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Tabitha sprang from her seat, practically ripping the paper out of the poor footman’s hand. She opened the letter with trembling hands, trying to quell the dread roiling in the stomach. It was from Andrew.
My dearest love,
Forgive me for not writing sooner, but things are more serious than I thought. Upon arrival, I was informed that the local magistrate received an anonymous letter stating I had a hand in William’s death. It accuses me of conspiring with the former estate manager, Randolph Herr, ordering him to poison my brother so that I could inherit the title. A search of Herr’s old room uncovered a secret compartment in a drawer where a small bottle, which looks to be some type of poison, was kept.
I was questioned extensively by the magistrate, but of course he will not arrest me without sound evidence. Whoever wrote this letter has complete knowledge of the house, its layout, and of the events surrounding William's death. I do not know who is behind this, but I must find out.
My darling, I need you to call on Tom Thorne. My valet has the address. Tell him I sent you. I have dealt with him before. Tell him he needs to locate Randolph Herr. The servants here said he was going to London after I fired him. He needs to be questioned since I cannot rule out that William was murdered, but for what reason, I do not know. I also must ask you to have my solicitor, Mr. Daniel Jones, come to assist me. I shall return to you as soon as I can. For now, I am avoiding the local jail. Thankfully, the magistrate knows what’s good for him and will not assert any further authority. Until matters are resolved, I have agreed to stay at the estate.
Would you explain everything to my grandmother? I do not wish to distress her, but if she hears it from you, it will lessen the blow. I will try to get this settled as soon as possible. I think of you endlessly and ache to have you in my arms. After this, we will be together, I promise.
Lovingly yours,
Andrew
Tabitha huggedthe paper to her chest, taking long breaths to calm the maelstrom of emotions. At least now she knew Andrew was safe, for the moment. But she had work to do. She called for George and asked him to fetch Tom Thorne. Next, Tabitha told Lady Holcombe about the contents of the letter. The dowager penned a note to the solicitor, explaining the situation. Together, the women would give Andrew all the support he required.
As they waited to see if Mr. Thorne could be found, the ladies tried to reason why someone would want to murder William. The only person who would benefit from his death was Andrew as the next heir. But Tabitha knew he hadn’t had a hand in his brother’s death. A nagging voice told her that mayhap Miranda might have had something to do with it. She certainly had a lot to lose—or gain, if she’d had a son.
Within an hour, an older, brawny gentleman entered the parlor. He bowed to both ladies and introduced himself as Thomas Thorne.
Tabitha spoke first. “Mr. Thorne, I was notified that you have had past business dealings with the Duke of Holcombe.”
“I have, miss, but I usually do my dealings directly with the duke. May I inquire as to why he is not here?”
Tabitha gave a brief synopsis of the situation and informed him of the great necessity to find Randolph Herr. “It is imperative that we find him as soon as possible to answer questions regarding the former duke’s death.”
Thorne scratched his head. “It might be difficult, miss. London is a big city, and if someone doesn’t want to be found, it will be like looking for a needle in a haystack. I need somewhere to start. Perhaps he has relations somewhere in town?”
“I don’t know. His Grace did not mention anything, but I will write to him immediately and see if there is any further information I can get you.”
“Very well,” he said with a bow. “I will start inquiries in the meantime.”
One week, Tabitha thought. One week was all it had taken for their lives to be turned upside down. She wanted to join Andrew but knew he wouldn’t want her there with the inquiry going on. All they could do was hope it would come to a quick resolution. Surely everyone would see Andrew was not capable of murdering his brother.
Two days later, Tabitha received a response from Andrew. Since his estate was close to London, they’d had grooms riding as messengers to deliver the correspondence. Andrew had the servants tell him all they knew about Randolph Herr, and Tabitha forwarded the information to Mr. Thorne. With any luck, it would help in his endeavors, which had, so far, been fruitless. Andrew also wrote that his solicitor had arrived and had put the magistrate in an uproar about the lack of sound evidence against him. For now, Andrew would remain on the estate as a sign of good faith.
Tabitha grunted in disbelief when she read the last part of the message. How was a man to defend himself and find proof of his innocence if he was bound to his lands? It seemed a new magistrate might be in order in the future.
After that last letter, Tabitha heard nothing further from Andrew. Thorne had given her an update, that so far there were no leads on Randolph Herr’s whereabouts. The lack of action or answers frustrated Tabitha to no end. She repeatedly chastised herself, trying to stay calm, but it was useless. On top of everything, she still had social obligations to fulfill with her mother. Tabitha had hoped those outings would distract her, but she always caught her mind wandering. Waiting was the hardest part. Not knowing what was going on. This must be why Phillip had never told the family what he was doing. The worry alone would have sent their mother to her bed for weeks.
With everything going on with Andrew, she had almost forgotten about Phillip. She prayed he had received the message Sir Darnley left at the safe house on his return to British soil. There had been nothing from Lord Vance either. Tabitha wasn’t sure if she should be grateful or suspicious, because something told her Vance was not the type to let a grudge go so easily.
* * *
The followingnight Tabitha attended a soiree with her parents. Exhausted from lack of sleep, she asked her mother if she could retire early. Since the party was only a short distance from their own house, Tabitha decided to walk.
The night air cooled Tabitha’s heated skin. The rhythmic sound of her slippers on the sidewalk was hypnotic. If she wasn’t careful, she might nod off. But then, something caught her attention. As she continued, she thought she heard footsteps behind her. Her heart rate increased, and Tabitha had to fight the urge to run. Perhaps she was just hearing things. She hadn’t had a solid night’s sleep in days. It could be her nerves playing tricks on her.
She kept walking. Perhaps she could make it home before the person caught up. But the steps grew louder, and then another set of footsteps seemed to have joined the first ones following her. Now Tabitha was on high alert. She increased her speed, but the footsteps behind her did the same. There were only three houses between her and home.Perhaps I can outrun them. If she screamed, surely that would scare off any attackers and get the attention of some servants. Yes, she would run. There was nothing else to do. Tabitha was about to take off when a large hand wrapped around her left arm and spun her around.
She came face to face with a grisly older man. He was so close, she could see his rotting teeth and smell the decay on his breath. Another brute stood close behind him, a lecherous grin on his face.
“Well, well, Farley, my lad, look what we have here. A young lady, all alone at night,” said the man who had hold of her.
Tabitha nearly retched from the stench emanating from the man’s mouth. The other man chuckled with a wide, toothless grin.
The first man spoke again. “We was told to give you a message. To let you know there is some unfinished business what needs done.”
