He realized, with a cold certainty, that she must have uncovered the truth about Polly and Jared’s child long before arriving in St. Giles.
How had she continued on with the pretense of the engagement, apathetic to the way Jared had treated her? Had she become so numb over the years that nothing wounded her? When they were young, she’d taken the waves at the beach at full force.
Ian couldn’t fathom what had snuffed out her passion, her ferocity for life.
As he silently held her gaze, he begged her to tell him,How much did you know?
She lifted a shoulder, as if to say,Less than you’re imagining.
When Polly had quieted enough to take a sip of water, Diana asked, “What time did Jared arrive last night?”
“Must have been close to half-eleven.”
“And he wasn’t himself.”
“He’d been drinking. But I think he took something else. His hands were shaky, like. Usually, when he comes in, he sits with the baby. But last night, he was so cold, so distant,” Polly said thickly. “And then he threw down those papers and said he was taking Johnny away.”
“Johnny?” Ian murmured.
“That’s his nickname for John. Named him after…” Her voice trailed off before she could say they’d given him Ian’s father’s name.
Ian’s head went fuzzy as he tried to reconcile the wildly conflicting information. Naming the boy after their father was no small thing. Jared truly must have cared for the boy. It made his overtures to take the child from Polly completely baffling.
Lady Cora smoothed the papers together on the table. “This is a legal affidavit stating Johnny is Jared’s son. It instructs Mrs. Wren to deliver Johnny to the care of Grayson Institute in Surrey.”
Grayson was a home where the aristocracy and gentlemen of means sent their bastards for rearing. The previous night, one cretin among Jared’s stags had extolled the virtues of the place.
“They can’t take him!’ Polly wailed. “I’m his mother!”
“Of course you are,” Diana said softly. She exchanged an inquisitive glance with Lady Cora.
“By law, the courts favor a father’s rights.” Lady Cora shook her head. “More so if the parents are unmarried.”
When all three women turned to him, Ian had never wanted to run further or faster from any spot in his life.
He had to settle for pacing the length of the small room.
Diana observed him warily, and he glared at her because it was easier than accepting her betrayal and the possibility she’d been toying with him since she’d leaped into the dumbwaiter.
“You need a solicitor who can advise you. An expert in this type of law,” Ian said eventually. “I can help.”
Polly stopped mid-sob.
“In exchange for some information.”
He ignored the hostile looks the women tossed at him. “Mrs. Wren, why did Jared deliver the papers last night? He’d known about Johnny, and you had a long-standing arrangement.”
“That’s what you’d call this?”
“What changed?”
“He was getting married.”
They all avoided looking at Diana.
“Jared said he couldn’t afford to keep us any longer,” Polly added, her voice hard. “I always thought your kind came into money when you married.”
The woman was no dimwit, Ian would give her that. “Do you know of anyone who would have wished Jared harm? Someone he was trying to protect Johnny from, by sending him away?”
