“What of my father?” she asked in tones of exhaustion.
Aaran’s small smile set his lip bleeding again. He took the handkerchief to tend to it himself. “The way I see it, you are as ruined as I am. Perhaps more so. We are the perfect pair, my dear.”
Before more could be said, the sound of horses had them looking out the coach’s rear window. She reached for his hand, which pleased Aaran greatly. They would face whatever was to come together.
“More trouble?” she asked in concern.
Aaran’s grin hurt like hell, but he did not care. He told her, “Trouble definitely, but not for us. Orson and Beaufort, which means they have also found Duncan. We will permit them to see to our friend. You and I deserve a well-earned rest.”
Aaran wished heknew where Lady Freya was in Thom Manor, but he was too ashamed to go looking for her. All Lady Emma had said was that they thought it best if Freya was presented quarters in a different wing. Both her parents and her Aunt and Uncle Turner had been sent for.
Beaufort and Orson had bundled up Aaran’s attacker in so many ropes and straps that she looked like something someone would drop into a Scottish peat bog to be rid of it. More importantly, their attacker had proven to be a woman, but not just any woman.
Now, several hours later, Aaran looked up as Duncan entered the room. His Lordship was supported by Marksman and Theodora. Aaran attempted to rise, but Theodora rushed over to force him back into the armed chair. “You and Papa have had a rough day. We all mean to tend to you.” Aaran sat back into the chair, but he felt like a man in a witness box. He wanted anything but to be here for this reckoning.
“It was not a day I wish to relive,” he admitted, but Aaran suspected it would not be one he would easily forget.
“I have known better,” Duncan admitted on a sigh as he sat awkwardly in the chair. “How is your leg, Son?”
“A bit worse for the wear,” Aaran responded. “What all with the bullet taking a layer of skin off it, as well as what our prisoner chose to execute against my knee, it will take a while for me to know any true comfort. Mr. Dideon has presented me a thorough rub down, and Thompson has stitched up all the cuts.”
“Did I hear my name?” Benjamin asked good-naturedly as he and Lady Victoria entered side-by-side.
They were followed closely by Beaufort and Lady Annalise, who rushed over to plant a kiss upon both Aaran’s cheek and that of Lord Duncan. “Thank you for saving Lady Freya,” Her Ladyship whispered to Aaran.
“She saved me,” Aaran told her.
“Then she is meant for you,” Lady Annalise assured with a sweet smile before she stood to take Beaufort’s hand to join him on a nearby settee.
Last to arrive were the Orsons, accompanied by Lady Freya, who was obviously exhausted, but Aaran still thought her the most beautiful woman of his acquaintance.
Duncan immediately claimed everyone’s attention. “It is best we discuss the truth and then what we will speak to the public.” The room grew quiet. “First, Marksman and Kepper managed to intercept Lady Rayland and Mr. MacAlasdair before they departed for the coast with the contents of Rayland’s safe and several other heirlooms. Aaran, I have instructed your brother to wait for Rayland’s return, make his apologies for his mother’s perfidy, and then join us here at Thom Manor. We will then make arrangements for young Baron Pitcairn to return to Scotland and finally become a responsible landowner and a member of the aristocracy. He should be seen burying himself in his duties to prove his blood was not tainted by his parents. Intelligent people will understand, but many will… Well, we all know how gossip is sometimes stronger than reason. In some ways it will be good for him not to have a certain element hanging onto his title.”
“I will write to my man of business to assign someone reliable to assist Boyde as his estate manager,” Aaran assured. “When he joins us here, he and I will determine a plan to move forward.” He glanced briefly to Lady Freya, who was studying her hands. “Perhaps I should return to Scotland with Boyde,” he suggested.
“No!” his family chorused.
After a moment of heavy silence, Duncan continued. “You and Lady Freya will marry and face down thehaut ton,” Duncan instructed. “None of this madness is your fault, and you will not hide away as if it were.”
Aaran wished to argue, but not before his brothers, nor before Lady Freya. He would not wish her to think he did not wish to spend the remainder of his days with her. “Yes, sir,” he said softly, and Freya echoed his reply.
“First, let us begin where this chaos all started,” Duncan directed. “Aaran and I were correct regarding MacAlasdair being my shooter. We were also correct that my former friend did not shed his coat in the Lyon Den’s garden, but rather kept running. Lady Rayland, though she was still addressed as ‘Lady Roland’ at that time, had a coach waiting for him.” His Lordship paused to look around at each of Aaran’s brothers before he continued, “I owe our success in this matter to each of you, for you did not give up on the mystery. I am proud of you,” he confessed. He sighed heavily before continuing. “Marksman still has a sister, and Thompson has a mother. We assumed the rest of you were without family, but we erred. The person who was the mastermind of this past year’s chaos-laced misery was the former Miss Magdeline Bellton, Aaran’s mother.”
The room grew excessively quiet, and everyone refused to look upon him, except for Duncan and Lady Freya. “Shortly after the attack on me at the Lyon’s Den, I sent inquiries to America,” Duncan continued without interruption. “I acted on a hunch which came to me while reprimanding Mrs. Braylon about her overriding my orders to the staff at Duncan Place. She gave me a look, one I had seen before, years earlier, when I refused to marry Miss Bellton. My reaction was only a hunch, and, in truth, I thought myself a bit batty, but I could not shake the feeling.”
“Why did you not say something of this?” Orson asked.
“I thought I would test the woman to learn if what I thought might be true, but before I could follow through, Mrs. Braylon up and disappeared. We also thought it was odd that the only other time she was spotted was by Thompson at the trials forthe Prime Minister’s murder. Perhaps she worried that her son would recognize her if she was again in public.”
“She had no worries there,” Aaran said.
“It was only after we returned to London after the Luddite trials that I was informed by the authorities in America that Miss Bellton had indeed returned to British shores after twenty years. The dates of her expected arrival in England coincided with when our troubles began. The report said she had first lived in the Canadian wilderness and had married or was as married as one might be without the benefit of clergy. That first husband died, and she left the area shortly afterwards. No one knew where. Eventually, though, it was believed her husband, a Mr. Tyendi, had been killed, and all the evidence pointed to her having poisoned him. Unfortunately, Miss Bellton had already sold Tyendi’s land and had left no trail as to where she had gone.
“The authorities belatedly learned she had moved to the Virginia wilderness, living in several mountain communities. She married three more times. Each man had a fortune of some size. After the fourth unusual death, people became more suspicious. Nowadays, the so-called American wilderness has become quite crowded and more civilized since their last war against our king.”
Marksman frowned. “She is the suspect in each of these deaths?”
“Yes,” Duncan replied. “The authorities believe she returned to the United Kingdom to escape being taken into custody.”
