Ophelia checked both ways before she crossed the street. Since this was her third time in London, she didn’t feel so overwhelmed by the slew of activity going on around her. People were all over the place. They were walking up and down sidewalks, going into carriages, leaving carriages, talking, and laughing. She couldn’t keep track of all the people who offered a greeting as she passed them, but she made sure to return their greeting with one of her own.
She didn’t experience the sensation of being watched until she was within two blocks of Lewis and Marcy’s townhouse. She glanced over her shoulder but didn’t see anyone she recognized. With a frown, she turned forward. Soon, she’d be at their townhouse.
She picked up her pace. This time she was less inclined to greet people as they passed, but she forced herself to be polite. She thought she heard a gentleman call out to her, so she glanced over her shoulder, wondering if perhaps Lewis or Julian was trying to get her attention. No one was summoning her. It was only a gentleman who was waving to another lady as she stepped out of the carriage in front of a townhouse.
Ophelia turned her attention forward and almost ran into someone. She took a step back, ready to utter an apology when she realized she was standing right in front of the last person she’d ever wanted to see again.
“What a clever ruse you pulled, my dear,” Lord Wolfe told her in a low voice. “I had no idea you were the one who was vomiting into a bowl the day I went to inquire of your whereabouts. I hear you go by Mrs. Roskin now.”
She glanced around them. The people passing by didn’t even look over at them. They all seemed to be involved in their own conversations.
“Does it bring you pleasure to humiliate me?” Lord Wolfe asked.
She swallowed, feeling more like a child than a grown lady. “I never meant to humiliate you.”
“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow at her. “Because that’s exactly what you did. You married the vicar who was supposed to marry us. If that’s not humiliating, then I don’t know what is.”
Unable to keep eye contact with him anymore, she lowered her gaze. “Were you standing outside the cottage last night while it was raining? Did you follow us to London?”
“If you are asking whether or not I was biding my time until I could take back what was mine, the answer is yes.”
Noting the anger underlying his pleasant tone, she made a move to step around him, but he grabbed her arm and pushed her toward the street. She opened her mouth to protest, but she was so scared that no sound came out. Before she knew it, he was shoving her into a carriage. He barked out an order to the coachman and got in behind her. He slammed the door and scowled at her.
“You will not make a fool of me,” he hissed. “You belong to me. Ever since you were a little girl and I realized how much you looked like your mother, I was determined to marry you. Your mother refused my proposal and married my cousin instead. That was humiliating enough. A vicar who’s a simpleton and a wayward ward will not outwit me. I waited sixteen years for you. I gave you time to mature into a grown lady before I came for you. I gave you the best clothes, the best accommodations, and the best education money could buy. I made sure you were protected every day of your life. You owe me.”
“I’m already married to the vicar.” She squirmed to the other side of the carriage as it moved forward.
She reached for the handle on the door, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her onto his lap. “I don’t care what you did. I am your guardian. I’m the one who’ll make your choices for you.”
“No!” She pushed at him. “I will not go with you.”
He tightened his hold around her waist. “What’s happened to you? You were so docile before. And now look at you. You’re acting like a wild harpy who hasn’t been brought up properly.”
“Let me go!”
“I will not let you go. Once I get you under the care of those who can tame you, you won’t speak to me like this ever again.”
She wasn’t going to go with him. She didn’t care what he had planned for her. She wasn’t safe with him. She was safe with Julian, and more than that, she loved Julian.
In an act of desperation, she reached up under her hat, removed a pin from her hair, and stabbed him in the arm with it. As soon as he let go of her, she pushed on the door handle. The door opened. Without thinking, she jumped out of the carriage and fell to the street. She didn’t even feel the impact of her fall until she came to a stop on her side.
“Are you all right?” someone called out, followed by another person voicing their concern, and yet another.
All at once, she was surrounded by gentlemen and ladies. Two gentlemen helped her to her feet.
“What happened?” one of them asked.
She peered around the people who had gathered around her to see if Lord Wolfe’s carriage had stopped, but she didn’t see Lord Wolfe or his carriage anywhere. Trembling, she said, “I took a tumble out of a carriage.”
“Which carriage?” a lady asked.
“It was a brown one with gold trim,” a gentlemen answered her. “But I don’t see it anymore.”
“I don’t, either,” another gentleman said.
“Do you need the carriage?” one of the gentlemen who’d helped her up asked. “We can track it down. Your coachman must not be aware that you fell out.”
A lady shook her head. “Some of those doors are not as secure as they should be. Tell us who made the carriage. We’ll lodge a complaint.”
Overwhelmed by how fast everyone was talking, Ophelia forced out, “I don’t know.”
“The poor thing needs to lie down,” another lady said. “Someone should take her home.”
