“I suppose that is true, but I want to ensure I am not seen as some sort of monster.”He tilted his head to the side.“Years ago, when my son was born, he was the light of my life.A gift that my wife and I could not imagine because she had been told she was barren.”His smile was full of melancholy.“It did not take long before we discovered he was different.If he had been afflicted physically, it would have been a deficiency we could have adjusted to over time, but it seemed as there was an imbalance in his mind and no matter what we did, we could not correct that impurity.”
He glanced down at the hands clasped together on the top of the desk.“I am sorry to say that after another difficult lying in for my wife, she died in childbirth.If it had only been the complications of the delivery, I would have been stricken with grief, but able to go on.As it was, the child had died too.It wasn’t until years later that I discovered the truth.My son had absconded with the infant, alive and well, and convinced one of the servants to give the babe over to a baby farmer, a horrific truth for children who are unwanted.In this instance, I had been told my daughter had perished and by the time I uncovered the subterfuge, the maid who had finally come to terms with her guilty conscience, it was too late.”
He raised his eyes back to Astara, and for a moment, Knox could see the anguish clearly written there.“I do not know why I say this all to you now, although most of society would recall the scandal.But from the moment you walked into the room, I could see my dear Deidre reflected on your face.You resemble her greatly and the shock of seeing the years fade away and reveal her to me again was quite unexpected.”
Astara stood up and reached across the desk to take the older man’s hands in her own.“I understand such great loss, my lord.Believe me when I say you have my utmost sympathies.”
“I do appreciate that,” he said as she returned to her seat.Swiping surreptitiously at his eyes, he turned his focus back on Knox.“Forgive me for my setback, Your Grace.These years have gone by torturously slow, once I was told my daughter yet lived.I have worked tirelessly and spent a fortune attempting to discover some sort of information, but I have as yet been unsuccessful.”He took a deep breath.“I vow that I will alert you if my son dares to get in contact with me, but I imagine he will keep his distance, knowing that I will alert the watch the moment he appears.”
“Of course.”Knox inclined his head.He got to his feet, and Astara quickly followed.“We will not take up any more of your day, my lord.”
The marquess followed them to the door.“If you would but humor an old man a few moments more, there is something I would like you to see.”
“Lead the way,” Knox said, although it seemed as though the inquiry was directed at Astara.
He led them both across the hall where he opened the doors to the parlor.There, on grand display, was a large portrait of a handsome woman in midnight blue with upswept, dark hair.She wore a simple pearl choker around her slender neck and her sparkling green eyes bespoke of a humor to which only the artist might have been privy.
Knox immediately felt as though the air had been punched out of him, because not only was it a striking portrait, but the resemblance between her and Astara was astounding.
He glanced over to view her reaction, and he saw her lips had fallen open in a slight part.“Oh, my.”
“I see you understand the reason for my earlier hesitation,” the marquess murmured from beside them.They were all standing side-by-side and staring at the gilt-edged frame.
“Indeed,” Knox returned, his mind already whirling with the possibilities that he imagined might be true, but without sufficient proof, he could not dare voice those thoughts aloud.However, he fully intended to put some of his best confidantes at the Lion’s Watch on task with his suspicions at the first opportunity.
They bade the marquess farewell a short time later.In the coach, Knox could not tear his gaze away from Astara.Not only was he struck with new ideas, but the pieces of a strange puzzle were starting to fall into place.It could be that Lord Arkham’s reasons for targeting her had more to do with a personal vendetta than her current tie to Knox.If, by some reason, he had discovered she was the sister he’d tried to dispose of all those years ago?—
He discounted the notion, because it seemed too unbelievable to be true.And yet, it continued to nag at his brain for some time.
* * *
Astara feltas though she was not quite on solid ground.“I admit I had not been expecting me to have such a strong… likeness to Lady Vale.”
“No.Neither did I.”
She looked up to see the duke with a thoughtful frown on his face.Although she did not want to voice her opinions on the subject aloud, she could not resist the opportunity.“Do you think it could be that?—?”
“I intend to find out.”
His quick remark left no doubt that his ideas aligned with her own.
Since there was much to focus on before that time, Astara allowed the subject to fall silent.She was about to ask what their next move might be regarding Lord Arkham when a crack split through the air.
“Get down!”Knox sailed across the distance between them and landed on top of her, shielding her with his body as they tumbled to the floor of the coach.
Moments later, another crack hit the side of the coach, this time leaving no doubt in Astara’s mind that they were being shot at, and she could only guess as to who the culprit might be.
Muttering a foul curse, Knox reached under one of the seats and withdrew a box that held a set of dueling pistols with extra ammunition.He quickly loaded one of them and then scrambled over to the edge of the window where he moved the curtain just slightly to glance outside.Astara remained where she was, not wanting to add to the stress of the situation they had found themselves in.
Although that did not keep her from loading the other weapon.
As Knox dared to send the bullet from his muzzleloader across the expanse, he turned to gather more supplies to refire, but she handed him the loaded pistol.He glanced at her in confusion for a moment before she said, “It was done correctly, I assure you.”
He did not offer any further hesitation as he aimed and fired another true shot at their assailant.
As she worked to get the first pistol ready again, she asked, “Is it Arkham?”
“Yes,” Knox growled.“The bastard is chasing us in a hired hackney and it looks as though the man atop the carriage is enjoying the pursuit.No doubt he is another French loyalist.”
