The silence in the room was absolute. Why had Lord Carlow felt the need to use Radcliff’s desk? What was he writing?
“Did Sir John keep important papers there?” Gabe asked.
Huntington nodded. “Locked in a desk drawer, but the drawer was still locked the following morning.”
“Why are you telling us this?” Nathan asked.
“Lord Ryder told me it would be of interest to you. Now, if you will excuse me, I will see how my wife fares.”
Fairfax appeared as if by magic in the doorway and led him away.
“Well, that was odd,” Zach said.
“Lord Ryder is part of Alexius. He gave Huntington that information for us,” Michael said. “There can be no other reason for a man who is basically a stranger to us to come here and speak as he did.”
“So, Beth Carlow was in the vicinity of Lord Russell’s office the night his papers were stolen, and now her father spent time in the Admiral of the Fleet’s office,” Gabe said. “He also wrote or copied something while there.”
“I know her. She’s not capable of this. She is not capable of treason or deceit,” Nathan said. He could not have been that wrong about her surely.
“Unless she’s being coerced into it,” Gabe said.
“By who?”
“Whom, I think you mean,” Zach replied. Nathan thought about venting some of his frustration and anger by simply wrestling his brother to the floor.
“If we could tie her to Lord Lithgow, it would be more conclusive,” Zach said.
“It’s not possible. She is not involved,” Nathan said. And yet… a small voice inside his head said,maybe she is.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“How fortuitous that Mr. Valentine invited you to Harwood to visit the fair. I believe it is on the Duke of Stratton’s land, a mere two-hour carriage ride from London,” Mary said, sounding like a five-year-old as she settled in the Carlow carriage. “And how doubly fortuitous I happened to be calling upon you yesterday when the note arrived. And how triple fortuitous—”
“I think that was one fortuitous too many,” Beth said.
“—that you were perplexed and unsure if you should attend as your mother has a chest inflammation and you had no wish to go alone,” Mary continued, undaunted. “Good friend that I am, I was willing to step into that breach and bring dear Aunt Agatha with me.”
Aunt Agatha was at present snoring in the corner of the carriage. Deaf and cantankerous, she had come as Phillipa and Lady Blake could not.
Beth hadn’t wanted to go. The night of Walter’s shooting, she’d received a note from Logan. It had said he hoped the dog did not suffer overly, and how lucky it was Miss Mary Blake avoided injury. She’d dared to question Logan at the theater, and this was his way of bringing her back in to line. He’d shot Walter, but it could have been Mary.
Beth had sent back word that she would do exactly as he wanted from that moment on. His reply had been swift.Excellent, then your friends and family are now safe. Now get me that book.
Nathan suspected something was wrong, and she confirmed it by telling him to stop questioning her and keep his family safe. She was a fool to have done so, but the thought of Logan hurting him was not something she could bear.
Nathan.She sighed silently. His touch, his kiss, his everything. The man she’d fallen in love with three years ago had been devastating; the man he’d become was that and more.
More contained. More controlled. More handsome.
“I am so grateful for your magnanimous sacrifice in coming with me today, Mary,” Beth said dryly, forcing herself to stop thinking about Nathan and the danger he and others could be in. Logan had said they were safe as long as she did as he asked. She would do that… for now.
“I cannot believe Mother and Phillipa were unable to come with us, so we have brought Aunt Agatha!”
“Unlike your aunt, I am not deaf, Mary. There is no need to shriek.”
“There is every need. I am stifled by their propriety. Stifled by their lack of adventure and inability to find humor in any situation.” Mary was waving her hands about now. “This is quite wonderful.”
“They are your family,” Beth chastened her.
