“All along, we thought it was a man,” Lady Emma said in wonderment.
Duncan swallowed hard, and Aaran wished to disappear, for, eventually, all Duncan had learned would soon be common knowledge. “There has been documented findings, of late, that claim that a person can, in his or her mind, be more than one person, each living in the same body. Physicians believe it is amechanism to protect oneself from the trials and tribulations of the real world. We are of the assumption, Miss Bellton is one of those individuals, where the mind essentially splits to develop different personalities to protect itself. I will gladly share the information the Americans sent me on a young woman named Mary Reynolds, who has been studied by a noted physician, Dr. Benjamin Rush, who believes the woman was victimized by religious persecution and it caused her to develop a separate personality.”
“Is such why I heard my sister’s voice in the close behind Mr. Sustar’s shop the day I meant to chase after her,” Lady Victoria asked, “while Benjamin heard a man? Was the person actually Lord Graham’s mother?”
“I doubt Miss Bellton could sound like your sister, but your mind likely was hoping the voice was Miss Cassandra. Graham and I believe the person both you and Benjamin sought that day was Miss Bellton,” Duncan confessed. “That being said, I admit, I do not fully understand how a person can switch back and forth so easily. We all require clarity on this… for lack of another word, phenomenon. We have been assured this condition is not hereditary. It is a means for a person who has known a great emotional shock to manage extreme pain or a crisis. It is rare, but it can happen.”
Aaran brought them back to the story. “My mother used the name ‘Sorenson’ when she met with Mrs. Dove-Lyon to ask for an arranged marriage with Duncan. Luckily, Duncan was away in Dover at the time of the woman’s request. We assume ‘Mrs. Sorenson’ became angry and thought Duncan had again refused her. If you recall, after her downfall, both Duncan and his elder brother refused to honor the original agreement with her family. When she arrived in England and was again refused, the plan to kill Duncan was hatched, and, as she knew the history of Mr. MacAlasdair’s desire to marry Lady Elsbeth, Duncan’sformer friend was recruited to join her mania. MacAlasdair has admitted that he recruited Lady Graham or Roland or whatever you wish to call her. They all hold some sort of grievance against both Duncan and me. Her Ladyship did not like how Duncan displaced Boyde with me as the new Lord Graham after she had already given birth to my brother.”
Duncan took up the tale again. “Fortunately, none of us recognized ‘Mrs. Braylon,’ my nurse, as ‘Miss Bellton.’”
“What?” the group chorused over each other. “Miss Bellton was our Mrs. Braylon?”
“The woman who wanted me dead,” Duncan confirmed, “is the same one who nursed me after she had arranged to have me shot by MacAlasdair. Whether she wanted a second chance to kill me or seduce me is not known; evidently, she did not count on each of you constantly being underfoot.” He paused to look upon Lady Victoria. “It grieves me to tell you, my dear, that the ‘great house’ in which your sister found employment was mine. We knew Ethan’s mother as ‘Merry.’”
“Meredith was one of her given names,” Lady Victoria said softly. “So close and yet so far. God’s hand moves in very mysterious ways.”
“She departed my house for her half day off with the other servants on that fateful Wednesday and never returned. We assume that was the day she called upon Mrs. Dove-Lyon the second time,” Duncan explained. “She must have had the boy on that day and, later, called upon Mrs. Dove-Lyon to beg for a position. Your sister likely knew that the Lyon’s Den’s mistress funds homes for such children. We have confirmed with Titan that it was ‘Mrs. Sorenson’ who told him of the supposed position for a cook at the Red Rooster.”
“Then it was planned to be done with my sister?” Lady Victoria asked in dumbfounded tones.
“My mother killed your sister,” Aaran said while studying his fingers. He felt as guilty as was his own kin.
“You likely only saw Mrs. Braylon when she was employed at Duncan Place,” Orson declared, “and how would you recognize her? You were a small child when she left Scotland.”
“But should have I not known her?” Aaran asked.
“No!” they all said together.
Duncan sighed heavily. “We know MacAlasdair was the one who attempted to kill Theodora. If he could not know a child with my Elsbeth, then neither could I. We also believe, though we must do more investigating on these matters, that MacAlasdair was the one Orson chased through Covent Garden and who sent Lord Davidson to kill Emma’s sister. MacAlasdair had encountered Miss Bellton, likely in Scotland, and both had decided I should be punished for rushing my Elsbeth to the altar. If I had not married Elsbeth, the pair believed I would have followed my brother’s wishes for a match with another of the clans, and Elsbeth would have married MacAlasdair.
“When it came to Lady Eímear Boyde, she had always wanted to marry MacAlasdair, but he was too poor for her family’s liking. Her Ladyship has admitted to following Theodora before Orson’s wedding when my daughter went to retrieve Richard’s telescope. She also admitted to knocking Victoria’s bag from her hands and stealing the sewing needles.”
“I thought it was a man,” Lady Victoria admitted.
“You said he was tall,” Benjamin corrected, “and that you were afraid to look him in the face. You could not have known. We were right about Duncan’s shooter being tall; such describes Mr. MacAlasdair. What we did not know was there were three people acting against us, instead of one.”
“It is true,” Aaran assured. “None of us understood what was going on.”
“Miss Bellton,” Duncan took up the tale again, “was the one who hid the smaller coat in the Lyon’s Den’s garden. We already knew the gun used against me was American made. It all makes sense now. In addition to posing as Mrs. Braylon, she was also Jacob Moreau’s lover and housekeeper and part of the scheme to pass fake bank notes.”
“I could not explain why she wore so much powder on her cheeks,” Beaufort said. “I only saw her up close the one time I attempted to warn Annalise about the loose brick in the wall, as Moreau had already discovered it.” He shook his head in disbelief.
“Miss Bellton has admitted to killing, in addition to our Victoria’s sister, Mr. Betts, Count Almano, Lady Emma’s sister, Moreau’s coachman Mr. Stark, and Mrs. Taylor. Obviously, in the guise of Moreau’s housekeeper, she attempted to kill Annalise, but we have learned Caroline Moreau had offered a sizable reward for Annalise’s life. Mr. Stark assisted because Caroline Moreau was actually Caroline Stark, the man’s daughter.”
“Did Caroline know?” Lady Annalise asked in shock.
“We may never know with assurance,” Duncan admitted. “We have learned much of this from Aaran’s mother, but Miss Bellton has her own problems with reality.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Freya had huggedher Aunt Felicity for a long time, for the woman had cooed over Freya’s cuts and bruises. “You poor dear,” she had repeated often. “And to think I invited that… thatwomaninto my home. Poor Lord Rayland. Your uncle does not know whether to approach His Lordship or not. The baron may replace Philip as his vicar, though, in my opinion, such would be seen as vindictive.”
“I am confident either Father or Lord Duncan will assist Uncle. Even Lord Graham was recently looking for a new vicar for his southern estate,” Freya assured her aunt. At her next opportunity, she would speak to either Lord Duncan or Graham on her uncle’s behalf. “Lord Thompson has given you the adjoining suite for your use until things are settled. It is quite beautifully done.”
Her aunt ignored Freya’s remark. Instead, she asked, “Has Lord Graham proposed?”
Freya bit her lip to drive away the pain of no proposal on His Lordship’s lips nor any private attention from him. Everyone in the house assumed they would marry, but Lord Graham’s silence had broken Freya’s spirits—spirits she would require when her parents arrived some time tomorrow. “We have little choice aswe were alone in the carriage after our rescue. It is assumed by all.”
