Sophie’s eyes widened in abject fear as Travell advanced. He was so focused on that damning reaction that he didn’t notice it when her elder companion interceded, stopping his movements with a sharp demand. “What is the meaning of this, sir? Accosting two females in such a crass manner?”
It didn’t take long for him to pin her with a glare. “This woman has answers regarding my father’s disappearance and perhaps, his subsequent return. I won’t be going anywhere until she tells me what I want to know.”
Instead of being shocked, the lady scoffed. “That’s impossible. She’s been in my employ for the past five years as a companion. I trust her implicitly!”
He leaned forward. “Then apparently, you haven’t been made aware of her less than savory past, for I assure you, she was a scullery maid for the Earl of Trenton seven years ago.”
Travell saw a flicker of doubt in her gaze in light of this new information. She turned to Sophie. “Is this true?”
If it were possible, Sophie’s face became even more ashen. “Lady Harvey, I—” As her gaze darted back and forth between her employer and Travell, she must have had an idea of how this was going to go for her, for she darted past them and sprinted for the exit.
Travell didn’t even offer pursuit, for she wasn’t getting far.
Logan reached out an arm and captured the fleeing woman about the waist, lifting her off her feet as she came to an abrupt halt. Travell walked forward to hear his fellow agent say, “Now where might you be rushing off to in such a hurry?”
She must have realized her chance of escape were slim, for her chin trembled and she began to plead. “Please, I… have a good life now. I don’t want any trouble. I just… want to live a peaceful existence.”
“And perhaps you shall,” Travell said. “Once you tell me why my father believes that you poisoned him.”
A sharp gasp came from behind him as Lady Harvey drew forward. Her face was positively aghast. “And to think I trusted someone like you! I shall have your things packed up immediately. Your bags will be waiting for you in the foyer.” She turned to Travell. “Shall I fetch the authorities to deal with this miscreant?”
He regarded Sophie carefully. “I don’t think that will be necessary. Something tells me the lady will come along without any trouble.”
She hung her dark head, which was enough acquiescence for him.
As Lady Harvey flounced out of the display room, where more people were starting to draw inside, glancing at the scene before them with more than a touch of curiosity, Travell grasped Sophie’s arm. “Let’s take this somewhere a bit more private.”
Together, with Logan, they headed for Abernathy House. As they pulled up in front of the stately townhouse, the butler opened the front door. He didn’t even bat an eye as the viscount walked up the steps with his two companions. “My lord,” he bowed. “It’s good to see you again.”
“Thank you, Holmes,” Travell returned. “I shall be in my study. See that we’re not disturbed.”
“Of course.” Since this was a request Travell had made several times over during his years as an agent, there was no doubt that the butler would do as requested. And he was loyal to a fault.
He paused to turn back and face the servant. “I don’t suppose you’ve heard from Lady Trenton yet?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“Indeed.” Travell was growing impatient with his mother’s continued absence. At any other time the woman wouldn’t be gone so long. But now that Triana was married, she didn’t have to worry about being a constant chaperone any longer.
The trio continued on to Travell’s study where he shut the door behind them. Logan remained by the exit while he instructed Sophie to sit. She reluctantly did so, as Travell took a seat behind his desk.
He laid a hand flat on top and closed his eyes briefly. This piece of wood had been his only companion for so long. It was what he was comfortable with. He opened his eyes and glanced at the smooth surface. He imagined he would have missed being here, but when he compared a cold chunk of furniture with the warm, soft delights of a woman — one in particular — he realized that this empty life no longer meant as much as it once had.
But then, he was thirty years old, and it was time he thought of something more than himself. He truly wanted to have a future with Alyssa, and he realized that she was the one person who could have ever been capable of opening his eyes to what he was missing. While his father’s madness was still hanging over his head like a dark cloud, he was starting to understand that it wasn’t an imbalance in the brain that could be passed down the generations, but rather a malady he’d personally suffered. His continued ramblings about being poisoned were a direct clue.
He threaded his hands together and narrowed his gaze on the woman seated across from him. “Now, Sophie. If you please, let’s start from the beginning.”
***
The afternoon was waning, and Travell hadn’t yet returned to Rosewood. Alyssa didn’t want to think something tragic might have befallen him, but concern was etched there in the back of her mind. It would be rather ironic that she’d finally gotten what she’d always wanted, had found the courage to grasp it with both hands, only for it to be ripped away from her.
