Laura took the coward’s way out. She avoided Gareth when he was home. She told her mother and Lady Maria that she was not inclined to attend any of the Season’s entertainments. To her surprise, they agreed. Lady Catherine even said she was happy to keep Laura away from the scandalous gossip doing the rounds. She wished she could stay at home.
The hostesses who enquired about Laura were told she had taken to bed with a chill. Her suitors were given the same excuse. Laura felt like a fraud when they sent extravagant bouquets with cards wishing her good health. The Duke of Berkley stayed for a full fifteen minutes in the drawing room, asking questions about what care Laura was receiving.
Maria and Gareth assumed Laura was staying at home because she had come to care for Anthony deeply and found the gossip hurtful.
“There is no truth in it, dear,” Maria assured her. “Fanny and Wimberley have known each other since they were children. There is no romantic attachment between them.”
“I have the least interest in that man,” Laura answered.
Maria only patted her hand and said she understood. To Laura’s annoyance, her sister-in-law was singularly obtuse. She was convinced that Laura was pining away for the Duke of Wimberley. She was also convinced that the duke had formed an attachment with Laura. She said it was truly shocking about the outrageous stories doing the rounds. She mustn’t let them upset her. Fanny and Wimberley have not the slightest tendre for each other.
Gareth was the same. He told her everything would work out. It was a matter of time before Anthony cleared his name. “You must wonder at Wimberley’s absence,” he told her two days after Annie’s rescue.
“Gareth, how many times need I tell you I have no interest in the man?” Laura snapped at him.
“Did I say you were interested in him?” Gareth said, patting her head as if she was once again a child who had to be lied to in order to be kept happy.
“I am telling you because he is a friend. The child you heard rumors about is missing. The police traced the house where she was kept captive. But she has vanished from there. They aren’t able to find her at all. Anthony is also searching. He left London a day ago, to follow some leads.”
When Laura kept her mouth mutinously shut, he sighed. “Give him some time, Laura. He will tell you everything. Until then you must take my word that he is innocent.”
“You could be mistaken,” Laura ground out.
“I’ve known him for years, Laura. He is not capable of harming anybody. It’s good you’ve stopped going out. Do you know what he is accused of now? Kidnapping and murder. Gossips are accusing him of kidnapping the child and murdering her. It is of no import that the police have caught the real culprits and they have confessed.”
“He may have planted them. He is a duke, Gareth! It is the easiest thing for him to pay somebody to take the blame!” Laura cried.
Gareth stared at her. “You have heard the gossip about Anthony. I can’t believe you have believed it. You know Anthony.”
“Do you?” Laura said and left the room.
Laura had only to look at Annie to despise Anthony afresh. Annie was like a silent shadow. She did not speak about her ordeal but it was easy to see how much it had affected her. When Laura had first met her at the home, Annie was a withdrawn child who often crept away to her crib to shed tears for her mother. Laura had managed to make her smile, and to take delight in books and the doll.
It broke Laura heart to see how Annie clutched the doll to her thin chest, afraid it would be snatched away from her. She clung to Bessie or to Laura and hid behind them if anyone spoke to her. She showed no surprise that her dear Miss Miller with the dark hair was now Lady Laura.
The Duke of Wimberley was hateful. He was a fiend and she was an imbecile to have entertained feelings for him.
***
Two days later, Laura decided to tell Gareth the truth and put an end to the charade. It wasn’t her conscience alone that was troubling her. Gareth had taken over the search as Anthony was still out of London. Policemen, detectives, and runners came to Daventon House and remained closeted with him in the library for hours. It was the out and out of everything. She couldn’t bear to see him on a fool’s errand. She would tell him everything. He would believe her. She was his sister. She would make him promise to keep Annie’s identity a secret. They would leave London and take Annie with them.
“I must speak to you,” she said, facing him across the library table. “Anthony is not the person you think him to be.”
“Laura! Not again!”
“Please hear me out, Gareth. He kidnapped Annie. He wanted to kill her. Annie did not vanish. She was rescued!”
“Do you know where she is?”
Laura nodded.
“Where? Please tell me, Laura! Anthony is going out of his mind. He blames himself for letting Annie stay on at the home. He should have entrusted her to his housekeeper instead of waiting to hire a nurse and make arrangements for the journey.”
“Haven’t you been listening? Anthony is the one who kidnapped Annie!”
Laura was so overwrought she did not hear the door open and the Duke of Wimberley come in.
