At first, all she could bring herself to think about was the letter she had received from her parents. She read the words over and over again. It was so cold. So businesslike. Caroline herself felt nearly frantic with fear over Prudence, but there was no indication that anyone at home was even particularly worried. They’d asked Caroline to send word if she saw her sister, but there was no sense of urgency about it. She felt as if her blood was curdling.
How could there be no sense of urgency about it? How could her mother and father not be in a state of panic?”
“Your Grace?”
It was Bethany. Caroline stared, trying to jostle herself out of her thoughts.
Bethany flushed, misinterpreting Caroline’s vacant stare. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Caroline, I meant.”
“No—that’s all right. I mean, yes, do call me Caroline…” She stopped, overwhelmed, and tried again. “What is it, Bethany?”
“The duke has asked you to join him in his study,” Bethany said. “I’m to bring you to him. With your consent, of course.”
“He wants to see me there now?”
“He says so, yes. Will you come?”
“I will,” Caroline said, though she was stunned by what was happening. It felt so unusual, so surprising, for Levi to summon her. Every time they had been in the same place, it was because of her initiative, not his. She was the one who encroached upon his spaces; he was the one who scolded her for having done so. And now he was inviting her in? She could hardly reconcile the idea.
She got up and followed Bethany along the hall, allowing herself to be escorted even though she had no need for a guide. She knew these halls by now, as well as those of the home where she had been raised. But there was a sense of ceremony about allowing Bethany to lead her. Every time she had come to Levi’s study before, she had felt as though she was breaking some unwritten rule. This time, at last, she had been sent for. She was going because she had been summoned.
They stopped outside the door. “He expects you,” Bethany said softly. “But…shall I announce you?”
“That won’t be necessary.” This last step, she would take by herself. She lifted a hand and knocked at the door.
“Come in,” Levi’s deep voice called.
Why did she tremble as she reached for the doorknob? Why did it suddenly feel as though something was out of control? There was no reason to tell herself that she couldn’t manage an interaction with Levi. How many times had she entered this room and faced him? This would be no different.
She drew a deep breath, opened the door, and went inside.
And itwasdifferent. That much was clear at once.
There was something about the expression on his face. It was strained and serious, as if he was hardly thinking about her at all, as if he was preoccupied with something far more urgent.
“Sit down,” he said, not looking up at her.
She remained standing. “Is everything all right?”
Now he did look up, his eyes creased in obvious confusion. “Of course it isn’t,” he said. “You know perfectly well that it isn’t.Your sister is missing. How can you be asking me if everything is all right?”
Caroline’s mood soured. “Don’t act as if I’m not taking Prudence’s disappearance seriously enough,” she snapped. “I’m theonlyperson who has taken it seriously.”
“You’re not the only one any longer,” he told her. “But you’re right—I shouldn’t have spoken to you the way I did. Forgive me. I know you’re distraught over her.”
Had he actually apologized to her? That was so unexpected that for a moment Caroline didn’t know what to say. “Well…why have you summoned me here?” she managed.
“We need to figure out where she might have gone. That can’t be done without your help,” he said. “You told me she used to dress herself as a man and sneak out of your parents’ house?”
“That’s right. She said it made her feel free.” More and more, Caroline was beginning to understand that feeling. In the past, it had appalled her even to think of it.
“All right. Well, if that’s what she’s done, she must be staying with someone. Someone must be giving her refuge. You thought she was with your aunt, but that isn’t true. Can you think of anywhere else she might have gone?”
“My first guess would have been to our sister Arabella—the Duchess of Redmayne. But in the wake of all this upheaval, if shewere there, Arabella would have told everyone. She would never allow us to live in fear. She would have written tome, at the very least.”
“Well, even so, that’s a place for us to begin,” Levi said. “We can speak to your sister and find out if she has any guesses as to where Prudence might have gone. It’s possible Prudence confided something in her that she didn’t in you. Or perhaps when the two of you put your heads together, you’ll come up with an answer that neither one of you remembered on your own.” He fixed his gaze on Caroline. His eyes were dark and penetrating, and she felt her pulse accelerate helplessly. “You should not have kept this information a secret,” he said, his voice steady. “You should have told someone right away. Having more people involved can only help. I don’t know what I can do to make you see that. To make you trust me.”
“I’m trusting you now,” she said. “I’m telling you everything I know, aren’t I?”
