He spun on the voice and found Barber standing there, the Duke of Roseford at his side. Both men were watching Derrick closely, guarded in their expressions.
“Bloody hell,” Derrick grunted. “We’re supposed to meet tomorrow at the crossroads. And why is he here?”
Roseford arched a brow. “Iam here because Selina is my sister. She’s in trouble and I need to help her. Andweare here because neither of us is a fool, Mr. Huntington. It’s clear you’re in love with her. It’s written all over your face.”
Derrick’s shoulders rolled forward because he was just too tired to fight. “Yes,” he whispered.
“You’re compromised,” Barber said, more gently than Derrick deserved. “Just as you have been from the moment you first laid eyes on her. So yes, I did my due diligence on the other road, and then we circled back here because it made sense this would be her stopping point if she took this path. This would be where you found her.” Barber moved closer. “Didyou find her, friend?”
“She didn’t steal Katherine’s bracelet,” Derrick said, an answer to a different question. The answer to the one asked, as well.
Roseford’s jaw set and twitched. “She said as much a few days ago.”
“And you didn’t believe her,” Derrick said. “You broke her heart.”
“She broke mine,” Roseford said, his fists clenching at his sides. “The moment that bracelet fell from her pocket, I…I knew what she would be condemned to.”
“To be fair, Huntington, she admitted to being the Faceless Fox. How can we believe that she didn’t steal from the duchess?” Barber said.
Derrick scrubbed a hand over his face. “Because she admitted to what she’d done. Taking something from her family, from Katherine, never made sense. She has a code. She’s always had a code and you know it, Barber. She steals from ladies of thetonwho make other lives miserable. She exacts a strange…justice. And she says she’d never hurt you that way, or your wife, Roseford, so I believe her.”
Roseford watched him carefully for what felt like an eternity, then smiled slightly. “I think if you are going to so passionately defend my sister, you perhaps should start calling me Robert.”
Barber turned toward the duke. “So you believe him.”
“I do,” Robert said with a sigh. “I was so shocked when that bracelet fell from her pocket, I could only see what was in front of me. But over the past few days, I’ve come to doubt my initial reaction. And I think you have, too, Mr. Barber. I have marked your increasing discomfort with the subject of my sister as we rode.”
Barber straightened his jacket with a tug. “I know what awaits her in London, Your Grace. I can’t imagine the pain it will cause your family if she is tried and convicted as a criminal.”
Derrick and Robert exchanged a glance, sudden partners in fear and a desire to save Selina. He would take that partner.
“Let us set aside the fact that Miss Oliver is the Faceless Fox,” Barber said slowly. “She’s admitted that, it is not up for debate. But wecanexamine the attempt to steal Her Grace’s bracelet and frame Miss Oliver. If that is true, then someone is trying to harm her.”
“Yes,” Derrick said. “The person planted a glove in Lady Winford’s room first, the one Selina denied leaving there, and then this bracelet. We’d be fools not to believe it was the same person.”
Robert nodded. “I agree. Someone who knew her true identity.”
“Which would narrow the field considerably,” Barber said. “At least at first glance.”
“Her companion,” Robert said softly.
“That is what I tend to believe, as well,” Derrick said. “But she doesn’t want to think ill of her friend, a woman she’s trusted for many years. Still, the means is there. The knowledge of Selina’s true identity.”
“And the simplest answer is often the truth,” Barber said. “But what would be the motive?”
“She’s benefitted from Selina’s actions if she’s been with her a while,” Derrick said. “If she felt her changing, pulling away from that old life, she might feel threatened.”
“Yes,” Robert said. “When our brother Morgan married last year, I sensed a change in Selina. But it…it might be more than that.” He paced the room. “Selina has independent control over a portion of her inheritance. The bulk of it pays for her home and its upkeep. But there’s a not insignificant fund that sits mostly untouched. She recently asked my solicitor to change who would inherit if she passed.”
“Who?” Derrick asked. “Who would get those funds?”
Robert shook his head. “Vale Williams.”
Derrick nearly buckled as motive slapped him in the face. Not just for framing Selina, but for far worse.
“So she might be angry that Selina is pondering her future without the Faceless Fox,” Barber said. “And knowing she would inherit if Selina were out of the way, she destroys her in the eyes of her family, her protection. Which isolates her. And would give Miss Williams every opportunity to—”
Barber cut himself off, but Derrick had already started for the door. “We have to go back. We have to find Selina and make sure that if Vale is our culprit, she won’t do anything before we can stop her.”
