“Your Grace,” she said calmly. “How punctual.”
James went still.
Roderick’s hand tightened around his walking stick. “Lady Whitcombe.”
She smiled faintly. “Your Grace. I had hoped you would come as well.”
James stepped forward. “Where is he?”
Lady Whitcombe tilted her head. “He?”
“The man who used this house,” James said, voice cold. “The man who murdered my parents.”
Lady Whitcombe did not flinch. “You are direct. That is a quality I admire.”
“You will answer me,” James said.
She lifted one hand slightly, palm up. “Will I?”
James glanced briefly at the room. A small trunk sat near the wall. A cloak hung over a chair. A teapot rested on a side table. It looked like a place prepared for conversation, not hiding.
“You expected us,” James said.
“I did,” Lady Whitcombe replied. “It would have been rude not to.”
Roderick’s voice sharpened. “Why are you here?”
Lady Whitcombe’s gaze slid to him. “Because I am tired of being chased. And because you are finally close enough to deserve a truth.”
James felt a strange chill. “What truth?”
Lady Whitcombe studied him for a long moment, then said softly, “Do you remember me?”
James’s jaw tightened. “You know I do – though if I did not, I saw you leaving our ball.”
Her smile widened slightly. “Yes. With Lord St. George.”
James’s stomach tightened at the name. “Though you found time to introduce yourself to the duchess.”
“I did,” Lady Whitcombe said. “And you looked as though you wanted to strike me as I left.”
James kept his voice controlled. “I would never strike a woman. Even if they deserved it.”
“And yet you have found me here in the house you believe belongs to themanwho killed your parents,” she replied. “How determined you are.”
James’s patience snapped. “Enough. Speak plainly.”
She sighed as if indulging a child. “Very well. This is not the first time we have met, Your Grace.”
James frowned. “Like this? Yes. It is.”
She shook her head. “No.”
He took another step forward, his voice like ice. “When?”
Lady Whitcombe’s eyes held his. “When your father took me to his bed.”
Roderick made a sound of disbelief. “That is absurd.”
