April glanced toward the window, her hands curling tightly in her lap. She considered her words, unsure whether voicing them would cause more harm than good.
Then, quietly, she told them about Loretta. About her veiled comments, the insinuations, and the worst of it—that Loretta told her that she and Theo had once courted, that he would grow bored of her, and that marriage did not stop a man from indulging his passions.
“She said all that?” May asked, aghast.
“Not directly. She laced it with sweetness, like poison in honey.”
June crossed her arms. “I quite dislike her.”
“You needn’t believe her, April,” May added.
April looked down. “She is very beautiful. What hope have I?”
“Oh, nonsense!” May waved a hand. “We are Mama’s lovely little flowers!”
April chuckled at that, but then all joy left her again. “There is something else. I was pushed into the water two nights ago.”
May and June gasped in unison, with May taking April’s hand. “Are you all right?”
“I left Kent because I was afraid… I still am, because I am certain that someone pushed me.”
“Loretta?” June asked, her amber eyes blazing as though she was about to find Loretta and hold her accountable.
“I think so, but I have no proof.” April looked from one sister to the other. “Will you help me?”
“Whatever you need.” May squeezed her other hand.
“I want to know everything about her,” April said. “I need to know what reason she has to drown me.”
June nodded. “We shall begin the quest at once.”
“April,” May tilted her head thoughtfully, “Did you tell your husband?”
She shook her head. “No, because I have no proof. Besides, he does not know that I am in Lond?—”
A loud bang startled them all. The unmistakable, purposeful tread of boots echoed from the foyer. Each step drew nearer.
“Where is she?” came Theo’s voice.
The drawing room door opened a moment later. He stood in the doorway, tall, composed, and his eyes solely on April.
“Ladies,” he said, giving May and June a brief nod, “if you would excuse us.”
Her sisters did not need telling twice. They slipped out, casting backward glances.
April remained still, her back straight, her heart pounding in her chest as Theo closed the door behind himself.
Thirty-One
April stood abruptly, the tension in the room so thick she could scarcely breathe. “What are you doing here?” she began, but Theo lifted a hand, halting her words as surely as a wall might halt a charging steed.
She froze. That look in his eyes, stormy and relentless. She had seen it once before, the night he interrogated that man in the cellar.
It frightened her. So why did her heart hammer so violently in her chest as he stepped closer, his boots whispering across the carpeted floor, his form circling her like a hawk watching its prey?
“Imagine my surprise when I had barely left Kent and received a message from Redmond telling me that my wife has gone to London.” He leaned slightly closer to her. “Alone.”
“I returned to find our home empty,” he said, the heat of his breath brushing the nape of her neck. “The Duchess of Stone had vanished. Do you know what went through my mind until I reached London and confirmed you were safe?”
