Just then, he noticed a strange expression upon Thalia’s face, her features frozen as if she had suffered a fright… or had just had a rather tremendous notion.
Slowly, she raised her green-eyed gaze to him. “Do you think one of those illegitimate children might be behind these attacks on me?”
“I doubt it,” Henry replied gently. “My father was discreet even in his indiscretions. He would never have confirmed his parentage of any child outside of his marriage. He would have quietened any woman who dared say otherwise.”
She nodded thoughtfully. “What about Walter?”
“He has never indicated any desire to be the duke. In truth, by the end, he hated my father more than I did, which was strange because, when Walter was younger, he was my father’s favorite,” Henry explained.
“Then, one day, Walter was gone. He left a note saying he would be residing with friends for the foreseeable. My father would not speak of it, not even on his deathbed. Walter moved around from place to place, across England, on the Continent, all over, and then found himself in Morocco, where he has been for some years now.”
Thalia seemed perplexed. Disappointed, almost. “I suppose, if itwasWalter, he would have tried to hurt you instead of me.”
“We can be certain of it in a few days, if that would ease your mind,” Henry said, a little flurry of nerves settling in his stomach.
Her head snapped up. “In a few days? What do you mean?”
“Well, I have just received news of my prodigal brother,” Henry said, producing the letter that Baxter had given him. “He isreturning, at long last, and will be staying with my cousins at Weverton, for he says he cannot bear to set foot in Holdridge Court again. They have arranged a garden party to welcome him back.”
After all this time, Henry was finally going to see his brother again. And, in truth, he did not know how to feel about that… nor did he entirely like the timing.
“Do you think that might not be a coincidence?” Thalia asked, speaking his concerns aloud.
“I hope itisa coincidence,” Henry replied, “but we shall not know until we meet with him.”
They had fought for so much of their younger years, vying for the attention of a father who did not care for either of them. He would have hated it if, in their friendlier adulthood, it turned out that Walter had tried to kill his wife after all.
CHAPTER 27
“Icannot believe I have never been to Weverton before,” Thalia said with a bright smile, her gaze turned out toward the passing countryside.
Henry watched her with no small amount of disbelief. How could she smile at all, when they were soon going to meet with a potential suspect?
Hehad been restless since the letter arrived with news of Walter’s return. On the one hand, he could not believe that his brother would attempt to harm Thalia. On the other, he could not rule it out entirely when Walter was, all of a sudden, back in England. It was not as if it was a short journey from Morocco to his homeland.
And he was very precise about the date of his return. What if he has been in England for weeks already?No one would have had any cause to inform Henry if Walter had hidden away somewhere, hatching his plan.
By his reckoning, if Walter had chartered a vessel and a captain to bring him home directly, he could have managed it in a fortnight. Expensive, certainly, but Henryhadsent a large sum of money a few months ago, at Walter’s request.
“It is pleasant enough,” Henry said tightly.
Thalia looked at him, her face so radiant in the light of the Spring afternoon. “What is the matter?”
“I am just thinking about what needs to be done,” he replied. “That is all.”
“It is a party, Henry. The only thing you need to do is enjoy yourself,” she insisted. “That is what I mean to do.”
He frowned. “You are not worried?”
“Not at all. I have had several days to consider every angle,” she said, fidgeting with her reticule. “I think itisa coincidence. Your first instinct was that your brother could not possibly be responsible, and I am inclined to trust it.”
The way she toyed with the beading of the small bag suggested otherwise, as understanding dawned upon Henry. She waspretendingto be cheerful. If she were to give into her nerves, she would probably not be able to attend the party at all.
So, with a nod, Henry played along. “I think so too.”
“You do?” Her shoulders seemed to relax.
“Indeed. If he wished to take my place, he would have done it years ago, when we lived in the same manor and could easily conjure an ‘accident’ to be rid of me,” Henry answered. “Instead, he moved further away.”
