Hannah squeezed her eyes shut. “Even if it’s true, she’ll never come back to him.” The threatening letter Anthony Fontaine had written flitted through her mind. He had vowed to discover the truth of Marianna’s fate and to kill Sir John if he’d harmed her. Had he discovered instead that his lover had survived?
“That’s not the point, Hannah. If his wife is still alive, he is still a married man.” James pressed her hand. “You must get out now—while you can.”
James took the letter and article upstairs with him and braced himself to face Sir John with the news. He hoped his client would not accuse him of manufacturing the tale for his own purposes.
The man sat in an armchair near the window, reading a trade journal, his cane nearby. He looked up when James entered, his expression instantly wary. James regretted that such tension existed between them, but it could not be helped.
“Sir, I have something to tell you.”
Sir John asked dryly, “Will I enjoy it?”
“I’m afraid not.” James lifted the papers in his hand. “I’ve had a letter from a friend of mine. He enclosed a newspaper article as well.”
“Oh?”
“The article suggests Lady Mayfield was seen in London last week. At a masquerade ball. My friend saw her there.”
“A masquerade?” Sir John asked. “Then how did he know it was her?”
The older man did not seem as shocked as James would have guessed. Or liked.
“He said she removed her mask briefly. Long enough for him to see her face.”
“This friend of yours was acquainted with Marianna?”
“Yes. Apparently, he met Lady Mayfield when you lived in Bath.”
“And I suppose your friend saw her with Fontaine,” Sir John said. It was not a question.
“Actually, she was alone. My friend spoke to her. Told her he was surprised to see her, since he knew from me that I had spent time in Devonshire with Sir John and his ... lady.”
“And how did she respond to that?”
“He did not say.”
James noticed that Sir John did not insist this friend must be mistaken, as Hannah had done. Had Sir John believed all along his wife might be alive?
The man asked, “Have you shown Miss Rogers this letter?”
“I did mention it to her, yes. And showed her the article as well.”
“Of course you did.”
Several moments passed, but Sir John said nothing more. James wondered what he should say. He had clearly displeased his employer, yet even had he no vested interest in the matter, he would have been obligated to inform his client of such important news.
Tentatively, James asked, “Shall I ... leave you, sir?”
Sir John did not answer straightaway. Then he inhaled deeply and said, “Yes. You shall leave. I want you to go to London. Then return to Bristol, even Bath if you have to. I want you tofind proof that Marianna is alive. And while you’re at it, I want you to gather evidence against her and Mr. Fontaine. Evidence we would need to bring a civil case against him.”
A civil case. The first step in long and tedious divorce proceedings, James knew.
He stood there, feeling queasy. He was relieved Lady Mayfield had reappeared and would gladly work to verify that she was alive. For if Sir John still had a living, breathing wife, he could not very well marry another—the woman James wanted for himself. But to help the man gather evidence against his wife and her lover to begin divorce proceedings? The whole process could take years and be ruinously expensive. Worst yet, it might offer Sir John, and perhaps even Hannah, hope that the two might one day be joined together lawfully. That possibility made him feel sicker yet. Even so, Sir John was his most important client and he could not very well refuse.
James swallowed back bile and asked, “When would you like me to start?”
Sir John met his gaze with a look of steely determination. “Immediately.”
Wearing an apron over her day dress, Hannah bathed Danny in a small tub. She had excused Becky, who cheerfully left the nursery in favor of Mrs. Turrill’s warm kitchen. Hannah wanted to do the sweet chore herself. Wanted to be alone with her dearest treasure and her troubled thoughts. In her pocket, she carried the threatening letter from Anthony Fontaine. Now that she knew Marianna might be alive and the two perhaps more determined than ever to be together, the letter seemed important—and the threat more real. She wondered if she should show the letter to Sir John, or to his solicitor.