“I would call you out for that if you were a man!” Anthony said, his expression thunderous.
Laura stood her ground and met Anthony’s furious look. Gareth stepped between them. “Anthony, there is some misunderstanding here. What is important is that Laura knows where Annie is.”
Anthony looked incredulous, and then relieved. A load seemed to fall off him. He dropped into the nearest chair. “Is she safe?” he asked.
“Laura, where is she?”
“Gareth, I am sorry that you do not believe me. I can’t tell you where Annie is. I can’t put her into danger.”
Her words and the contempt in her eyes had Anthony on his feet. “Do you dare to suggest that I am a threat to the child? I haven’t slept in forty hours. I’ve looked into every ditch, every barn! I have half the police department looking for her!”
Without a word, Laura brushed past Gareth and turned towards the door. He grasped her wrist. “Wait. I think I know where Annie is. Mother told me you brought a girl home. That was four days ago. Annie disappeared from Baker Lane four days ago.”
“You are mistaken. The girl is Bessie’s ...”
“We’ll see,” Gareth said and rang the bell.
If the footman was surprised to see his lordship imprisoning Laura’s wrist, he gave no indication of it. A few minutes later Bessie came in, leading Annie who clung to her and hid her face in her skirts.
“Gareth, unhand me!” Laura hissed.
Gareth wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “Laura, trust me. If Anthony is a threat to Annie, I will not let Annie go,” he said, speaking softly so that only she could hear.
“Annie,” Anthony said.
Annie looked up.
“Do you know me, Annie?” Anthony asked.
Annie nodded. “You said you would take me with you.”
“I went for you but you were not there. What happened, Annie?”
Annie’s face clouded. Laura started towards her but Gareth kept her firmly at his side.
“What happened, Annie?” Anthony asked.
“A man told me you were waiting in the carriage. But you were not there. He took me to another man.”
Anthony looked at Laura, his eyes like chips of stone. “Does this suffice or do you want Annie to recount her harrowing experience?”
“I don’t understand,” Laura said, looking helplessly at Anthony and at her brother. “Sam told me he had heard it was you.”
“You chose to believe this Sam,” Anthony said.
“Wait! He led me to Annie. He helped me rescue her. Why would I disbelieve him?”
“Why indeed.”
“Anthony, like I said, it was a misunderstanding! Good that it is cleared up!” Gareth said, trying to sound hearty.
The Duke of Wimberley ignored him. “Annie, shall we leave?” he asked.
Annie looked at Laura. Laura immediately went to her. “What is it, dear?” she asked, kneeling down in front of her.
“I want to stay with you,” Annie said.
“Remember what I told you? Your family will love you.”
“Will you come and see me?”
“I will. Now go with Bessie. You must not keep his Grace waiting.”
Annie obeyed and left the room with Bessie. Gareth mumbled something about being back in a minute and followed them out. It was most improper, especially as he shut the door behind him.
Laura knew Gareth was trying to help but she wished she was anywhere else instead of alone in the library with Anthony. He was a cold faced stranger. She didn’t know how she could explain but she had to try. “Your Grace, I’m terribly sorry.”
“I am not. I find your opinion about my character most enlightening.”
“Your Grace, there were circumstances that led me to believe the most vile things.”
“I am not interested to learn about them. Pardon me for putting it bluntly but I have no interest in your opinions or in you. Good day, Lady Laura. It has been a most enlightening morning.”
***
“I don’t blame you,” Gareth told Laura. “It is my fault. I should have allowed Wimberley to speak to you. He wanted to tell you the facts. I told him to wait. I was afraid the scandal would taint you along with him.”
Laura gave a strangled sob. She alone was to blame. Sam had only said that Stubbs kept mentioning a duke. She had jumped to the conclusion that Annie’s kidnapper was the Duke of Wimberley. Instead of coming to Gareth with her suspicious like any well-bred young woman, she had gone haring into Baker Lane. She had led her mother to believe that Annie was Bessie’s relative. There was no end to the list of her wrongs. It was no surprise that Anthony had found it unbearable to stay in the same room as her.
Lady Catherine patted Laura’s hand. Lady Maria, who was sitting on her other side, gently squeezed her arm. Her family’s kindness made Laura feel more miserable.
After Anthony abruptly left her presence, Gareth had come in with Lady Maria and her mother. She had told them the whole story, starting from the letter in Mrs. Forsyth’s office.
