My dearest brother,
The coffers are empty. We’re in too much debt to save the dukedom. I cannot continue this way. Please contact the Earl of Quimbly who can be found at Bryony Manor to finalize payment of my debts.
Signed,
Keenan
If she hadn’t read through the falsehood of the note, she would most certainly have known who’d written it by the extra twirl on the tail of the “Q” in her father’s name.
The note had been forged.
Her father was despicable. He’d killed Keenan. Likely he’d not been alone, he would have taken Egan and Stan, his two most loyal brutes along to assist him.
Pemberth did not have to live out his life thinking his brother had committed the unforgivable sin.
Come back to me, love. Come home!
The remainder of the afternoon she spent matching investments with notices sent of incoming shipments. Her brother-in-law had not impoverished his estate, quite the contrary.
Lila would show Pemberth everything if—no—whenhe returned. Because, of course, he would return to her!
Only not on this day.
After what felt like hours of tossing and turning, unable to sleep, Lila slid off of the tall bed in her husband’s chamber where she’d slept since his departure. She could take the draught. Get some rest tonight. If he did not return by tomorrow, she would enlist one of the other male servants to ride with her to Bryony Manor. Her father had killed at least once, that she knew of. He’d not hesitate to kill again.
Lila slipped through the adjoining door into her own chamber and once inside, slid open the drawer of her jewelry box and withdrew the velvet bag.
Holding up the vial of white powder, she realized she’d probably need some water.
Should she take all of it? Her mother hadn’t specified. Had she?
Use it on your husband,her mother had advised. Likely this meant that Lila would only require half the amount to sleep.
She lifted a nearby pitcher and poured some tepid water into a matching glass and then emptied a little less than half the contents of the vial.
She would sleep tonight. Tomorrow could turn out to be a very long day, indeed. He had to be all right!Please let him be unharmed. Please?
She closed her eyes, lifted the glass to her lips, and—
Something solid and wet and cold sent the glass flying from her hand.
Pemberth! Shock replaced her worry in an instant.
She hadn’t even heard him enter.
Without saying a single word, he tugged her tightly to him.
He was here! She wound her arms around his waist, feeling only relief as she pressed herself against her husband. He dripped with sweat despite the cold of the night air, but she did not care. His heart pounded rapidly beneath her ear. She didn’t mind that her nightgown absorbed the damp from his clothing. She slid her hands up to his neck and tilted her head back, taking in his haggard appearance.
“You didn’t drink it? The sleeping draught?”
She shook her head. “I never meant to hide anything—”
“It was poison! I thought I’d lost you.” He swallowed hard, searching her eyes, his hands running over her arms, her shoulders…
Poison? She shook her head. “It was for sleep.” She had just been going to drink it. “You knocked it from my hand. I haven’t slept since you left…”
He shuddered, looking pained. “Thank God. It was poison and I told you to take it and then I saw the same vial… I had to get here.”
