But she did think she needed to try to understand what had happened. To discover the truth from the deceptions.
“Unburden yourself if you like. It may help to ease the shock from your system.”
She nodded, struggling to decide where to begin. With George, she supposed. “George told me you had also loaned money to my brother and that you were threatening to collect early because you wanted Wardley Abbey for yourself and you understood it was not part of the entail. He said that was the reason you wanted to marry me, for my dowry and to strong-arm Worthington into giving you Wardley Abbey. I did not believe him, initially. But Worthington confirmed everything George had said about the loan. Worthington had been gambling to excess, and he needed funds…”
A humiliating hitch in her voice had her stopping her confession before she embarrassed herself further. Her emotions were twisted. Her confusion unprecedented. Worthington would not have lied to her. Would he?
“I never loaned so much as a ha’penny to Lord Worthington,” Northwich said, his voice grim. “I am not a money lender. I have no need to profit off the woes of my peers and friends.”
He seemed so sincere. She wanted to believe him, and yet she did not. For if Northwich was telling her the truth, that meant two of the men she had once loved and trusted—her brother and her husband—had lied to her and manipulated her.
The clearing of a throat interrupted the unsettled silence which had fallen between them. Pippa jolted from her thoughts to find Northwich’s butler standing on the threshold, his expression carefully devoid of emotion.
“I beg your pardon for the interruption. However, Chief Inspector Stone has arrived with an urgent request to see you, Your Grace. I thought you would wish to know.”
Northwich released Pippa’s hand and straightened, nodding at his butler. “Thank you, Blaine. I will see him. Perhaps you might have Mrs. O’Malley ensure Mrs. Shaw finds her way to the breakfast room.”
She did not want breakfast.
All she wanted was the promise of his hand in hers.
But that was foolishness and she knew it. She had no reason to trust the Duke of Northwich. And she most certainly did not belong here with him.
Or did she? Surely the hesitation was merely weakness brought on by the shock of Northwich’s revelations.
“I do not need breakfast,” she said, rising to her feet and attempting to reclaim the sense of purpose which had deserted her upon her first sight of the duke, clad in nothing but his trousers. “If you will see my carriage brought round, that is all I shall need.”
“No,” Northwich said curtly, casting a dark look in her direction. “You will not leave until we finish this conversation. But I must meet with Stone now. He may have news concerning the intruder at your home last night.”
“If he does, then I should meet with him as well. Should I not?”
She could not say where the assertion had emerged from. All she did know for certain was that she needed to know what had truly happened years ago before she had married George and whether or not the intruder of the night before was in any way related to her husband’s past business dealings. If so, why? What could they possibly want, and why now, a year after his death?
For a moment, she feared Northwich would deny her request, but then he surprised her by inclining his head. “Of course you should, Mrs. Shaw. Come with me, if you please.”
Filled with trepidation, she accompanied him to see the Chief Inspector.
* * *
Roland was still reelingwith the revelations Pippa had made as they entered the drawing room where Stone awaited them, a tall, grim figure. If the inspector was surprised to find Pippa accompanying him, the man gave no indication. His expression remained as impassive as ever.
“Northwich,” he greeted. “Madam.”
“Mrs. Shaw, allow me to introduce you to Chief Inspector Stone,” Roland said, performing the necessary, if cursory, introductions. “Stone, this is The Honorable Mrs. George Shaw.”
Although the honorific had been George Shaw’s due as the younger son of an earl, there was precious little about the man which had been honorable in truth. Roland could not deny that issuing the word in connection to the scoundrel’s name filled him with bitterness.
“Forgive me for the early morning call,” Stone said after they were all politely seated, introductions having given way to a far more informal approach. “It seemed more efficient than sending a message, given that I would require a response.”
“Think nothing of it,” Roland reassured him. “You know you are always welcome here.”
“It is just as well that Mrs. Shaw should be present, since my news concerns her.”
For the first time since their entry, Roland returned his attention to Pippa. She appeared pale and frail in her seat, the olive froth of her gown looking like nothing so much as a vast sea in which she was hopelessly adrift. He was damn well going to feed her breakfast before she flitted out of his grasp as she seemed so determined to do. Someone had to look after the stubborn woman. It was painfully clearshedid not look after herself.
She laced her hands together in her lap. “Do not hesitate or mince words with me, Chief Inspector Stone. I am prepared to hear whatever I must.”
Stone nodded. “In reviewing the letters you delivered to the Scotland Yard Offices yesterday, I have reached a conclusion. Last evening’s intrusion at your home by an unknown assailant bolsters my concern that your husband was involved with a very dangerous group of criminals. The nature of the letters you have discovered in your husband’s possessions, and the fact that the intruder was in your husband’s study, suggest one thing.”
