the culprits to us in one place and fool them into revealing themselves?”
Marcus stood within the grand foyer of the Duke of Glasford’s Mayfair residence, waiting asthe butler went to announce their arrival. Marcus wasn’t quite comfortable coming to Althea for assistance, but he was damned tired of the hunt and was willing to do whatever was necessary to bring it to an end. Still, he was the eldest and it was his responsibility to protect the others. He’d done a rather poor job of it, leaving them to fend for themselves, but at the time, he’d thought he had no choice. How different things might have been if he’d only gone to Esme a year earlier, if he’d had her counsel and assistance.
At his side now, she circled her hand over his back reassuringly. “How long since you’ve seen your sister?”
“I’ve observed her from the shadows from time to time, simply to ensure she was well, but we’ve not encountered each other or spoken since just before she married Trewlove.”
“You didn’t attend her wedding?”
He shook his head. “All I ever wanted for her was to be safe and happy. I visited after she became betrothed, and she assured me that she was both those things. I didn’t want to do anything that might risk her not obtaining what she deserved and was afraid my presence at the nuptials might possibly bring danger to her door.”
“But you had no qualms about bringing it to mine.”
Looking over at her he smiled. Her voice contained no heat, only a teasing sort of pique. “You can take care of yourself.”
“You didn’t know that at the time.”
“When I first laid eyes on you from a distance, I deduced you were a woman to be reckoned with. It’s simply the way you hold yourself, the way you take command of the area around you. You can be intimidating.”
“You weren’t intimidated.”
“I had nothing to lose.”
The echo of rapid footsteps had him turning his attention toward the opening of the wide corridor as his sister emerged at a swift clip with a smile wreathing her lovely face, her giant of a husband following behind her. Rushing up to him, she took hold of both his hands and squeezed. “Marcus, I’m so happy you appear to be in splendid health. I’ve been frightfully worried about you.”
He wasn’t surprised that she kept some distance between them, rather than hugging him in welcome. Affection had long been absent in his family, and he’d often felt he was living among strangers. As a result, he’d embraced any excuse to be absent of their company. He rather regretted it now, having learned a tad late how important family was, how they could—should—be relied upon when facing life’s challenges. “It’s good to see you, Althea.”
Looking past him at Esme—who had not worn her red hairpiece and was dressed modestly in a dark green frock that didn’t dip below her neckline—Althea furrowed her brow and narrowed her eyes. “You look somewhat familiar... and yet I can’t quite... place...”
Then her features morphed into disgust, andshe jerked her attention back to him. “Why have you brought Father’s doxy here?”
“Esme wasn’t Father’s mistress.”
“I beg to differ. Once I saw her with him. She is not welcomed here. Mother suffered humiliation because of their very public affair.” They’d all still been living with their parents, so it had been impossible not to see the strain the gossip had put on the marriage. But then there had always been a coldness and distance between his parents. Althea had been closest to their mother and taken it all very hard. Especially because she’d been experiencing the swirl of the Social Season and was forced to endure pitying looks and conjecture regarding her parents’ relationship. She’d been giddily betrothed to the Earl of Chadbourne before their father was arrested, at which point the scapegrace lord had tossed her aside.
“Althea, it was not as it all appeared. We’ll explain everything but know that I trust her with my life.”With my heart, with my very soul.The words he’d been unable to voice aloud took him aback, and yet he understood the truth of them. Still, he wasn’t certain Esme would welcome them.
His sister angled her chin defiantly before turning her attention back to the woman at his side. “I suppose, welcome then.”
Esme lowered herself into a graceful curtsy, one she no doubt bestowed upon the Queen when their paths crossed. “Lady Tewksbury, it is indeed an honor to make your acquaintance.”
She sighed heavily. “Althea will do. My husbandisn’t quite comfortable yet with his title.” She turned to the silent, assessing man standing slightly behind her. “Ben, this is my brother, Marcus, and the woman with him is Miss Esme, was it?” She arched a blond brow.
“Esme Lancaster,” she and he said at the same time, and he couldn’t help but form a small smile that only caused his sister to narrow her eyes at him.
“Welcome,” said the man once known as Beast, who, like Marcus, had roamed the darker corners of London. “Shall we retire to the parlor? Scotch and brandy seem to be required for this visit.”
“It’d be most appreciated,” Marcus said.
Once they were all settled with scotch for the men and brandy for the ladies, each couple sitting on a settee facing the other, Marcus told his sister, “I’m grateful to see you looking so well.”
