“Did the two of you spend that Season in London?”
“We did.”
“Did you see the aunt during that time?”
“Annabel said she preferred to visit her aunt alone.”
“How often?”
“Once a week when we resided in London.”
From the little Georgiana now knew of the other woman, she did not believe Annabel Sotherby would have banned Julian from accompanying her on those weekly visits out of a feeling of embarrassment for her humbler beginnings.The duchess’s nature, from her treatment of Julian after the wedding, her rudeness to the servants and her disdain for Meggie, was not indicative of those softer emotions.
Georgiana’s eyes narrowed.“I know St.Albans and Hellsmere to be close friends of the Prince Regent.Can I assume you are also part of that inner circle?”
“I am, yes.”
“Hm.”An idea was starting to formulate in Georgiana’s thoughts, but she would need more information before she voiced any of those thoughts.“Did Annabel ever meet the Prince Regent?”
“Only when she was first presented to him, as is customary.”
“And…?”
Julian looked nonplussed for several seconds before his brow cleared.“And Prinny complimented me on the beauty of my duchess.”
“And your duchess?”
“I do not recall her saying anything of consequence.”
“She met the Prince Regent and voiced no strong opinion afterward?”
“Yes.”
“A young girl from a middle-class household is introduced to the Prince Regent as the Duchess of Moreland, and she had nothing to say about that meeting?”Georgiana repeated incredulously.
His mouth twisted.“I believe she might have said he was fatter than she’d imagined.”
Yes, well, a lot of people said that about their Prince Regent, but never within that gentleman’s hearing.Luckily, Prinny also managed to maintain a royal bearing and could be more shrewdly intelligent than most people realized from the joviality of his outer appearance.Indeed, a mind such as the Prince Regent’s might have been useful in untangling the suspicious events surrounding Julian’s marriage.
“Have you spoken to Annabel’s aunt since the duchess disappeared?”Georgiana changed the subject.
He gave a slow shake of his head.“I have not.”
“Why not?”
He winced.“Because when I attempted to do so, I discovered she had moved from her modest house in Bloomsbury almost immediately after Annabel and I were married.Nor had she left a forwarding address.No doubt Annabel was informed of one, but she did not pass that information on to me before she too…disappeared.”
“Then where did Annabel go every week when she said she was visiting her aunt?”
“I have no idea.”Julian sighed heavily.“I could find no record of her aunt’s whereabouts anywhere in Annabel’s rooms after she disappeared.In fact, I did not find any correspondence amongst the things she left behind, let alone letters from her aunt,” he added with a frown.
“Let me see if I have understood this situation correctly…” Georgiana spoke slowly, her thoughts still racing.“You met your future duchess when you were both strolling in a public park.You learned she lived with her aunt, whom you met once and who was, at best, middle-class.The two of you were married at Gretna Green a mere week after that initial encounter.Her aunt seems to have left her house in London almost immediately, and you have no idea where she now resides, despite your duchess claiming to be visiting her every week?”
“Yes,” Julian confirmed through what sounded like gritted teeth.
“Is it only me, or do these circumstances seem strange to you too?”
“Now that you have so eloquently stated the sequence of those events, I can see that the whole situation is…questionable.”He winced.“But I fail to understand what the purpose could have been for any of it.”