“Where do you live? We’ll take you there,” a gentleman told Ophelia.
“I’m at the Duke of Alwood’s residence,” Ophelia replied. “He’s my husband.”
“I didn’t think he had a wife,” he said.
“No, that particular gentleman just died. He had a younger brother. I bet she’s married to him,” the lady next to him replied. Then she looked at Ophelia. “Are you married to the youngest brother in that family?”
“Yes,” Ophelia said. “We just arrived here today so my husband can arrange for his brother’s funeral.”
“What a tragic time it is for you,” the lady replied. “And to think you took a terrible fall on top of everything else.”
“Well,” the gentleman began, “the best thing we can do is get her home. You are welcome to join me and my wife in our carriage. You shouldn’t walk all the way back there.”
“Yes, that’s a good idea.” The lady who was his wife led the way to the carriage.
“We do hope you’ll be all right,” someone called after Ophelia.
Ophelia wasn’t concerned about the aches or bruises on her body. She’d dealt with those things before. She was concerned about Lord Wolfe. He’d tracked her down. He was following her. He was keeping an eye on everything she was doing. He must have been at theatre that evening when she felt as if someone was watching her. That was probably when Lord Wolfe had found her. Up to then, he hadn’t been aware she’d even been to London.
If she could go back in time, she would have implored Julian not to go to the theatre. She would have tried to come up with another activity they could do with Didimus and Serena. She should have kept her activities private. She shouldn’t have assumed Lord Wolfe wouldn’t find her or, if he did, that he would leave her alone.
The footman and gentleman helped her into the carriage.
The lady sat next to her and patted her hand. “We can send for a doctor to check on you if you’d like.”
Ophelia moved her arms and legs. “That won’t be necessary. I can move without difficulty. I’m just sore.”
“Who was in that carriage?” the gentleman asked once the carriage was moving forward.
She hesitated to tell them. She didn’t know these people. Who knew if she could trust them? Sure, they were being nice, but if they were friends with Lord Wolfe, they might not be sympathetic to her plight. She had no idea how many people Lord Wolfe knew or what his influence was in London. She only knew that her circle of influence was so small that she was surrounded by a sea of unfamiliar faces whenever she came to town. Julian didn’t seem to know many people, either.
In the end, she opted to say, “I don’t know who was in the carriage. He forced me in and tried to abduct me.”
It was a partial truth, and because of that, she was convincing enough so that they let the matter go.
“Thankfully, you’re all right,” the lady said. “That’s the main thing.”
“Yes, and I advise you to take your husband or a friend with you when you leave home,” the gentleman added. “This could have been a random event, or someone might be fixated on you. Either way, you’d be wise to show some caution.”
“I will show caution,” Ophelia assured them.
She didn’t want to come across Lord Wolfe ever again, and if she did, she definitely didn’t want to be alone. She’d barely gotten away from him just now. If she hadn’t put a hairpin with a sharp point in her hair that morning, she didn’t think she would have succeeded in shocking Lord Wolfe long enough to get out of the carriage.
He’d tracked her down. He knew where she was. He knew she was married to Julian. Her stomach tensed into knots. What else did he know about her? She recalled what he’d told her right after he forced her into the carriage.
Ever since you were a little girl and I realized how much you looked like your mother, I was determined to marry you. Your mother refused my proposal and married my cousin instead.
So he wanted her because he hadn’t been able to marry her mother? He had transferred his plans for her mother over to her?
Ever since you were a little girl and I realized how much you looked like your mother, I was determined to marry you.
She shivered.
“Are you chilly?” the lady asked. “You can use my shawl.”
Ophelia shook her head. “I’m not chilly. I’m just grateful I made it out of that carriage when I did.” She swallowed. “I was so scared.” As a matter of fact, she still was.
The lady put a comforting arm around her shoulders. “No one can blame you for that. I would have been frightened, too, if that happened to me.” The carriage came to a stop, and the lady peered out the window. “Are we at the right place?”
Ophelia leaned toward the window then nodded. “Yes, this is where my husband is. Thank you for taking me here.”
“Would you like us to walk you to the door?”
Ophelia scanned the street around them. She didn’t see Lord Wolfe or his carriage. “No. I’ll be fine from here.”
“Just to be sure,” the gentleman began, “we’ll stay here until you’re inside the townhouse.”
Ophelia nodded and stepped out of the carriage as soon as the footman opened the door. Despite the fact that she was trembling, she made it up the steps and to the front door. Julian’s footman opened it and offered her a greeting. She glanced back, and since the couple waved, she returned the gesture before she went into the townhouse.
“Your Grace, are you all right?” the footman asked. “You suffered some bruises while you were out.”
