Chapter Twelve
Emma had awakenedearly and dressed, but she had waited until she heard Lords Beaufort and Graham leave their rooms to go below before she followed them. Lord Graham must have trailed behind Lord Beaufort, for the man waited for her at the bottom of the steps.
“Good morning, my lady,” he said with a bow. “Hopefully, you slept well.”
“Better than I expected,” she said with a brief curtsey. “I had not considered how quiet the country nights might be. Generally, on the Continent, my parents resided in governmental houses, and since my return to England, I have dwelled in London.”
“Another memory?” he asked.
She paused to think upon what he had suggested. “I suppose it is. At this point, I often do not know whether what I speak is something I have simply never considered or a return of a memory.”
Lord Graham smiled, though the scar made it appear a bit crooked. However, Emma thought his countenance was endearing. “Whether it is the first time you have arrived at an opinion on a subject or the hundredth, is it not wonderful finallyto be done with it so you might consider a new subject, one equally as profound as the silence found in nature?”
Emma broke into laughter, for the gentleman spoke as if her simple observation was earth-shattering. “You are extraordinary, my lord,” she announced. “Whoever claims your affection shall be blessed indeed, and, if you require a champion, I shall carry your banner forward.”
Uncharacteristically, the man halted their steps. “Orson requires a woman as devoted to him as he is to you.”
Emma knew she teared up, but she did not look away from Lord Graham’s steady gaze. “What if I never know who attacked me? I cannot imagine Lord Orson would wish to tend my nerves for the remainder of his days.”
“Our Richard was always the one to protect each of us. You have no idea how often he placed himself between me and someone set on teaching me a lesson. Yet, it is not just me. Many wished to have their fun with Marksman, whose father was such a complete failure that he sold his wife and daughter in order to have enough coins to pay his rents in a slum tenement. You can imagine how difficult it was for Alexander Dutton to know acceptance at school and, later, in the House of Lords; yet, Orson dared any and all to snub Dutton.”
“It sounds as if each of you had a tough row to hoe,” Emma observed.
“There you go,” his lordship said, again turning their steps in the direction of the small room set aside for their meals. “Every farmer will tell you the sweetest apple can be found on the highest limbs. Everything worth having has its obstacles.”
“Are you prepared?”Richard asked as he assisted Theodora from his coach.
Early this morning, he had called upon Duncan to tell his lordship what Richard had and had not discovered at Lady Emma’s house last night. He had handed the letter from Graham over, first to Duncan and then to Theodora to read, so Richard might know their thoughts on the matter. For some reason, he could not quite give voice to the situation, for he still thought someone on Duncan’s staff was not what he or she pretended to be. “What did you learn from the maid who assisted your Winston on Lady Emma’s first night in the household?”
“The girl never returned to her post,” Duncan confided.
“That was three days ago,” Richard observed. “Did she request her pay so she might accept another posting?”
Theodora shared, “Mrs. Chester said the girl walked away with the others just as she generally does. The maid, according to Mrs. Braylon, has an ill relation with whom she visits. Father’s nurse says the girl has asked her for medical advice. Yet, no one seems to know whether the situation exists or not, but all assume the girl could not leave the person, so she did not return.”
“Yet, she has more than two months’ wages due her,” Richard argued.
“We will not know until we know,” Duncan said with a frown, which was a typical way of warning both Richard and Theodora that enough had been said before the servants.
Now, as Theodora looked up at the building, she asked, “How do you know Lady Emma’s friends meet within on a Saturday afternoon?”
“If I told you...” he said with a smile.
“If you mean to keep me from learning of your sources, please recall that a challenge means I have a choice of weapons,” Theodora countered in a teasing manner.
“Later, my girl. A round with swords would do me well. For now, I must learn of Lady Emma’s life before her attack.”
“Permit me to lead,” Dora instructed.
They entered the building which appeared to house several small businesses, but the one they sought was a female-run weekly newsprint. Everything and everyone went perfectly still when he followed Theodora into the outer part of the establishment.
“May I assist you, sir? Ma’am?” the elder of the three women within the facility asked.
Theodora casually stepped up to the counter, resting her gloved hand on the top. “My friend and I are hoping you might assist us with an important matter.”
The three women exchanged odd looks and reached for what could easily be considered weapons, evidently expecting to protect themselves and their equipment. “That depends on what you wish to know.”
“We are friends of Lady Emma Donoghue,” Dora explained.
