She looked at him, her expression eloquent of confusion. “How did you know?”
“Rose requested the street sweeper to come tell her if anything happened. After he delivered the letter to you, he came here.”
She looked at Rose and slightly smiled. “I did see you passing him a coin the other day.”
“Yes, my lady,” Rose said. “We wanted him to tell us about that man. He came here straight here this morning from the Darkford townhouse.”
“May we see the note?” Lakehurst asked.
She nodded and pulled her reticule onto her lap, then pulled out the crumbled note and handed it to him.
“Rose,” Gwinnie said. “Please take Lady Darkford’s maid to the servant’s hall and see that she gets refreshments, and that refreshments are offered to the nursemaid and the young Marquess as well.”
“Yes, my lady,” Rose said, dipping a curtsy.
“Good suggestion,” Lakehurst quietly told his sister as he passed her the letter to read.
“The cheek! The arrogance!” Gwinnie declared. “This—thisservant of Satan, whoever he is, doesn’t know who he is dealing with!”
A small laugh escaped Lady Darkford at Gwinnie’s pronouncement. Lakehurst wanted to hug his sister right then for breaking through the miasma of fear that must consume the marchioness.
“What does he mean bycomplete his mark?” Gwinnie asked.
Lakehurst saw Lady Darkford bite her lower lip. It was no doubt hard for her to speak of it. “You remember in my novel where my heroine would be branded with the Devil’s mark?”
“Yes.”
“In Lady Darkford’s experience, they tried to carve the mark on her with a knife, is that not right, Lady Darkford? That is what your brother told me.”
She raised a hand to her shoulder and nodded.
Gwinnie compressed her lips as she frowned. Then she brightened again. “I know, you should get one of those ink things that some of the young bucks are sporting. What are they called?”
“Tattoos,” Lakehurst supplied.
“Yes, tattoos, thank you. Mayhap a butterfly or a flower right where they would think to put that horrid mark,” Gwinnie said.
Lakehurst nodded slowly. Trust his sister to get to the heart of the matter. Lady Darkford did not need to be condemned always to see that scar and what it represented. “Cast evil aside, turn it into one of God’s beautiful creations,” he mused.
“Yes.”
Lady Darkford looked at Gwinnie with wide eyes. Lakehurst knew that even if she never got a tattoo, the idea that shecoulddo something if the scars continued to haunt her had to be reassuring.
“Oh, I don’t think I could, could I?” Lady Darkford asked.
Gwinnie grinned. “If you do, I’ll get one, too,” she brightly offered.
Lakehurst closed his eyes and shook his head.
The double parlor doors burst open.
“And why do I need to learn from a housemaid that Lady Darkford is here?” his grandmother said from the doorway. “Oh? What is the matter?” she asked as she quickly crossed the room.
A footman pulled the doors closed after her.
“Lady Darkford has received a threat,” Gwinnie said.
“A threat?”