Before he could take a good look at her arms, she crossed them and said, “Where is my husband?”
“Your husband is with Detective Hall,” the footman told her. “They’re in the drawing room. It might be best to go to a different room. I’ll tell him you’re here when he and the detective are done.”
Ophelia hid her disappointment. She had wanted to go straight to Julian. Now, she would have to wait. She released an uneasy breath. She didn’t feel like being alone all the way upstairs away from everyone else. “Where can I go that is close to the drawing room?”
“Your husband’s brothers liked to spend a lot of time in the den. I can have the butler bring you something to eat and drink to make you more comfortable in there.”
“Where’s the den?”
“I’ll take you to it.”
She followed him. The room was smaller than the drawing room, but it was still larger than the cottage. It wasn’t too much unlike the den in the manor she grew up in. Lord Wolfe’s manor. Everything in that place had belonged to him. She forced back a shiver and went into the room. She didn’t want to think of Lord Wolfe or the place she used to call home. She wanted to forget all of it. If only she could wipe the slate clean and start over.
“What should I tell the butler to bring you?” the footman asked her.
After a moment, she settled on black tea and biscuits, though she wasn’t all that thirsty or even hungry.
He paused then said, “If I can help you in any way, let me know.”
She offered him a nod but didn’t say anything. Right now, the only person she wanted to talk to was Julian. She had so much to explain to him. She wasn’t even sure where to begin.
The footman left her alone, shutting the door on his way out. She felt a momentary wave of panic swell up within her, but then she reasoned that Lord Wolfe couldn’t be in the townhouse, let alone this room. There were servants here. It wasn’t like she was all alone in this place.
She released her breath and willed her hands to stop shaking. She’d made it here. Shortly, Julian would be done talking with the detective, and he’d come in to see her.
Since there was nothing else to do, she sat down in the nearest chair. She couldn’t understand why Lord Wolfe wanted her so badly. He didn’t know her. He hadn’t made an effort to get to know her. He could have at least sent missives while she was growing up since he hadn’t planned to come out and visit. Then the servants could have had her reply to him and send him missives. At least then, they would have known something about each other.
But he hadn’t done anything. He’d just kept her tucked away at his estate until he was ready to marry her. And the only reason he wanted to marry her was because she reminded him of her mother.
She recalled the forceful way he’d put her on his lap. It was so much like when he had kissed her in the drawing room. He didn’t care anything about her. He only cared about himself. After being with Julian, she knew the difference.
Feeling much too vulnerable, she hunched her shoulders forward and hugged herself. Getting away from Lord Wolfe so she could marry someone else was the best thing she’d ever done. No wonder her mother had married someone else. She must have known Lord Wolfe was awful, too.
A couple of minutes passed before the door opened, and the butler brought in the tray. She hid her disappointment that it wasn’t Julian and thanked him. Once he left, she picked up the teapot. As much as she tried to hold the teapot steady, she couldn’t manage it, and some tea spilled on the tray.
She exhaled and sat back in the chair. She’d worry about drinking tea later. How was she going to explain this to Julian? Was he going to be upset she hadn’t told him about Lord Wolfe sooner?
From time to time, she had wondered if he ever questioned the sanity of agreeing to marry her. He didn’t know a single thing about her past. He’d taken her word for it that she’d been twenty-one and unmarried. While she hadn’t lied about those things, she was now realizing just how serious the parts she’d omitted really were, especially in light of the fact that Lord Wolfe had found her and wanted to take her away from him.
The door opened again, and this time Julian came into the room with an unfamiliar gentleman, who was holding a hat in his hand.
“I’m sorry I took so long,” Julian told her. “This is Detective Hall. I hope you don’t mind that I brought him in here, but there’s something you can answer for him.”
Despite the fact that she didn’t know what he wanted to her to say, Ophelia stood up and nodded.
Detective Hall offered her a comforting smile. “I understand this has been a trying time for everyone, and probably especially for you. I’ll be quick. Your husband said he wasn’t in London Saturday or Sunday. He said you were with him at his cottage which is outside of town. Is this true?”
“Yes,” Ophelia replied, surprised by the question. True, she hadn’t known what to expect, but where Julian was Saturday and Sunday seemed like a very strange thing to inquire about.
“He also said there was something unusual that transpired Saturday evening,” Detective Hall continued. “He said you thought you saw someone watching the cottage during the thunderstorm.”
“I didn’t think it. I know it.” Lord Wolfe had come out and admitted to doing it. Any notion she had imagined it had flown right out the window as soon as he’d done that. But was now really the best time to divulge that when the detective was here? Or would it be better if she waited?
“Do you have any idea who the person was?” the detective asked.
