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Tia frowned. “Safer? What do you mean?”
“Someone attempted to kill his lordship. And possibly not for the first time. The past two viscounts died under suspicious circumstances. People already know you are his mistress. If someone is trying to kill him to inherit and they suspect you might be carrying his heir, you will be in danger.”
Tia bit her lower lip. What Mrs. Abbott said made some sense. Still, as long as she didn’t marry him, she could be no threat. “I will consider your words carefully. Do you have any ideas on who might be involved in this matter? All the rumors are that it was his lordship who murdered the previous viscounts in order to inherit.”
Mrs. Abbott tightened Tia’s stays. “Do you believe that? Because I certainly do not and neither does the rest of the staff.”
“No, I don’t believe he had anything to do with the deaths. But who, then?”
“I would have to wager Mr. Jonathon Tavers. No one has seen him. He came to town and didn’t stay at his brother’s house.”
“I cannot believe Jonathon would try to kill his own brother,” Tia remarked. “He loves his brother.”
“Yes, but he might love the title and all that goes with it even more.” Mrs. Abbott slipped the sage dress over Tia.
Jonathon? She couldn’t imagine Jonathon trying to kill anyone, much less his brother. Did Braden suspect him? Perhaps that was the real reason Braden wanted to find him. She had to discover the truth.
“Thank you, Mrs. Abbott. I will be down for breakfast in a few minutes. I must speak with his lordship about something.”
“Of course. I will let Mr. Nelson know you need to borrow a footman.” Mrs. Abbott headed for the door.
“Mrs. Abbott, might I ask a favor of you?”
She stopped and nodded. “Of course.”
“Would you take the linens off the bed? I should hate for anyone else to see them.”
Mrs. Abbott’s face softened. “Of course, my dear.” She looked over at the bed and stared at the stained sheets. “So you really were a good girl. Did his lordship offer to make you a respectable woman?”
“Yes and no,” she mumbled.
“I don’t understand,” Mrs. Abbott said as she removed the sheets.
“He said we should marry, but he never exactly proposed to me. Not that it matters. I could never marry a viscount. Could you ask a footman to deliver this for me?” Tia handed her the missive for Emily.
“Of course,” Mrs. Abbott remarked. Once the sheets were removed, she left the room and Tia to her thoughts.
She had to ask him about Jonathon. Could he really suspect his brother of trying to harm him? Tia walked to Braden’s room and knocked softly.
“Come in.” His deep voice sent shivers down her back. It brought back memories of last night.
She opened the door and found him already dressed and sitting at the small table in his salon. “Why are you out of bed?”
He tilted his head and smiled at her. “Indeed? Back for more already? I should think you might be a tad sore.”
“I need to speak with you about something and then you are to get back in bed. I told you that you need one more day of rest.”
“Tia, I am not going to spend my day in bed . . . unless you are with me. I promise not to ex
ert myself today. But I need to speak with a few people.”
She put her hands on her hips. “You are not going out. Someone is trying to kill you.”
“Exactly. And the last time it happened in this very house.” His voice grew louder with every word. “Now, what do you need to talk about?”
“Do you suspect Jonathon?”
He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. “I don’t know. In all honesty, yes, it has crossed my mind that he might be the one involved.”
