“But those letters merely suggested he couldn’t be trusted, not that his faculties had declined.”
She stared at him for a long, hard moment. Then she looked away. “Apparently, he’s been acting oddly for some time, but Mrs. Grant only informed me just after Lady Day.”
“March?!” he exclaimed. “Why it’s nearly harvest.”
“At that point, he had only just started complaining to her about ‘theother Mrs. Grant.’ Needless to say, there isn’t anyother Mrs. Grant. And when she pressed him on what, specifically, this other Mrs. Grant had done to offend him, he referred to something she remembered having done for him earlier.”
Harbury thrust his hand into his hair.
“I attributed his odd lapse to strain, as did she,” Lady Pennington continued. “Mrs. Grant doesn’t hold you in very high esteem. Prices were down, tenants were unhappy. Theyoung duke,she wrote me, seemed as disinclined as ever to attend his duties.” Her eyes flashed. “You could have been more involved, you know.”
There, he couldn’t argue.
“But your father never wrote to me of any tenant displeasure.”
“And now we know why. He wouldn’t have, would he? Not if he believed you an imposter.”
“And you were aware of all this sinceMarch?”
“No, not the latter. Until last night, nothing he said revealed any delusion pertaining to you. In fact, the problem’s scale did not become apparent until recently. In April, he’d started using the wrong words. By June, he sometimes appeared not to know where he was. By late July, Mrs. Grant became alarmed enough to ask me to visit.”
He paced the length of the carriage and back. He’d seen signs Anderson’s acuity was slipping, hadn’t he? Anderson hadn’t seemed himself since Harbury had returned from London.
In this, Lady Pennington was right.
He should have paid more attention. He should have dug deeper. Inquired more widely. If disease had struck, Anderson was not to blame for his behavior.
“I couldn’t leave London at that time.” She swept a speck from her glove. “By letter, however, I implored him to relinquish his post and come stay with me. But he refused to, as he called it, ‘shirk’ his duties.”
“So, you wrote to me. Anonymously.”
“No. That was after I’d seen him myself. I thought he just needed cheering, so I brought him a puppy from my dog’s litter. Unfortunately, when we were taking a ride the other day, he cast the poor thing out the carriage window.”
Briefly, he closed his eyes.The devil. Cassandra’s heart would breakagain if she had to hand Mercy over to Vivianne. “The puppy is fine.”
“Is he?” She brightened. “Well, that, at least, is agreatrelief. We searched high and low. When we couldn’t find him, I delivered the first letter. The Hall was nearly empty but for that nice little stable boy who agreed to help me.”
“The Hall was near empty because I was getting married.”
“I’m sorry my father’s health did not wait on your convenience,Your Grace. Would you have preferred me to show up on your doorstep? Just after you’d wed another? Believe it or not, I don’t wish either of you ill.” She adjusted her position. “Not truly. How do you think my sudden appearance would have made your new bride feel?”
Her words stung.
Vivianne should not have had more consideration for Cassie’s feeling than he had. “If you care so much about my wife’s feelings, then why did you antagonize her just now?”
She gave another annoyingly careless shrug. “I was piqued when Pratt refused me entry.” She lifted a pointed gaze. “And seeing you both wrapped up in one another’s arms wasn’t exactly easy for me. Neither was nearly stumbling upon the two of you fondly caressing one another inourplace.”
“Notour place.” Not any longer.
And how could she claim to be hurt when she had been the one to abandon him?
She turned her face away. Her lower lip quivered.
“Don’t cry.” He softened his voice. “We’ll find him. I just wish you had told me directly and honestly of your concerns. What did you expect me to do in response to those letters?”
Her dropped chin and suddenly impassive features suggested the answer should have been obvious. She sniffed. “I expected you to dispatch my father in the same abrupt and thoughtless manner you dispatched me.” She paused significantly. “Your bribe?”
“I don’t understand.” He frowned. “You mean my father’s bribe?”
