“I have?” she asked.
“When the first one arrived, Holmes thought it suspicious-looking and brought it to me. Since that first letter, I instructed him to bring me your mail first. There have been four in total.”
Caroline gripped the arms of the chair. “You’ve been monitoring my correspondence?”
Gilchrest looked acutely uncomfortable. “I’ve not been reading it if that’s what you mean. I’ve just been looking for the threatening letters that we now have figured out have been sent by him.” He jerked a thumb in Devonshire’s direction.
“I’ve never sent threatening letters to her. I don’t know what you are talking about!” Devonshire yelled from across the room.
“Silence. Not another word, Devonshire.” Gilchrest roared.
Caroline turned her piercing gaze to Cage. “And you, what’s this job? Something to do with the letters?”
“I hired him to investigate who could be behind the letters,” Gilchrest interjected.
“And?” Caroline arched one eyebrow. Her gaze never left Cage’s face.
Cage let out a breath. “And he asked me to watch over you, to keep you safe until we could find who was sending the threats.”
Caroline stood with deadly calm. “So let me see if I understand this. My life has been threatened, but instead of telling me about it, you rifled through my mail, hired this one to be my bodyguard, and investigated the threats without any input from me. Did it occur to you that I might be able to help figure out who the letters were from? That perhaps I should know that my life was in danger? What were you thinking, Andrew!”
“I didn’t want to scare you. It’s my job as your brother to protect you.”
Caroline rolled her eyes then she held out her hand. “I need to see the letters.”
“Caroline, the words they contain-it’s not for a lady to read.”
“Give me the letters.” She stared daggers at her brother.
Gilchrest sighed and rose. He crossed to his desk, and he pulled out a small stack of letters from the bottom drawer. Caroline accepted the pack and sat back down to read them. Cage watched her carefully. The letters were short but terrifying, nonetheless. Her lips parted in a soft gasp as she read the first one, and her hand shook slightly as she unfolded the next. He wanted to snatch all the letters and throw them into a roaring fire. He wished to gather her onto his lap and soothe the tension from her shoulders, kiss her senseless until she forgot every horrible word.
After she had read all of them, she looked up. Her eyes swirled with emotion. “The author of these letters is not Devonshire.”
“What? How do you know?” Gilchrest asked.
Caroline’s gaze flitted to Cage. “The letters are from Valentine.”
Valentine. Of course. Why hadn’t he made the connection after Caroline confided in him about her experience in the carriage? The reference to tying her to him, to punishment. The man had been banished from good society, and he’d lost his chance at her sizable dowry. Valentine had plenty of motives and plenty of time to obsess over her. Cage stepped toward Caroline, needing to offer some kind of comfort. But her eyes swept down to stare at letters gripped in her hands, effectively shutting him out.
Gilchrest leaned close, resting his elbows on his knees. “Are you sure?” he asked.
Caroline nodded. Gilchrest reached out to cover her hands with his. He gave them a squeeze, then he stood and rang for a servant. Shortly a footman arrived.
“Please escort Lord Devonshire from the premise. He is not welcome here.” Gilchrest turned to Devonshire. “I will deal with you later,” he warned.
The footman gestured with one hand to someone in the corridor, and another man appeared. The two men wrestled Devonshire, red-faced and struggling, from the room.
Cage stared down at Caroline. Her back was rigid, her shoulders taut, and her gaze still in her lap. What was she feeling? The shocking content of the letters would upset anyone. He moved to sit in the chair her brother just vacated. “Caroline, please tell me what you are thinking.”
Her gaze slowly rose to meet his, and her eyes snapped with anger. “So everything about our friendship was just a ruse? You were sent to watch me?”
“Yes, I was there to protect you. But that is not the reason—”
Caroline stood abruptly. “I knew someone was following me! I told you as much that afternoon. Oh, you must have had a goodchuckle. And finding you sleeping on the park bench, seeing you at every ball and garden party.” She paced away toward the window.
He rose. “Caroline, I was just supposed to keep you safe from the shadows. But after I met you, I couldn’t keep away. You are far more than just an assignment.”
Caroline whirled around. “And you, dear brother, how could you not tell me about these threats? It didn’t occur to you that I deserved to know that I was in danger? Or that I would know immediately who the villain was? No, I’m just a mere woman, needing to be sheltered and protected.” She threw her hands up in the air. “Just wait until I tell Emma,” she muttered.
