Elderman met him outside the stone-walled outpost, eyes already shadowed.
“Tell me,” Theo demanded.
Elderman gave a short nod and led him inside.
The lanterns burned low. The air was thick with the scent of damp wood and sweat. Elderman poured a measure of brandy, but Theo waved it away, too tightly wound for comfort.
“Roth,” Theo said. “You are certain.”
“We are. Dave named him directly. And when pressed, he gave details only someone inside the operation would know. He described locations, payments, handoffs—he even named some of the men Gregory used as intermediaries.”
“Tell me everything.”
Elderman folded his arms. “Michael Linwood is Gregory Roth. Linwood is an alias he has used for decades. According to Dave, Roth has run the Mercies since before the fire. He ordered the killing of your family. It was not about revenge or honor—it was a calculated removal. You were the heir. He was next in line. He believed you wouldn’t survive, and when you did, he tried again.”
Theo felt cold.All this time. A man I trusted. A man who gave me advice. A man who watched me bury my blood.
Elderman continued. “Roth’s power comes not just from wealth but fear. Every smuggler, every local merchant who’s workedwith him—he threatens their families if they defy him. He keeps them bound with secrets and dread. There’s no one untouched.”
“And me,” Theo said, his voice low. “He poisoned me. I nearly died.”
Elderman nodded. “The timing matches. Dave claims Roth made sure you would be weakened that summer. We believe he paid a local apothecary to pass something to the kitchen staff. They bled you, not knowing they were feeding the fever.”
“And April,” Theo said suddenly. “She was right. She said something was wrong. That the fall into the pond—it felt like someone pushed her. And the saddle. The girth was cut. My God. He’s still trying.”
He turned, gripping the back of the chair. His knuckles were white. His vision swam. He pressed a hand over his eyes and tried to breathe.
I trusted him. I broke bread with him. I let him near her. And all this time, he wanted to destroy us.
“I have to go.”
He was already halfway to the door when Elderman stopped him. “Theo—Your Grace—listen to me. He is a powerful man. We will proceed cautiously. You must not act alone.”
“I will not confront him.” Theo’s voice was ice. “But I will not leave my wife another moment in danger.”
He left the building without another word.
The ride back was a blur of hooves and wind and panic. The world narrowed to the road ahead. His breath burned in his lungs. Trees blurred by. The manor loomed in his mind like a sanctuary—and a target.
Let her be safe. Let her be safe. Let her be safe.
He burst through the gates of Stone Hall, Brutus lathered and wild-eyed. He threw the reins to a groom.
Redmond met him at the steps. “Your Grace?—”
“Where is my duchess?” Theo barked.
Redmond frowned. “In the breakfast room with Lady Darnell. Mr. Roth arrived not long ago and joined them.”
The words hit like a punch, and he stopped short.Theo’s blood turned to ice, and every muscle in his body coiled.
He strode into the manor, his footfalls sounding like distant gunfire.He reached the door and saw them all seated at the table. The two most precious women in his life and the bane of his existence.
Gregory looked up at Theo with a smile, but he must have recognized the dangerous look in Theo’s eye because his expression changed, and he began to rise slowly.
Forty
The moment Theo stepped into the breakfast room, April felt it.
