“Yes.” She exhaled heavily, the first indication since he’d collected her that perhaps she wasn’t quite as composed as she would like him to believe. “I daresay I nearly paced a hole in the carpet waiting, but now that we are moving, I am a bit more at ease.”
The coach paused on the opposite side of the street as they had initially agreed, and together they descended upon Lady Devonly’s townhouse.
Lexie was feelinga bit of trepidation, but she was feeling determined to unfold this mystery and expose the charlatan for who Lindley truly was. If her aunt was part of this intrigue then she would be forced to do the same to her, regardless of the guilt that was starting to rise and suffocate her. Her father had paid for her time in London, but Aunt Bonnie had been the chaperone she’d required in order to make the journey to begin with. She would not forget that kindness, but neither would she forget how her aunt had tried to browbeat her into accepting a man who wasn’t even who he claimed to be. She had to know why.
At the door, they were greeted by one of the footmen. Of course, he recognized her as it hadn’t been so long since she’dbeen staying there. “Miss Givenwald, I fear your aunt is not here?—”
“I am aware,” she said, swiftly moving past him. “I need to… grab a few things I forgot in my haste to depart the other day.”
She started for the stairs and looked at Dominic, who gave a helpless shrug and muttered. “Women.” He rolled his eyes and headed for the front parlor. “I’ll just wait for her in here.”
The servant was still gaping with his mouth open as they parted ways, effectively descending on the household with nary a care.
Lexie waited at the top of the stairs for the footman to depart and then she quickly retracted her steps and headed for the parlor where Dominic was just removing something from inside the chimney. “Is it still there?” she whispered urgently.
He wiped off the leather-bound journal but held up the item in question. “It is. Shall we see if we can discover something interesting?”
She eagerly made her way to his side and together they began to flip through the pages. With her heart pounding, Lexie could hear every tick of the clock as each page turned to reveal… nothing. She was starting to lose hope that Dominic might not have recorded the lost scandal, but then there it was in stark black and white.
For an instant, Lexie wasn’t sure she was actually reading what she thought she was. But there was no denying the facts when they were in plain sight. “Oh, my God. The earl had an elder son who was illegitimate.”
“It would appear so,” Dominic noted evenly. “Bonnie had an affair with the mad earl, apparently before he was struck with his affliction. It doesn’t say who the mother is, but I think that is no secret now.”
“George is the rightful heir to the Lindley estate. Henry promised me that on his deathbed.” Lexie glanced up to see her aunt standing in the middle of the room, a pistol held in hergrasp. She shook her head almost sadly. “You should have been a biddable gel and did as I asked and none of this would have happened.”
“You wished me to marry my cousin? A man I did not love?” Lexie demanded harshly as Dominic shut the journal and moved slightly in front of her.
Her aunt shrugged. “I married my husband for advantageous reasons, and a cousin is no bother. Many in society do the same. He carried on with other women outside of our marriage bed, and I did the same with Henry.” She sighed. “It was regrettable that he started to lose his mind, because we had a mutual affection for one another. I bore his son and passed it off as that of the gardener to save his marriage. Besides, my husband would have never believed George was his. It had been months since we’d shared a bed. Everything might have been perfect, but then Henry’s wife started increasing with that brat of his, and I knew George didn’t stand a chance. Until recently.” She waved her pistol, and Dominic stiffened.
Lexie saw him slowly reach for something hidden beneath his jacket, but she placed a steady hand on his arm and gave a gentle squeeze. He stilled. “What happened?”
“After Henry’s brat was confined to the same asylum as his father, I knew my opportunity had finally arrived. I intended to give George the life he’d been denied for so many years. Once I learned the heir was to be freed after Henry’s death, I knew it would be easy enough for him and my son to trade places.” She frowned. “It was going well enough, but then I heard that the cretin had taken a lover and had a miniature done of his likeness. While he shared certain characteristics as my George, the features were different enough they could be identified. That is why I had to dispense with the traitor once and for all.”
Lexie gasped. “You killed the earl?”
“I killed an imposter, a lunatic who should have remained where he was while my son inherited everything in his stead.”Her aunt narrowed her eyes on Lexie. “I had picked the perfect bride for him too. I knew your father had planned a pretty dowry for you and George’s future would be secure at the match. But you had to be so disagreeable when George did everything perfectly to win your hand.”
Lexie saw her aunt’s finger twitch near the trigger of the weapon and knew she wouldn’t hesitate to kill either one of them. She’d done it before. She would certainly have no qualms about doing it again with such a singular mindset.
It was time she was disillusioned from her imaginary fairy tale ending. “Your son is at the Tower awaiting sentencing.”
It took a moment for her aunt to react. When she did, her eyes blinked rapidly and then she appeared confused. “No. That’s not possible. I taught George what to do, how to act. He would never make such a grave error when we are so close to victory.”
“It’s true.” Dominic’s commanding voice interceded for the first time, gaining her aunt’s full attention. “We were at one of his favorite gaming hells last night, and there was a confrontation.”
“Stop it!” The lady put her hands over her ears, temporarily moving the pistol barrel away from her intended victims. Dominic swiftly retrieved the item from inside his jacket pocket and held it securely at his side. It was a dagger.
Lexie thought she might be sick, imagining the way events could play out this day.
“My George would not allow himself to be caught out in the open in such a way!”
“If you don’t believe us,” Dominic returned evenly. “Then call the watch and inquire for yourself.”
She recovered enough to aim her gun directly at Dominic. “You would like that wouldn’t you? To be able to declare victory over a poor, helpless man like George! It was bad enough that you stole Alexandra from him and the money she would bring to their union. You are nothing but a selfish, useless waste of society.” She cocked the hammer back on the pistol. “Avalon.”
Dominic froze,his entire body tensing. “What did you say?”
“You heard me,” Lady Devonly nearly spat. “I was the one who bribed your housemaid to gain access to your safe and remove the journal. I knew all about it, of course. I’d heard the rumors for years from George. He might not have grown up in my care, but I ensured that I became a part of his life. He spent a lot of time in the East End and made several acquaintances. He was the one who recognized you as the Duke of Cuthbert.” Her smile was almost cruel. “But I dispensed with that horrid journal, and together we tried to do the same to you, but you just wouldn’tdie.”
