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‘Melina is as much aware of the thorns in my past life as I am.’ Warrington walked to Melina and introduced her, not by the Hawkins name. ‘She needed passage on Ascalon and I agreed to help her locate lost family members here in England.’ His hand went to the small of her back, and then to her waist, holding her beside him.
Daphne took a deep breath and registered the situation. The edges of her lips dropped before she spoke. ‘If you don’t care for her knowing, then I suppose I don’t, either.’
She paced to the mantel, making the space seem smaller with her flurried movements, her hands clasping and unclasping. Warrington stayed at Melina’s side. Daphne faced them both.
‘Warrington...’ Daphne spoke cautiously, at first, and threaded her fingertips together. Then her words rushed out. ‘I know Cassandra wasn’t always as demure as a wife should be. When you were ill, she came to my house and I took her in. She was afraid for Jacob’s health. But...’ she shrugged ‘...you know how she was...’
‘You cannot simply give me the name of the man?’ Warrington’s voice slashed the air.
Daphne strode to the window, and stared out, her back to the room. ‘After all I’d done for her. I took her in—and I believed every word. I knew her. She spent more time thinking up lies and missteps than most people spend awake. She lied, but never to me—never—I believed. She hated your father. Hated him. I understood. He was a tyrant. But you’d been so good and she came to me when you were sick.’ Daphne turned back to the room, her eyes narrowed and lips pinched. ‘You were sick. I hadn’t expected that. She left you and pranced right into my house like she owned it.’ Her voice became shrill. ‘I was supposed to just hand her my handkerchiefs and lend her my maid, and wait until her hair was done before I dared leave the house in the morning, taking her here and there in my carriage.’ Daphne crossed her arms. ‘Always expected me to put her little world back together. And her...’
‘So who do you think she could have met?’ Warrington’s voice slashed out the words.
‘Half the town of London for all I know.’
‘Thank you for making me feel better, Daphne.’
Her face changed, softened. ‘I didn’t mean to say that. I truly didn’t. She did things and then regretted them.’
‘Then she had many regrets.’ His lips twisted into a wry line after he spoke. ‘I need to know who the man was. Is there a servant you have now who could help me learn who her last lover was?’
‘How are you so certain he was her last?’ The words tumbled from Daphne’s lips.
‘Fine, then. Is there anyone who could help me make a list of her last lovers? I can hire an expert in mathematicals if you think I might need help with the numbers.’
Daphne shook her head, rapidly. ‘No. No,’ she said, a blush sweeping her cheeks. ‘I didn’t mean that, and I’m certain she—’ Her voice became brittle. ‘I’m certain she couldn’t have had but one affection. She slept half the day and we went to the shops until they closed.’
‘I’m only interested in learning who the man was. You can’t convince me you don’t know. You knew her better than anyone and you would have sensed what she was about. And don’t concern yourself about hurting my feelings if he is someone I trusted. Right now, I cannot look at a man in London without wondering if he bedded my wife.’
Daphne spoke, compassion in her words. ‘You did care for her, though. I watched you dance with her as if the clouds floated at your feet.’
‘I don’t wish to talk about how I felt for your sister when I first met her. Our feelings were never simple. After she had another man’s child in her belly—after it was too late for me to ever look at her the same again—she told me what a mistake she’d made. She said she hadn’t even cared for his touch. I believed her. I knew it to be true by the way she smirked about the agonies she caused him by threatening to expose him. She was full cracked, or evil—or both.’
Daphne’s face twisted and she didn’t speak, just stared ahead.
‘Who did my wife share company with when she left me on my deathbed?’ Warrington asked again.
She shook her head and clasped her hands in front of her, but her words snarled. ‘I don’t want to talk about it any more. I believed you loved her. You’re no different than my sister.’ She speared a glance at Melina.
