Together, they descended to the crowded first floor and made their way to the restaurant.
Felicity was there, sitting at a table in the garden wearing a lovely, yellow cotton day dress with a heart-shaped neckline and a wide, straw hat. She lifted her teacup to her lips in an unhurried manner, nothing like a woman in desperate need of rescue.
Her cousin was well. Winifred had feared she’d find her cousin a babbling mess, but clearly whatever had caused Felicity to write with such urgency was not so important that it couldn’t wait until after breakfast. Winifred’s legs wobbled before she caught herself and strode forward.
Felicity spotted them through the French doors, straightened, and lifted a hand in welcome. Winifred left Keenan with other servants of guests and joined her cousin at a table in the garden.
“Thank you for coming,” Felicity said with a smile. “I do apologize for drawing you away so soon after your wedding.”
“What is it, then?” Winifred asked. She lowered her voice. “Do you need my help?”
“Not at the moment.”
Winifred’s leg bounced beneath the table. She stilled it. “Will you come back to the castle with me?”
Felicity leaned back. “Absolutely not!”
The strength of her cousin’s refusal angered Winifred more than if Felicity had outright insulted her husband. “What is it, then? Why did you need me to come?”
Felicity chewed her lower lip. “The earl did not accompany you?”
Winifred sighed. “No. What is wrong, Fel? Are you well?”
Felicity squirmed in her seat. “Yes. Living with Uncle Ethan is challenging, but he last left me alone these past few weeks. I… I wished to see you. That is all. I thought it would be easier for you to travel here than all the way back to London.”
Winifred remembered Marcus’s warning about a trap. She hadn’t thought Felicity capable of such deception. “Uncle Ethan did not warn you against seeing me?”
Felicity laughed. “Of course he did, Winnie. He ordered me to remain in my room while he dealt with some business this morning.” She scoffed. “He ordered his valet to watch my door, but the man was more than willing to turn his head for a few bank notes.”
Her cousin’s glib admission banished what remained of Winifred’s fears. Felicity was impulsive and occasionally audacious, but she was still Winifred’s best friend. If their family had arranged a trap, Felicity was not involved. All Winifred had to do now was convince Felicity to return home with her.
“Why did the earl not join you on the journey?” Felicity asked.
Winifred’s knee had started bouncing again. She pressed her heel firmly to the ground. She’d carefully avoided mentioning Marcus’s condition in her letters to her cousin, but it seemed now was the chance to reveal all. Given Felicity’s interest in the occult, she might have some insight into the “mate atrophy” Marcus had mentioned.
“My lord rarely ventures away from the castle,” Winifred said, choosing her words with care. This was a topic that could ignite rumors.
Felicity’s eyebrow rose. “I see. Well, I cannot say I miss his absence, if it means I have you to myself. It feels as if we are girls again.”
Winifred smiled. Indeed, spending time with Felicity reminded her of how they’d gotten along like siblings when they’d been younger, before her parents had spirited her out of the country.
“Do you remember that night?” Winifred whispered. “When our uncle…” She touched her bodice above where the scar rested. She would never forget trembling with fear as Vincent held her firmly from behind while her uncle had approached, wielding the branding iron. The scream that had ripped out of her throat when it had touched her flesh had seemed more animal than human. “I cannot imagine what it is like continuing to live in that house after what he did to us.” She met Felicity’s gaze. “Come home with me, Fel. You could be free of him.”
“I cannot,” Felicity said. “Please don’t ask to explain, Winnie.” Then she brushed a feather that had drooped over the edge of her straw hat back into place and continued in a much lighter tone. “Living with Uncle Ethan is not without its challenges. But tell me more about the earl.”
Something was wrong. It was typical of her cousin to abruptly change the topic, but not like this. It had to have been their uncle. Maybe Felicity feared he had more spies watching them. If so, it was best for Winifred to proceed as she always did with her cousin and let the matter drop. She would get answers from Felicity later, in a more private setting.
“He has exceeded my expectations in every regard,” Winifred said.
“I am glad to hear that.” Felicity picked up a spoon. “I admit I had my concerns. The earl’s ancestors and ours have a… complicated history.”
The way her cousin carefully chose her words made Winifred wonder if Felicity already knew about Marcus’s nature. It shouldn’t have been a surprise. Thanks to her mother, Winifred’s education in her family’s history had ended the night of the branding, but Felicity had not been so blessed. If Marcus was right and the stories she’d been told as a girl were true, then had Felicity known Marcus was a vampire since before the wedding? That would explain her whispered warnings and dire predictions.
Was her cousin a hunter?
She shivered. Felicity had been her first and only friend for most of their lives. It pained Winifred to think Felicity might have kept such a significant secret. At the same time, she simply could not believe Felicity meant her harm. They had been through too much together. Spies or no, Winifred had to get Felicity to talk.
“What do you know of the Devilles?” Winifred asked.
