AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He shook his head. “I am sorry to say we believe he died in a fire.”
“Oh, God.” She covered her face with her hands. Where were all those tears when she needed them? She blinked furiously in an attempt to bring one to the surface. “Are you his solicitor, then?”
“No, miss. I represent the heir to the title.”
“Mr. Jonathon Tavers, then?” she asked in an innocent tone.
“No, miss. I am afraid the fire claimed the life of Mr. Tavers and his cousin, Mr. Alistair Tavers too. The person I represent would like to remain anonymous until all the legal challenges are cleared.”
“I don’t understand, sir.” She pulled her hands back and pretended to wipe away a tear.
“I understand his lordship requested a special license so you and he could marry. I need to know if that marriage occurred.”
“No, sir. I needed to return unexpectedly to the estate to assist my mother. We were supposed to marry the day after I left.”
The man blew out a relieved breath and then smiled. “So you are not legally married. Thank you for your time, Miss Featherstone. I need to return to London.”
As the door shut behind him, she looked at her mother. “That was quite peculiar, don’t you think?”
Her mother shrugged. “Not really. If you were his wife, the heir could not inherit until after it was determined that you weren’t with child. You should be happy you were not a part of this or you might have been at risk.”
Tia’s eyes widened and her heart pounded against her chest. Braden hadn’t just staged his own death. He had feigned that argument to force her to return home where she’d be safe. That devious bastard. She should hate him for not trusting her . . . but he knew she would have refused to leave because she loved him. “Oh, my God,” Tia said. “That is why he did it.”
“Did what?”
“Don’t you see? He wasn’t out for vengeance with Jonathon. He must have made Jonathon say that so I would believe them and leave. Because if we had married, the new heir wouldn’t try to make a claim and my life might be at risk.”
“What are you going to do now?” her mother asked.
Tia’s shoulders sagged in defeat. “There is nothing I can do because I have no idea where Braden is right now.”
“Well, he must be hiding someplace where he can trust people who either own the building or live in it.”
She bit her lower lip in thought. Where would Braden feel safest? Why hadn’t she thought of it before? The Red Door. But she couldn’t just storm into the place, demanding to see a dead man. She wasn’t certain they would even let her inside the gaming hell. “I’m going to lie down for a short while.”
She walked into her old bedroom that she’d shared with Mia and looked at the book on the bureau. Mrs. Abbott had accidently packed the family history book Tia had been reading. She had meant to stop by the house and give it to one of the servants, but forgot it this morning. Not terribly tired, she picked up the book and started to read it again.
Enthralled by the long history of the family, she found an interesting passage that she needed to have Braden read. He would be very interested to learn that every few generations, a dark Tavers was born. This child was born with black hair and blue eyes. To date, the children had been either females or younger sons. She smiled, knowing how pleased he would be to learn this information.
After a quick break for dinner, she continued reading until she found something that made her rub her eyes and read again. This cannot be possible. Oh, dear God, if this was true, then she knew the heir to the title.
Chapter 26
After almost three weeks of being locked away in a room in the Red Door, Braden was about to go mad. The third floor had at one time been a high-end brothel, which they had removed when they bought the place. They were in the gaming business, not the whoring business. So Jonathon, Alistair, and Braden all had private rooms and took one room for conversation. Needless to say, Braden should be happy the accommodations were so fine, but not knowing what was going on in the world made him feel like a prisoner.
His biggest worry was Tia. Had she arrived back at the estate safely? Did she truly hate him? Would she ever forgive him? He would not know the answer to any of those questions until the bastard trying to kill them came forward. How much longer would this take?
It mattered not. He was done waiting for this to happen. He had to find out if Tia was safe or not. Nothing else mattered. He rose from his seat, gulped the rest of his watered-down brandy, and walked toward the door.
“Are you retiring?” Adams said, entering the room. “I thought we might share some of the good stuff. It’s very quiet downstairs tonight.”
“No, I’m leaving.”
Adams put his arm across the doorway, blocking Braden’s exit. “No, you are not.”
“Bloody hell, man. I need to know if she is safe.”
“If you leave now, you will ruin this for everyone. You will put your life at risk and for what?”
