Portia winced. “Tattling Tess? No wonder Thalia intervened. And her presence would help. Despite their eccentricities, the Trayce ladies are beyond reproach. Even though the story will be ricocheting around England, embellished by Christmas cheer, it will only be amusement. Passion between a betrothed couple is naughty but not ruinous.”
“Even when the engagement is broken?”
“Even then.”
Genova looked down at the impossible tangle of ribbons. “I do worry about my reputation. Lord Ashart said that we should act the lovers for a day or two to seal the story.”
“He’s right. First convince the world the attractionis real, then show that the bond cannot last. Unlike this one.” She gave up on another knot and snipped some ribbon free.
The flash of sharp blades made Genova shudder. “There’s no cause for a duel between Rothgar and Ashart, is there?”
“Rothgar doesn’t permit duels in the family, and he considers Ashart one of the family.”
“I doubt Ashart agrees.”
“Even so, it would be hard for him to push Rothgar that far.”
Hard, but not impossible. Was that Ashart’s plan—to push Rothgar into a deadly duel? He had made that dangerous remark about Lady Arradale.
“I gather Lord Rothgar is a skilled swordsman.”
“They all are,” Portia said. “Rothgar trained them quite brutally, from what Bryght has said, because he wanted to be sure they couldn’t fall victim to the sort of bully who uses sword skill to murder. Bryght says he’ll do the same with Francis and any other sons we have. Pistolsandswords.” Her brow wrinkled. “I suppose it will be for the best.”
“It probably is. I’ve seen good men hurt or cowed that way. The whole matter of dueling should be made illegal!”
“I gather it is in a way, but it’s rarely enforced. Men have their own brutal code.” Portia looked at Genova. “That was the kind of man Curry was—the swordsman Rothgar defeated. He’d killed a number of men in duels. According to Bryght, he’d been paid to kill Rothgar that way, and almost succeeded.”
This could be an attempt to glorify, but Genova suspected it was true. She’d find it hard to see Rothgar as a cold-blooded murderer. It didn’t reassure her much, however, to know that he could be a cold-blooded executioner.
How was she to enjoy Christmas in the midst of this?
Portia looked at the tangle of ribbons. “This is carrying frugality too far. I shall take it back to Dianaand say so.” She gathered the mess into her arms, keeping the liberated streamers safe. Genova caught a straggler and wound it on top, suspecting that ribbons had been a pretext to slide her some information and warn her of danger.
Portia headed for the door and Genova opened it for her, unready to mingle with others now. “Will it be all right for me to stay here?”
“Yes, of course! It is magnificent, isn’t it? And I hear the horn, which means arrivals. Best to be out of the way.”
She left Genova with an image of being trodden under a stampede of Malloren feet. That was whimsy, but other problems were not. Behind this jovial Christmas cheer lay altogether too many deaths.
Chapter Twenty-three
Genova started to count. Baby Edith. Lady Augusta. Lady Augusta’s husband and his second wife must have died quite young. More recently—the Earl of Walgrave and a professional duelist called Curry.
Curry sounded like the sort of man someone had to kill, however, and people did commit suicide. What’s more, the earl’s son had married a Malloren and was awaiting the birth of his first child here. There could be no dark secret there.
She shook her head. For some reason, her imagination was running away with her. Ashart and Rothgar were at odds, but not to the extent of murder. It simply wasn’t possible, even for aristocrats. Earl Ferrers had been hanged not many years ago for the murder of his steward.
A duel, though? Only with words.
She put aside her morbid thoughts and considered the ranks of books. What could she do in a library that would be useful? She was no scholar. Her education had been broad but haphazard, mainly drawing on places her family had visited and whatever books came to hand.
There could be a history of the Malloren family here. Most great families commissioned such a thing, and any extra information might help her navigate these tricky waters.
After some searching, she found the history section. It seemed to be arranged in chronological order, but when she read the spines of the most recent booksthey looked like dry analyses of legislation and foreign affairs.
What else would be useful to know?
Loki. She would definitely like to know more about Loki.