She sat in the parlor across from Triana and tried to read while the duchess continued her needlepoint while the duke had gone out riding, but try as she might, Alyssa couldn’t focus on the story. She wasn’t even sure she’d turned a single page in the last fifteen minutes. In the end, she set it aside with a sigh.
Echoing the sentiment, Triana stuck her needle in the fabric and did the same. “That was your ninth sigh in the last half hour. And yes, I was keeping track.”
Alyssa winced. “I’m sorry. I’m just… worried that something happened to Travell in London.”
“Travell is more than capable of handling any issue that might arise, whatever it may be,” the duchess returned. “Surely you know him well enough to believe that.”
“Of course I do, but—” She paused and frowned, for it sounded as if a carriage was coming down the drive. Her spirits sank as she stood. If Caroline had decided to pay another visit, it would be more than she could bear. But when she glanced out the window, it was an unmarked carriage that paused before the front doors.
“Who is it?” Triana asked.
“I’m not sure,” Alyssa murmured, but when a woman alighted with a determined set of her shoulders, followed by a man who looked none too reputable, as well as James and Caroline, her heart began to pound.
The duchess joined her and frowned. “This doesn’t bode well.” She reached out and gripped Alyssa’s arm. “Do you think they’re here for Father?”
Alyssa wondered the same thing, but she wasn’t so certain that was the victim they were after. As the foursome walked up the front steps and disappeared from sight, she turned to Triana. “I think we’re about to find out.”
“Sir! Madam! You must be announced!” The sound of Ives’ harried voice carried to the parlor, where Alyssa and Triana exchanged a look of concern.
An older woman was the first to bustle into the room. She was rather buxom with graying, blond hair pulled back into a severe bun. Her face showed only a few wrinkles, but was set with high determination as she glared at Alyssa. “That’s her!” She lifted an arm and pointed at her as if she was guilty of some sort of crime.
As James and Caroline came into view, the latter wearing a rather smug expression, it was the strange man who advanced in her direction that truly struck fear into Alyssa’s heart.
“Lady Alyssa Breyton?” His voice was monotone, without even a hint of kindness.
Alyssa swallowed, but since there was no use denying it, she said, “Yes.”
He brought forth a pair of iron manacles and proceeded to clap one of her wrists. However, Triana stepped between them and said firmly, “I’m the Duchess of Chiltern and I demand to know what’s going on! This lady is a guest here.”
“This lady—” The elder lady moved forward. “—is a threat to my daughter and her household. Not only did this woman try to murder her own cousin by pushing him down the stairs and making it appear an accident, but Lady Lockley has also given a full account of Lady Alyssa’s recent erratic behavior, including the attempt to harm herself. She saw the bruises on the gel’s neck! In light of this evidence James has had no choice but to agree to commit her to Ticehurst House for her own protection. Mr. Graves is with the hospital and has graciously agreed to escort her there.”
Alyssa wavered on her feet and had to clutch the back of a chair for support. She had known Caroline was nasty, but she never imagined she might commit her to a mental institution. But where she was too shocked to speak, Triana had no such compunctions.
The duchess addressed the man before her. “These are preposterous allegations with no truth to any of them! The fact is that Lord Lockley was too deep in his cups to walk and he fell down the stairs, and I assure you that any other accusations that Lady Lockley might have given on behalf of Lady Alyssa are just as false.” Triana stared at Caroline. “The baroness is lashing out because she’s jealous. My brother has refused her advances, so now she intends to take out her anger on Lady Alyssa.”
Caroline put a hand to her chest as if she was horrified at the mere thought. She laid her head on James’ shoulder, where he put his arm around her for a show of comfort. Alyssa almost applauded their performance.
The woman who could only be Lady Fremont waved her hand in their direction. “Do you not see how upsetting the gel is to a respectable couple who have done nothing but treat her with kindness? Even in spite of her recent behavior, they have graciously chosen to send her to a comfortable establishment, rather than subject her to the horrors of Bedlam. And how does she repay them?” She shook her head. “I believe you have it wrong, Your Grace. Lady Alyssa has long been a frequent guest at Rosewood without a proper chaperone. I imagine if we summoned a physician to prove her innocence, she would not be without blemish! She will drag the Breyton name through the mud and any respectability will be lost.”
Triana gasped in outrage, but at that moment, the Duke of Chiltern appeared. His hair was still windblown from his afternoon ride, but his face was dark and rather thunderous. The moment he spied James and Caroline, they shifted away from him.
Lady Fremont did not.
“What’s going on in here?” he demanded. “I could hear shouting all the way to the foyer!”
