“It should have,” Rhys agreed. “But I received a communiqué from your father, asking me to return to Dunnelly. He did not relate much information in the missive but I understood its urgency. He mentioned the plans for the masquerade and said I should make every effort to arrive before that night.”
“And you did.”
“Just. I reached Dunnelly only an hour before the ball was to begin. It did not give Robert much time to speak with me privately. It was agreed between us that I should pretend to be there at Nick’s invitation, for your brother had also written to me of the masque and asked me to come. Nick, knowing nothing of my work in France, was of the opinion I had been away long enough.”
“Why the subterfuge? Why not simply say it was my father who invited you?”
“Robert thought it was necessary in the event I would return to France. He did not want anyone to know he approved of my presence in his home.”
“I see,” she said slowly, trying to take in the depth of caution intrinsic to Rhys’s work. “And why did my father want to see you?”
“He suspected that Dunnelly’s coast was being used as a location for Napoleon’s spies in England to pass information. It was a dangerous place for the spies to use, given Lord Dunne’s influence, but it was in the same respect a very safe place, because who would think anyone would have the backbone to use it?”
“Obviously my father did.”
“Yes, Robert was suspicious, though he never had time to tell me what was responsible for his concern. He related only that he anticipated contact would be made during the masque, in Dunnelly’s coastal caves, and that all his guests were suspect.”
“Only his guests?” Kenna asked shrewdly.
After a moment’s hesitation Rhys surrendered to her sharply discerning gaze. “His words as I recall were that everyone at Dunnelly was suspect.”
“And you took that to mean the servants and his family?”
“Yes. If Robert meant to exclude anyone I believe he would have said so.”
“Perhaps,” she said, though it was clear she was unconvinced.
Rhys did not comment upon her skepticism, recalling his own at the time. “As I said, my time alone with your father was limited. He asked me to be his second pair of eyes that evening, looking for anything beyond the ordinary. Of course I agreed, though I hadn’t the slightest idea what to expect. I dressed for the masque, talked very briefly with Nick, and started downstairs, only to be waylaid by a young miss with a scheme in her eye.”
“You went along with my plans,” she reminded him.
“Yes, I admit to a soft spot in my brain as well as my heart where you were concerned. The guests had not all arrived by that time and I could see that little would be lost if I delayed my arrival downstairs by a few more minutes. I also had hoped Nicholas would take more responsibility for looking after Yvonne. He was helpful in the beginning, but when I saw him desert her and disappear from the ballroom I took her to one side and asked her to return to her room. Thinking that she would do as I requested I went in search of Nicholas.”
“That must be when I came downstairs. I could find neither of you in the ballroom. There were no other highwaymen anywhere.”
“That would account for me, but Nick’s costume was that of a devil.”
“He told me that, but I have found it hard to credit. In my dream he is always a highwayman,” she said.
“I think we both agree now that there are serious distortions of events in your dreams,” he said gently. “But perhaps you were there then because I found Nick in the study, brooding over a half-finished tumbler of whiskey. I did not need to be his closest friend for twelve years to know something was troubling him.”
“Did he tell you what it was?” Kenna asked, fearing the worst.
“His brooding had nothing to do with why your father sent for me,” Rhys told her. “With Nicholas it was women. It was always women with your brother.”
“Poor Nick.”
“Poor Nick, indeed,” Rhys said dryly. “This time he had foolishly allowed himself to be involved with a married woman.”
Kenna gasped. “Who?”
“He would not say. He told me her identity did not matter in the least because he was calling an end to their affair that very evening.”
“Then she was at the masque!”
“It would appear so. And you can keep your next question to yourself, for I haven’t any idea who the woman was. Much later that night, hours after we had found you in the cave, Nick told me that he had put a period to their relationship.”
“He told me there had been other mistakes with women of good birth and breeding,” said Kenna. “It’s how he justifies his penchant for actresses and opera singers.”
