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Chapter Thirty
Arabella returned to her rooms, where she found Annette, setting out Arabella’s clothes for dinner that evening. Arabella looked at the pink satin dress.
“You said that you wanted this one, My Lady?” Annette asked.
“Yes,” she replied. “This very one.”
“Is something the matter, My Lady?” Annette always picked up on Arabella’s moods. It was a relief, in some ways.
“I don’t know what to do,” she admitted. “I know that my father is hiding something. But I honestly cannot figure out what it is. I have the strongest feeling that it’s putting his life at risk.”
Annette sighed. “Perhaps, you should have a seat, My Lady.”
Arabella frowned, but did as she was told.
“I’ve kept the truth to myself,” Annette admitted. “It was out of fear, you see. That list, which you asked me for? Do you remember?”
“I do,” Arabella replied.
“Every one of those servants was dismissed after they saw or heard something that they shouldn’t have,” Annette explained. “His Grace confronts them in the night, and they leave immediately.”
“What do you mean? See or hear what?” Arabella asked.
“I don’t rightly know,” Annette said. “They’re gone before they can tell anyone else what it is. His Grace is up to something. Something he’s been up to for a very, very long time.”
“How do you know?” Arabella asked. “How have you not been sent away?”
“Everyone downstairs knows,” Annette told her. “That if you see or hear something, you don’t say a word. Not to mention, I was…close with one of the grooms—Michael Strahan. I don’t know if you recall him?”
“Vaguely,” Arabella said, recalling a blond-haired lad, of about eighteen years of age. He had been at Tiverwell Manor for a short time. Arabella hadn’t even noticed when he wasn’t around anymore.
“He heard something, when he was fetching one of the horses. His Grace was in the stables, speaking with someone, thinking that he wouldn’t be overheard.”
“Did you ask him what it was?” Arabella felt as though she were getting very close to the truth. Anticipation made her pulse race.
“I didn’t get a chance to. He only ran in, to let me know that he believed that he was going to be next. He gave me an address, for his mother’s house, here in the city.”
“And he was then gone?” Arabella murmured. Annette nodded.
“That’s not all, My Lady.”
“What is it?” Arabella asked, even though she was frightened of the answer.
“He’s nowhere to be found. He vanished, without a trace,” she said. “His mother says that he never turned up. His letters stopped, right around the same time.”
“When was this?” Arabella asked.
“Three years ago,” Annette said. “As far as I can tell, no one has seen him since I did, that night.”
“You think my father’s the one who did this?” She believed Annette. Her lady’s maid never outright lied to her—and certainly not about something like this.
“Please don’t be angry, My Lady. I do my best to stay away from His Grace.” It was clear by the way that Annette was shaking, that she was terrified.
“I’m not angry,” Arabella replied, taking her maid by the hand. “Thank you for telling me.”
“What are you going to do?” Annette asked.
“I’m going to hire myself a barrister,” Arabella replied, thinking of Charles. She knew that he had most of the information. She would need to find an excuse to get to him.
