Chapter Fourteen
“Where is she?”Beaufort demanded as he encountered Titan at the main door of the Lyon’s Den.
“In the room off the mistress’s office,” Titan responded as Navan made an effort to catch his breath. When a message from Duncan reached him at Beaufort House, it was as if the earth had opened and he had plummeted into the abyss.
“What do you know of the incident?” he demanded.
“Just saw a carriage slowing at the corner. I thought it meant to turn left, but the door opened suddenly, and the young lady tumbled out of it. She attempted to rise and run, but the driver shot at her, as did a woman inside the coach. I do not know which one hit her, for the coach quickly drove away. We had no idea who she was until Mr. Rheem recognized her. From what Lord Duncan told Mrs. Dove-Lyon, the young lady spoke a confusing set of orders to her lady’s maid. Thankfully, the maid was smart enough to repeat the instructions to Lady Orson, which was whom they were to call upon when her mistress was led away by the two I mentioned previously.”
“Who is with her now?” Beaufort asked as his heart began to slow to normal.
“Mrs. Dove-Lyon is assisting Mr. Rheem. Lord Duncan is awaiting word above.”
“May I go in?” Beaufort asked, though it would be foolish if someone dared to stop him.
“Do you require an escort?” Titan asked.
“I remember the way.” Navan started around the man who oversaw the gaming hell, but Titan reached out his maimed hand to prevent Navan’s leaving.
“I have seen the coach previously, my lord.”
“Really? Pray tell,” Beaufort instructed.
“It was the one used by Lord Honfleur when he and his daughter called upon the Lyon’s Den. Naturally, it was not used today by Honfleur, but it was the scoundrel’s coachman who first shot at Lady Annalise. From what I have read in the newsprints, Lady Annalise is the loose end to Jacob Moran’s case. Perhaps there is an order to kill the young lady.”
“I do not understand how Honfleur’s coach was not confiscated at the Oakley Arms, but after Marksman was shot by Lady Caroline, I raced to Amgen House to know assurances Lady Annalise was safe and Liverpool’s men took over the investigation. It seems to me, the coach might have held evidence. Thank you for the information. I am assuming you did not speak your suspicions to Lord Duncan.”
“I was not in place when his lordship arrived to oversee the young woman’s care,” Titan explained, “but I thought it important that someone know.” Titan looked off to the street as if he again viewed the incident. “From what I read, the young lady offered no testimony against this Honfleur fellow. Why would he wish to kill her?”
“Because she stood witness to all of Moran’s sins since she was five years of age,” Navan declared. “Thank you, Titan, for acting so quickly to save the lady. You have earned my loyalty if you ever require it.”
Navan followed the now familiar passageways to Mrs. Dove-Lyon’s office to discover Duncan sitting outside a closed door. “Do weknow anything yet?”
“Mrs. Dove-Lyon stepped out a few minutes earlier to say that Mr. Rheem found no scrap inside. Apparently, it struck the bricks and was found in the side of a tree. Before ricocheting upward, it tore away part of her day dress. The second shot went wide and was found in the ground. What was left of both bullets were found by Mrs. Dove-Lyon’s staff.”
Beaufort breathed a bit easier, but anger had arrived. “Do we have men looking for the coachman?”
“A small army,” Duncan said. “I do not know why Lady Annalise was out alone.”
“Because she has no one else who is willing to offer his protection!” Beaufort declared when he stopped his pacing.
“She has Alexander,” Duncan declared.
“Does she?” Navan demanded. “Marksman made all kinds of promises of how they would make a home together—how he would present her to her mother’s family. Instead, after being shot, his marriage to Theodora became more important. He left Annalise with you for a week while he celebrated his marriage to Dora. He then brought her to Dutton Hall for nearly a fortnight and then left her again.”
“Marksman’s duty should first be to Theodora,” Duncan argued.
“Agreed, but his conscience had Alexander also making promises to Lady Annalise. Marksman knew his bringing Theodora and Annalise together was executed too quickly. Theodora despised Annalise for too long suddenly to invite Alexander’s sister into her life. Moreover, Dora has never truly trusted Marksman’s affection, and she would not wish to share him with another, even a sister. Add to that situation the fact that Lady Annalise has never had anyone upon whom she could depend, and one has a disaster in the making. Over and over, Marksman has presented Lady Annalise his assurances. I heard him, and I believe Alexander was honest in what he wished toshare with her, and he was also honest with what he wished to share with Theodora. Unfortunately, both could not be executed at the same time. A man and a woman newly married require time to become one, just as the wedding vows prescribe, but where does that leave his sister?
“Equally as exasperating, in an attempt to please Theodora, Marksman up and leaves Lady Annalise in a house in an area of London she does not know and surrounded by servants over which she has no say and wondering if she made the right decision in trusting her brother to outline her future. She is again alone in a world where she has no coping skills. If she had been turned out to find employment in another’s household, she would have been better off in many ways. She was accustomed to housework, though God only knows she should never be on her knees and scrubbing floors again.”
Navan paused to catch his breath. He rarely made such long or impassioned speeches. “I do not wish to disparage Theodora. You know I adore her, but all that has occurred in the last six months, or perhaps longer, has left Dora shaken. She is not strong enough—you said so yourself. That she was still too young. You wanted Dora and Alexander to wait, but when he was shot, everything was accelerated.”
Duncan scrubbed his face with his dry hands in weariness. “It is as if my family has been turned on its head. Elsbeth would be so disappointed in all of us.”
Nothing more could be said, for Mr. Rheem stepped from the room. “Lady Annalise will be a bit sore, but, thankfully, the bullet simply grazed her side. It did not penetrate any of her organs. I have cleaned and bandaged the wound.”
“I will take her to Duncan Place,” Duncan said.
