CHAPTER 1
“And then the princess discovered a secret garden behind the castle walls, where roses bloomed even in winter.”
Louise closed the worn storybook and smiled at her sister, Emily, whose green eyes sparkled with wonder despite having heard this tale countless times before.
The parlor of Sulton House felt almost warm this January afternoon, although frost still etched patterns across the windows and their meager fire barely fought back the chill seeping through the walls.
“Do you think we have a secret garden?” Emily asked, tucking her small feet beneath her on the threadbare settee. “Perhaps George forgot to tell us about it.”
Louise smoothed a copper curl from her sister’s forehead, her chest tightening at the mention of their absent brother.
“If we do, it’s very well hidden. But I suspect even magical roses would struggle in this cold,” she told her.
“When will George come home?” Emily’s voice dropped to a whisper, as if speaking too loudly might summon something unpleasant.
“Soon, darling.”
The lie came easily now, practiced over the past week since George had vanished without a word or a note.
Louise pulled her woolen shawl tighter around her shoulders. “Shall we read another story? We still have an hour before?—”
The front door of the townhouse crashed open with such violence that the parlor windows rattled in their frames.
Heavy footsteps thundered through the entrance hall. Emily’s face drained of color as she pressed closer to Louise, the storybook tumbling forgotten to the floor.
“Stay back,” Louise murmured, even though her own heart hammered against her ribs.
She rose from the settee just as three men filled the parlor doorway.
The first man commanded immediate attention despite his unremarkable height. He moved with the calculated ease of a predator certain of its prey. His clothes spoke of money but not breeding. The cut of his coat too flashy, and his gold watch chain too thick. Behind him loomed two brutes whose scarred knuckles and broken noses told their own stories.
Louise stepped forward, placing herself between these men and Emily. “Emily, go upstairs to Mrs. Fielding.”
“But Louise?—”
“Now, please.”
The child hesitated, her small fingers clutching Louise’s skirt.
“Let the girl go.” The man’s voice carried the false courtesy of someone who enjoyed wielding fear. “We’re civilized people here. Aren’t we, Lady Louise?”
One of the brutes shifted aside just enough to allow passage. Emily fled, her footsteps echoing up the stairs, followed by Mrs. Fielding’s startled exclamation. A door slammed somewhere above.
Only then did Louise allow herself to breathe.
“Who are you?” She kept her voice steady despite the tremor in her hands. “And what gives you the right to force your way into my home?”
The man smiled, revealing teeth too white against his ruddy complexion. “Forgive me. Where are my manners?” He offered a mocking bow. “Silas Bragg, at your service. I’m a man of business, Lady Louise. And your brother owes my business eight thousand pounds.”
“My brother isn’t here,” Louise said once she heard Emily safely away. “I haven’t seen him for over a week.”
“Yes, so your servants mentioned, before we encouraged them to take a brief respite in the cellar.” Bragg strolled further into the room, examining the faded wallpaper and the empty spots where paintings once hung. “Quite a fall from grace, isn’t it? The mighty Marquess of Sulton, reduced to this.”
“If you’ve come for payment, you’ve wasted your trip. What little money remains barely covers food and coal.”
“Money?” Bragg settled into George’s chair by the fireplace without invitation. “My dear lady, if I believed money would solve this problem, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
Louise forced herself to remain still, even though every instinct screamed at her to run. “Then what do you want?”
