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Thankfully, his father did not make them wait, reading the note aloud. From the first word, the tension around the room intensified.
Uncle,
The man who gave the note to Josie has disappeared into the wind, but one of the footmen insists the man was an unknown Frenchman. However, the French delegation was at the Richmonds tonight, and none of them were missing. I will leave it to you to investigate that avenue further.
The gossip is already spreading that Joseph lured Josie to the gardens to dishonor her, and Elijah is lying to save him. The Blisses left their ball early, Miss Bliss appearing in distress.
I believe this is an attempt to distract you from finding the traitor, a retaliation for uncovering Collins, or both. Do try to focus.
All my love,
Evie
The room fell silent for a short moment before Father growled.
“I am going to wring that fool girl’s neck when I get my hands on her.” There was no heat to his voice, and they all knew the truth. When Evie did inevitably turn up again, they would all hug her, scold her, and be relieved she had come through another one of her self-imposed missions unscathed.
At least, Elijah hoped that was what would happen. Though Evie had been in dangerous situations before, this one might be the most dangerous since she was completely on her own, rather than having convinced Father to let her join. She’d always had some kind of backup before.
“At least we know she’s still in London,” Adam said, raking his hand through his hair. He leaned his head back against his chair, closing his eyes, appearing almost limp with relief. At his words, the rest of them were able to relax slightly as well.
They had not been sure. After rescuing her friend Mary from Rupert Collins a few weeks ago, Evie had disappeared into the wind again. Elijah was now sure she had been the servant girl who had met Josie a few days ago at the bookshop. It was the only thing that made sense.
Which meant when he got his hands on Josie again…
The visage of her pale, frightened face flashed through his mind. He could not be too harsh on her after the ordeal she had gone through tonight.
What a mess.
“I think she and Adam must be right about trying to distract us,” Elijah muttered. “Though the idea of retaliation has merit, too. It would explain a lot.” They had unmasked Collins, who had admitted to organizing the assassination attempt on the Duke of York but claimed he had done so at the behest of another after they blackmailed him. Someone whose identity he did not know.
They had searched for Collins’ puppet master but had not gotten very far in the past few weeks. Though, if they assumed this was a distraction, perhaps they knew more than they realized. Elijah resolved to go over all the information they had gathered again. Perhaps they had missed something or not realized the importance of something they found. He would focus on the French connection.
“We will have to divide our attention.” Father sat up straighter, energy flowing back into his body as he began to marshal his thoughts, creating a plan of action. Relief flooded through Elijah. Though he knew Father could not control everything, with him at the helm, it was hard to think anything could go wrong. “There’s no help for it. We need to redouble our efforts to find out who orchestrated all this and investigate the French more thoroughly. I do not believe they could have done this on their own. Someone is masterminding this, who not only knows who I am but knows our family and how to manipulate all of us.” His countenance darkened.
While it would have been comforting to think their enemy was foreign, the evidence to the contrary was piling up.
“What about Josie?” Elijah asked. She was the crux of the immediate problem.
Father hesitated, then looked at Joseph, his jaw tightening. Joseph paled, taking a step back.
“No… I… I want to marry Priscilla.” His eyes darted around the room at Elijah, Adam, and Father, seeking support or possibly escape. It was not his fault his name was on the note. There was nothing he could have done, but his reputation would be tarnished by this. Everyone would think he was a rake, and eyes would be on both him and Elijah, probably Adam as well. It would affect their social standing at home, with the Pennyworths being neighbors. Everyone in Derbyshire loved Josie.
“That might not be an option anymore,” Father said grimly. “If you do not marry Josie and marry Miss Bliss instead, assuming her parents allow it, the gossips will be relentless with all three of you. None of you will escape unscathed. Josie will unlikely find a husband, and thetonwill turn on you and Miss Bliss. Is that what you want?”
“No, of course not…” Joseph’s voice trailed off, and they could all hear the unspoken ‘but.’
But he was in love with Miss Bliss.
But he did not want to marry Josie.
Their villain, whoever he was, had set his trap well. No matter what Joseph chose to do, it would distract the family and keep theton’s eyes fixed firmly on them. Unless they managed to do something unexpected.
Elijah’s jaw clenched.
A knock sounded at the door again, relieving him of a decision for a few more precious moments. Cooper opened the door, and there was something about his expression or stature that drew their attention. An ominous quality hung in the air about him.
“Squire Pennyworth and the Marquess of Hartford are here to see you, my lord.” Though his expression did not change one iota, there was still a hint of warning in his voice.
