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"You are right. It was a very painful time for us, one that could have broken us as a family, but somehow only made us stronger. Since it isn't really Archer's story to tell…" Lady Scarcliff looked over at her daughters a moment and Quinn noticed the slight nod given to her before she continued "...and if what I tell you can help keep him from marrying that woman, then I shall break the silence."
"We met Miss Danvers and her mother three years ago when Rosalind was in her first season. Katherine was older yet still unwed and it seemed that almost from the beginning she had set her cap for my son. Archer was completely uninterested in marriage especially since he already had his heir in little Nicholas, so all Miss Danvers attempts to lure my son went completely unnoticed by him. We were living here in London for the Season. Cecilia was only fifteen and too young to come out so while Rosalind, Archer and I made the rounds, Cecilia stayed home with a trusted companion."
Quinn looked over at Cecilia and she knew, from the younger woman's sad expression, the secret had to do with her.
"Maybe you shouldn't tell me," Quinn backed off. "I don't wish to make you relive a painful memory."
A warm smile touched Lady Scarcliff's lips before she said, "And because you truly seem to care I shall tell you. It turned out that our trusted companion wasn't so trusting, allowing Cecilia to accompany Lady and Miss Danvers on a shopping trip. But it wasn't shopping that they had in mind. They orchestrated the ruin of my young daughter to ensnare my son into marriage."
"What?!" Thaddeus had turned a worrisome shade of purple.
"They lured her to an unsavory place and put her in a situation that could have been so much worse. The fact that she escaped with just an unwanted kiss and not the loss of her virtue was a miracle. The damage was done though because one word from the Danvers and my daughter, who wasn't even out of the school room yet, would have been ruined. A social pariah."
Quinn felt her own temper flare. "So they blackmailed Archer and told him if he married Miss Danvers then they would keep their silence about the alleged lover's tryst."
"Yes," Lady Scarcliff said defeated.
Quinn forgot for a minute where she was as she stood and started to pace. "So he took one for the team," she said under her breath. She whirled around to look at the occupants of the room. "He can't do it. They have to be stopped." Quinn was pacing again so she didn't see the looks that were being passed between the others in the room. Suddenly, she stopped and turned. "You said from the beginning it seemed that Katherine had singled out Archer for her attention, yes?"
"That's right."
"You were already living in London."
"Yes, for many years."
"And did you know, prior to Archer joining you in London, that his wife was dead?"
"No. Why? What are you thinking Miss Shaughnessy?"
"When exactly did Archer's wife die?"
"Shortly before he came to London," Lady Scarcliff offered.
"How?"
"They found her in the river. She couldn't swim and drowned."
"So, it wasn't common knowledge to the other members of the Ton that Archer's wife had passed?"
Lady Scarcliff seemed confused by the question. "No, there hadn't been enough time for it to circulate and Archer refused to mourn her. You must understand she was a truly cold and hateful woman, so Archer joined us in London instead of staying home for the traditional year-long mourning period."
Quinn felt a chill go through her before she asked her next question. "So how did Katherine know that Archer was once again on the marriage mart?"
There was hardness in Thaddeus' voice that Quinn had never heard before when he answered her, "She had to have known that his wife was dead, but since she lived in London, the only way she could have known about it is if she had a hand it in."
Quinn turned to Thaddeus. "If she killed his wife, and was willing to ruin his sister to claim him, then there is no telling what she'll do to keep him."
"We're going to have to handle this very carefully." Thaddeus said what Quinn, herself, was thinking and then she added, "We need to tell Archer."
"Agreed."
The tremble in Lady Scarcliff's voice had both Quinn and Thaddeus turning to her. "How are we going to save my son?"
Quinn had been pondering that particular question for quite a while now and hadn't found an answer.
She looked to Lady Scarcliff and sighed, "I have no idea."
Later that day, Quinn and Thaddeus decided to visit a detective recommended to them by Lady Scarcliff. Quinn was convinced that in the future Archer and Nickie met with foul play from the Danvers so now they needed to stop it from happening. They needed information. And Quinn also wanted to learn more about Archer's wife; more specifically, how she died. On the coach ride Quinn noticed Thaddeus was unaccountably quiet.
