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Regards,
Lord Rothmore
“Let Mother know we will be home in an hour and will join her for dinner, once we have changed,” Slade said, motioning to Latham to come with him. His heart sunk. Was Lord Rothmore objecting to his court of Lady Bella? No. He also asked for Latham—and showed it was urgent. His mind spun. Had something happened to her?
They traversed the blocks between the two townhomes quickly and took the steps to Bella’s family townhouse two at a time, both struggling to catch their breath when the door opened.
“Good afternoon, Your Grace. Lord Rothmore is expecting the two of you in his study. This way,” the tall, graying man said in pinched tones.
The earl met them at the door. “Thank you for coming. I am most upset and felt that with all that has gone on, this could have some bearing.”
“You have me all interested,” Slade said, taking one of the burnished leather chairs in front of the desk.
“Would you care for a drink?” Rothmore asked.
“Yes, we both would. We may need it,” Slade said, giving a quick nod to his friend to draw his attention to the earl’s trembling hands.
The earl sloshed some brandy in two waiting glasses and passed them to each man. “You must wonder why I asked you here.”
“We are . . .” Latham started.
“My daughter has been threatened,” the earl said, “and it has to do with you, Your Grace.” He locked gazes with Slade.
“By whom?” Slade asked, setting down his drink on the side table.
“I do not know, exactly. A woman covering much of her face and body with large shawls approached her maid, Mary, this morning in the market. She bumped into Mary and handed her this note,” he said, shakily retrieving the crumpled note from his waistcoat pocket.
Slade held the note to allow Latham access, as well. “I hope you will keep this to yourself,” Slade started.
“I can,” the man acknowledged.
“My father was targeted. I do not believe my brother was meant to be hurt but was nearly killed in a carriage accident that we both believe was planned. We could not ascertain the motive . . . until now,” he said, looking at the note. “If this is who I believe it to be, we must pay special attention to Lady Bella without raising undue attention. I do not want many to know because I do not want the perpetrator to hide and come out later. We need to catch them. This note makes sense with the theory I have had.”
“I know where you are heading,” Latham said. “I agree.”
“This is my daughter we are discussing. Can you share who you suspect?” the earl said heatedly.
“Yes. I know you will keep this to yourself. This is only a suspicion. I believe Lady Evers is at the heart of this.”
“Your dead brother’s betrothed? That’s ludicrous. I know her family. They are goodTon,” Rothmore exclaimed.
“I do not dispute that. And for reasons I cannot share, I believe they are totally in the dark about her activities. Her motive is a little hazy. But with my father gone, she would have been a powerful duchess with her marriage. Now that my brother is out of the way,” he was careful not to say dead, “she may see me as a ticket to the dukedom. It is not outside the realm of possibilities that she would expect me to honor my brother’s obligations where she is concerned. I have already made it clear to her that I do not plan to marry her.”
“My wife mentioned you wanting to take my daughter to Hyde Park tomorrow,” her father cited.
“Yes. I had asked her. I would certainly understand your reluctance. I will protect her with my life,” Slade said.
He nodded. “Mary shall go as well,” her father said.
“Of course. And I shall have a footman watching the area,” Slade supplied, feeling angry that Bella’s life had now been threatened. If this was Lady Evers, he would ensure she was punished, regardless of her father’s supposed influence.
“Why do you not go pick her up and question her?” he asked, pushing.
“We have nothing that identifies her. I explained it was my suspicion. I shared it with you so that you would have that in mind, should she visit here, or should you see her near your daughter. I must have your assurance on this that it goes no further. We do not want to scare the person off or arrest the wrong person,” Slade emphasized. “This is important, Lord Rothmore.”
“Yes . . . yes. I appreciate you taking me into your confidence,” he muttered.
“My lord,” Latham began. “We are taking this threat seriously. I cannot guarantee nothing will happen—no one can. But we will mitigate the problem as quickly as possible.”
A few minutes later, the two men left the Rothmore townhouse and headed back to Slade’s.
They took their time returning home. Slade looked around the street and saw no one lingering as they walked along. “We need to hire more Bow Street Runners to watch his house. The woman may be desperate. We must verify the reason for her enormous debt. I will send for Wortle tonight. I cannot help but feel it has something to do with her desperation.”