“Perhaps you will listen to reason where your wife has not, Your Grace,” Lady Fremont intoned. “My daughter has informed me of this threat in her house, and I have come to remove it. Lady Alyssa is to be removed to Ticehurst this afternoon where she can receive the help she requires in one so despondent and beyond the loving help of her family.”
The duke looked at her for a moment, as if he couldn’t quite believe what she was saying. Finally he took a step forward. “The lady isn’t going anywhere. She is not a concern for Lord and Lady Lockley any longer. She is now the guest of Lord Curdiff. As his brother-in-law, I speak on his behalf in his absence.”
Lady Fremont lifted her chin defiantly. “Be that as it may, Lord Lockley is still the gel’s closest male relative. It is his choice how to handle the situation and he has confirmed that the best thing for Lady Alyssa is to be committed at once.” She turned to Mr. Graves who continued to hold the manacles. “Come along. We don’t have all day. Restrain the gel before she becomes unruly.”
Alyssa could tell he wavered between doing his duty and crossing a duke. Even if Gabriel wasn’t in charge of her welfare, he likely realized such a high-ranking peer could make things very difficult for him.
However, in the end, he broke down under Lady Fremont’s direct stare. He moved forward and clapped one of the manacles around Alyssa’s wrist, but before he could attach the second, Lord Trenton’s irate voice rippled throughout the room.
“What the devil is going on in my house?”
***
Travell waited for the former maid to speak, high tension flowing through his veins. When she continued to remain silent, her head lowered to the clasped hands in her lap, he expelled a heavy sigh and prompted, “You realize that you aren’t leaving this room until I find out what I want to know.” As she remained silent, he added, “My father has returned to Rosewood with the declaration that he was in love with you and that you were with child, and yet, in the next breath, he claims that you were a spy and he’s never loved anyone but Lady Trenton. So which one is the truth? Exactly what was your purpose for being at Rosewood?”
Sophie lifted her eyes, but instead of the contrite manner he might have expected, there was an obstinate glint in her gaze. “I will not hang for another’s misdeeds. I left that house intending to spend the rest of my life atoning for my sins, but I refuse to take full responsibility for what happened there.”
Travell had to admire her recalcitrance. It was rather bold of her when she only held a few cards, whereas he could have her arrested and sent to gaol with the snap of his fingers. “I promise that I will do everything in my power to ensure that your cooperation is duly noted, but I can’t promise that there will be no repercussions until I’ve heard the entire accounting. Do you understand?”
She gave a brief nod of her head.
“Good, now let’s—”
A sudden commotion caught his attention, voices raised in command, and he blew out a frustrated breath. Of all the times for my mother to return.
He stood and walked over to Logan. “Make sure she doesn’t move.”
The agent nodded. “Upon my honor.”
Travell wrenched open the door and stalked out of the room. He found Lady Trenton in the foyer with several traveling items surrounding her, proving that she had just returned from an extended trip. She had just removed her bonnet and gloves when Travell snapped, “Where have you been?”
She removed her cloak and handed it over to a waiting footman. “Is that any way to greet your mother after a long absence?” she scolded. “Truly, Travell, I expected more from you.”
He ground his teeth together, but managed to say, “I hope that you’re well.”
“That’s better.” She gave a satisfied nod and patted the bun at the nape of her neck, and then walked over to him as the servants began to take her belongings upstairs. “To answer your question, I’ve had the most lovely time in Brighton. A few other matrons and I took it upon ourselves to have a brief ladies’ holiday.”
“Brief?” Travell snorted. “I’ve been trying to reach you for the past fortnight or more!”
She frowned slightly. “Whatever for? Most of the time you’re closeted in your study and don’t even realize I’m in the house. What could have possibly changed?” But then she abruptly stilled. “Has something happened with Triana?”
He set his hands on his hips. “No. The Duke and Duchess of Chiltern are perfectly well. They returned from Italy a few days ago and came to call upon me at Rosewood.”
“Rosewood?” His mother’s brows rose. “I’m surprised you were able to tear yourself away from London long enough to greet them,” she said dryly.
Again, he clamped his jaw. His mother never made things easy. “I’m afraid that’s not all.” He paused to make sure he had her full attention. “Father has returned.” While she was still recovering from the shock of that revelation, he added, “And I found Sophie. She’s sitting in my study as we speak.”
He wasn’t sure what he might have expected his mother’s reaction to be, but when she fell to the floor in a dead faint, he couldn’t say he was surprised.