She knew the truth now. Gareth had compared the letter to one of Anthony’s. It was a poor forgery. There was also Philip’s confession. The police had found him three days ago, holed up in a ramshackle place close to the docks. Stubbs was caught a day later. Both had confessed to kidnapping Annie. Stubbs was the mastermind. He had first tried to whisk her away by sending Philip with the forged letter. When that had failed, he had lured her out. His plan had been a simple one: to demand a ransom.
But Philip had twisted it into something else. He wanted the ransom and also his cousin to be blamed for Annie’s death. That had led to arguments and delay. They had kept Annie drugged until they could come to an agreement. When Annie had disappeared, they had blamed each other and parted ways. With creditors looking for him everywhere, Philip had taken refuge at the docks.
“Laura, shall we return home?” Lady Catherine asked, looking worried.
Laura was sorely tempted. She knew Anthony meant to leave for Harrogate. But he might leave Annie with his mother and return. He had already taken his place in the House of Lords. If she went home, she might never see him again. It was likely Anthony would sever ties with Gareth.
“Mother, I would rather we stayed in London,” she said, and left the library.
***
Laura tried to shut out Lady Goodall’s strident tone. She was in the Duchess of Severn’s drawing room. Three weeks had elapsed since Anthony had walked out on her, and left London.
Three weeks was too short a time for the ton to lose interest in so juicy a scandal. Wherever Laura went, be it a ball or a select dinner party, she was constrained to listen to new stories about the Duke of Wimberley. At first, she had tried to point out that Lord Lancing was the culprit. He had confessed, after all.
She could as well as tried to stop a river in spate.
The ton was of the opinion that the Duke of Wimberley had demonstrated an utter lack of propriety. Instead of discreetly providing for his baseborn daughter, he had roped in Lord Lancing to make the child disappear. When matters went out of hand, he had implicated the hapless man. It was all gammon, of course. The story didn’t hold water. Lord Lancing had no motive. An illegitimate female offspring was no threat to him.
“The late duke will be turning in his grave!” Lady Goodall said. “He was always sensible to what was due to the family name. To have his son plunge the family into such scandal!”
“He makes the deplorable Lord Lancing appear a saint,” Lady Eversham said with a mournful shake of her head.
“Wimberley tried to pull the wool over our eyes about Flighty Fanny. He pretended the relationship was above board. Lady Laura, you made a fortunate escape. I thought you were fixing your attention on him.”
The Duchess of Severn harrumphed. “You were never good at seeing what was in front of you. Your niece was angling after the young man.”
“Now Theresa, I will not have you speak ill of my dear Selena.”
“And I will not have you speak ill of anyone. I've known Wimberley all his life. His mother is a dear friend.”
“That is neither here nor there. The best of families may have a black sheep.”
Lady Maria chose that moment to tell Laura to ring for a fresh pot of tea. When Laura stood up she said, “Laura dear, I forgot to tell Cook to bake an extra batch of scones. Would you mind going and speaking to her?”
The ruse was not lost on Laura. Lady Maria was sending her out to spare her feelings. Her family was constantly shielding her. They knew the gossip pained her, and that she blamed herself. They wanted to leave London but she would not hear of it.
***
The next morning, Gareth received a letter from Lord Nethercote. He immediately went in search of Laura. She was in the rose arbor, an unopened book at her side. With no one to observe her, she made no effort to hide her heartache. When she saw Gareth, she forced a smile. Gareth sat down beside her.
“Here,” he said, handing her his pristine handkerchief.
Laura dabbed at her eyes and wiped away her tears. Gareth put his arm around her. “Give it time, Laura.”
“He hates me. I can’t forget the look in his eyes.”
“He isn’t coming back to London. Nethercote writes that he has gone to White Willow from Harrogate.”
Laura dabbed at her eyes again. The pesky tears wouldn’t stop!
“Laura, you can’t go on like this. I know Anthony. He is not unreasonable. He will realize it was all a misunderstanding.”
“Misunderstandings keep people apart. Our parents did not reconcile because Father misunderstood what he saw.”
“Laura, I wish I could do something to ease your pain. I can’t help thinking that you will be better off at home.”
Laura nodded. Now that Anthony was not coming to London, she could go home.
“Sam will be happy,” she said, changing the topic.
At least something good had resulted out of her meddling. Sam was now in Gareth’s employ, learning to look after horses. He was thrilled to be off the streets. He kept asking Gareth when they would go ‘home’.
“Sam will be happy,” Gareth agreed, tucking her hand through his arm. “And so will you.”