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Arabella and Caroline followed him up the stairs. Their pursuit so far had been thorough but quiet, but it appeared Mr. Graham had no intention of being discreet.
“Betsy!” he called down the hallway, thronged with doorways leading into bedchambers and sitting rooms. “Betsy, are you here?”
They strained their ears.
“There! Did you hear that?” Caroline grabbed Arabella’s arm. “Did you?”
There was a muffled sound coming from one of the bedchambers.
“Either we find them, or we embarrass someone else on our quest, but it’s worth it.” Arabella nodded sharply.
Mr. Graham pounded on the door, then threw his shoulder against it to force it open.
What was inside was not what Caroline expected.
Betsy and Lady Edith stood together over the prone body of Mr. Taylor.
Chapter Twenty-six
“Betsy!” Caroline rushed into the room and hugged her.
“Are you all right?” Mr. Graham was only a step behind Caroline.
“I am more than all right,” she announced. “Edie and I have this under control.”
Lady Edith nodded. “Can you believe the audacity of this man? He wrote Betsy a note and had a footman deliver it to her in the ballroom, saying it was fromme!”
“Of course I came upstairs straightaway. I barely even registered that the handwriting wasn’t what it should be.” Betsy paced around the room. “When I got to Edie’s bedchamber, I was so surprised to see Mr. Taylor.”
Arabella urged a ginger comfit on her, and she happily accepted.
“It must have been an awful shock,” Mr. Graham said, grasping her hand.
“I was never so surprised in all my life. He asked me to marry him, and when I refused, he said he would ruin me!” She looked outraged. “Ruinme! As if anyone in Inverley would believe that he was the first.”
Caroline gasped. “Betsy Reeve!”
She tossed her curls. “Well, it’s true! Mr. Graham knows all about it, and I have no shame here among friends. I told Mr. Taylor I would make a laughingstock of him if he dared to try such a thing. Then his face got all mottled and he lunged at me, so I bashed him over the head with the candlestick.”
Mr. Graham peered at his prone body. “He’s not dead. You’ve a strong arm though. Good on you.” His voice was filled with pride, and Betsy’s chest puffed out.
“I found Edie right away and we’ve been arguing how to go about things, and then you lot arrived. But however did you find me?”
“I am so grateful that you are unharmed,” Caroline said, and drew her into her arms again. It felt like a miracle. “Arabella overheard Mr. Taylor’s plans and rushed here to put a stop to things.”
“Bell!” Betsy cried, and threw her arms around her neck. “You have always been the best of neighbors. No one could ask for better.”
“I would have been devastated if anything were to happen to you.” Arabella hugged her close. “I should have known that you are as strong as you are capable. I have never met the man who could get the better of you.”
“And you never shall,” she declared.
“But what are we to do know?” Lady Edith asked, her brow furrowed. “I’ve never had an unconscious man in my bedchamber before. It’s not at all the thing.”
Mr. Graham nudged Mr. Taylor’s ribs with his booted foot, and was none too gentle about it from what Caroline could see. Mr. Taylor moaned, then stirred, his eyes opening blearily.
“What have you got to say for yourself?” Mr. Graham snapped.
Caroline was impressed at how fast he resumed the role of the military captain. Gone was the concerned suitor, and in his place was a steely-eyed man, thirsty for vengeance.
