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Chapter 34
Aweek later, as Sebastian and Lavinia traveled back to the Roth estate, they stopped in one of the Duke of Kensington’s residences in Reading.
The duke wasn’t in attendance, but they were instantly invited in to join the Duchess of Kensington for tea.
Lavinia surveyed the grand house, smiling at the memories of when she’d wanted to be the mistress of these estates. She’d dreamed of becoming the duke’s wife, only to be happy now that it had never come to pass. How different her life would have turned out had she married him instead.
Would she still have met Sebastian then? Would they have fallen in love? Would she have regretted her fate?
Lavinia was glad that those questions would never be answered.
She leaned into her husband’s side and whispered, “I love you.”
Sebastian raised his brow and then grinned. “Happy you didn’t marry the bore, aren’t you?”
It was as if he’d read her mind.
Lavinia swatted at him playfully as they continued down the long corridor toward one of the grand drawing rooms.
Caroline met them inside, with a wide smile on her face. “Welcome,” she said with a slight curtsy, and then, “Cousins.”
Lavinia couldn’t help but grin. They were, in fact, cousins with Caroline now, if only by marriage.
Once the greetings were over, and they sat at the table, drinking tea and eating pastries, the conversation turned to more serious subjects.
“Victoria is insisting upon leaving for Russia,” Sebastian said. “Now that she is married, she is free to do what she pleases. But the political atmosphere is unstable there. As lovely as her sister might be, she is just as immature. I don’t want Victoria to get caught up in more intrigue and scandal. And after what happened with William, I do not think it is wise to let her go there all alone.”
“Why does she want to leave?” Caroline asked.
“Technically, there’s nothing holding her here except for the maudlin memories and perhaps Frau Elinor, who by the way, is still insisting upon annulment.”
“That would never be possible,” Caroline said. “We all checked into it. William made certain the wedding was valid. Besides, even attempting to annul it would result in a tremendous scandal. At least now nobody knows that Victoria is even married.”
“Not until William tells somebody,” Lavinia chimed in.
Sebastian sighed. “A part of me still believes that he did that—married her—only to have something to hold over our heads, so he could blackmail us later.”
“Speaking of blackmail.” Lavinia glanced up at Sebastian. After all, this was the real reason why they came to visit the Kensingtons.
“Right.” Sebastian nodded. “We were hoping you could help us with something. Actually, we hoped to speak to your husband, but since he is not here, perhaps we can discuss this with you.”
Caroline raised a brow, then carefully placed her cup of tea on the dish. “How can I help you?”
“We are not certain if you can,” Lavinia said. “But it is not as if we have much of a choice.”
Sebastian fumbled in his pockets and took out an envelope containing two notes. “Can you tell me if you recognize anything about these notes?”
Taking the envelope into her hand, Caroline glanced back and forth between Sebastian and Lavinia curiously before opening it. She picked out the notes and studied them carefully, her brows pinched in concentration.
“At first, I was convinced it must have been William’s doing,” Sebastian said. “But it doesn’t seem like his modus operandi. And the signature reads—”
“Erebus,” Caroline said evenly.
“Right.” Sebastian jerked his head in a nod. “And with the rumors about the secret society calledShadows, and seeing how Erebus is the god of shadows, I thought it might be a coincidence.”
“This is not them,” Caroline said as she waved the notes in her hands.
“How do you know?” Lavinia shifted closer to Caroline.