The answer was on the tip of her tongue, but she felt a slight resistance to giving it to him.
Julian went to her side and put his hand on the small of her back. “I don’t wish to make you uncomfortable, but we have reason to believe someone murdered my brothers and might be coming for me. It’s possible that this murderer came to our home before or after he killed James.”
“Yes, he might stalk his prey before taking care of them,” Detective Hall added.
Ophelia didn’t see why Lord Wolfe would kill Julian’s brothers. His point of contention was with her, not them. “I don’t think the man outside the cottage was the murderer,” she said. “I know who it was. It was Lord Wolfe.”
“It was who?” the detective asked as he took a step closer to her.
Unaware her voice had grown soft, she cleared her throat and spoke louder. “Lord Wolfe. He was the man outside the cottage Saturday night.”
Julian’s eyebrows furrowed. “Lord Wolfe? The only gentleman I know by that title is the one who wanted me to marry him and his betrothed.” His eyes widened then, and he stared at her with a silent question in them.
Pushing aside her unease, she nodded. “I was supposed to marry him, but I didn’t want to, so I ran away and ended up at your cottage.”
Detective Hall frowned. “When was this?”
Julian jerked as if he’d forgotten the detective was still there. His gaze went to him. “Months ago. Back in August. But that has nothing to do with my brothers. Their murders are a separate matter.”
“Are you sure?” the detective asked. “Sometimes things are connected that don’t seem to be.”
Julian thought for a moment then said, “I don’t see how there can be a connection. As a vicar, I was supposed to marry this lady to Lord Wolfe. Only, the two never showed up, and I assumed they had either decided to go to another vicar or not marry at all. I didn’t think she was the one he was supposed to be with.”
“I didn’t tell my husband.” Aware that Julian was paying close attention to what she was saying, she added, “I couldn’t marry Lord Wolfe. He wasn’t a kind person.”
“Did he hurt you?” Julian asked.
“No, but he didn’t care about what I wanted,” she said. “He wanted me to do things I wasn’t ready for.” Since he didn’t seem to know what she was talking about, she quietly added, “He was kissing and touching me in ways that made me uncomfortable. He only stopped because he expected me to be his wife the next day. After that, it wouldn’t have mattered if I wanted to be with him or not. He wanted me to control me in other ways, too. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I was afraid you were going to insist I marry him.”
“I wouldn’t have if I’d known what he was like.” He turned his attention back to the detective. “Well, at least we know whoever murdered my brothers wasn’t outside the cottage.”
“Maybe.” The detective shrugged. “But I wouldn’t rule it out. If this gentleman is unkind, it’s possible he would murder your family out of spite.”
“But I barely even know him, and I doubt my brothers knew him,” Julian said.
“I’m not saying Lord Wolfe did it. I’m just saying it’s too soon to rule him out. Right now, everyone’s a suspect. Will you two be staying in London until I solve this case?”
Julian nodded. “I can arrange for another vicar to take my place while I’m here.”
The detective put his hat on. “Good. The easier you are to find, the better. In the meantime, make sure all doors and windows are secure.”
“I’ll do that,” Julian replied.
Detective Hall offered them both a goodbye then promised to come back when he had more information.
Julian waited until he was gone before he turned back to her.
“I really am sorry,” she said. “Do you forgive me?”
“There’s nothing to forgive. I remember how scared you were the night we met.” He cupped her face with his hands. “Lord Wolfe is considerably older than you are. He’s in his mid-forties. Did you have anyone else you could have gone to?”
She shook her head. “It was just me and the servants at the country estate. I never had any visitors, and I hadn’t left the place after I arrived there when I was five.”
“You took a big risk by running away. Anything could have happened.”
“I know, but I figured whatever happened to me would be better than being married to him.” She shivered and stepped closer to him.
He wrapped her in his arms. “But he didn’t hurt you, and you ended up with me. That’s the important thing. There’s no sense in playing out all of the situations that might have happened.”
She suspected he was saying this more for his benefit than hers. She knew many bad things could happen, but her knowledge of the world was considerably limited compared to his. Knowing as much as she did, however, was enough to make her grateful she was with him.
“Is there anything else I should know?” he asked.
“I barely remember my parents. They died when I was five. My whole life has been spent at the estate with servants. Up until the time I met my guardian, that is Lord Wolfe, nothing of consequence happened. Lord Wolfe wanted to marry me because I look like my mother. He had fallen in love with her, but she married his cousin instead. I think he wanted to marry me to make up for that.”
Though it wasn’t going to be easy, she had to tell him about her encounter with Lord Wolfe earlier that day, and she was going to have to tell him everything. Now wasn’t the time to hold anything back. She took a deep breath and proceeded to tell him the truth.