“And no idea of the whereabouts of the young woman you were to originally assist.” Huntley demanded. “Did you inquire as to her whereabouts?”
He was still angry, but Gabriella reined in her own temper. She and Rebecca needed help. Their help. “I could hardly ask Rose or Lady Bentick about Miss Groves, Huntley.”
“Who is this Miss Groves?” Sebastian asked. He stoic brother had reclaimed his wits for the moment.
Gabby’s blood spiked with her own ire. “Another victim of the privileged reprobates.”
Sebastian’s eyes narrowed. “You believe Miss Groves murdered Stanford?”
“It certainly looks that way,” Huntley said.
Frustrated, Gabby flung out her hands. “The girl is seventeen. Do you really think she killed a man of the peerage? That is highly unlikely. I vow, neither of you has an ounce of common sense.”
“I agree with Gabby,” Rebecca said. “A young woman would cower to the upper class. Miss Groves is not a murderer.” Her expression turned more contemplative. “There is always the possibility someone avenged her.”
“An interesting prospect,” Huntley said.
“I still want to know what Liverpool’s interest in all this is,” Gabby said.
“Of course, he’s interested,” Rebecca said. “A murdered peer brings the attention of the Crown on his head. Stanford is a peer.”
“And we must still learn why Liverpool is so up in arms about Dinah Darby. It just makes no sense how she fits into the picture. Yes, she was horribly brutalized, but”—a feeling of helplessness engulfed Gabby—“women all over London are treated the same, and no one lifts a brow at their mistreatment.”
“The young woman you sent to Doncaster?” Rebecca asked clearly surprised. “Why on earth should he care about her?”
“Our exact questions, my dear,” Sebastian said.
“There’s always the possibility that Miss Darby isn’t connected at all,” Huntley said, but Gabby didn’t think that was the case.
“Then why was she beaten so badly and left to die on the walk outside the theater?” Gabby shook her head. “No, Miss Darby is connected. I feel it. It all comes back to Liverpool’s interest in her. Do you suppose she was his mistress?”
Sebastian lifted his eyes skyward and took Rebecca’s hand, placing it in the crook of his elbow.
Gabby saw red and rushed over to her brother and poked him in the chest. “Don’t you dare roll your eyes at me, Seb. I have instincts and they are sound. You just see if they aren’t.” The familiar burn stung her eyes. “This is so typical of you. Of Rose, of Claire, Antonia. None of you has ever once taken me seriously.”
“Calm down, Gabriella,” Sebastian said in his usual overly composed and irritating bearing.
A heavy arm wrapped her shoulders. “You would do well to listen to her, Ryleigh. She makes a good point. Her sound instincts rival mine.” Steel etched her husband’s tone. Implacable. Unyielding.
No one had ever stood up for her like that before. She turned her head into his shoulder so her brother wouldn’t have her tears to throw in her face at a later date. Huntley’s arm braced her to his chest, his voice rumbled through to her. “You best take your leave.”
“Yes, of course,” Sebastian said in a strangled voice. “I know a losing battle when I’m up against one. Come, Rebecca. Let’s go home. I’ll corner Liverpool tomorrow and see what I can learn.”
The door clicked softly on their departure and Gabby pulled away from her husband, awed and overwhelmed once more by his unexpected behavior. She sniffed and instantly his handkerchief was pressed in her hand. She dabbed at her tears. “You didn’t…” That didn’t feel right. “To stand up to Sebastian was—”
He took the scrap of linen from her and lifted her chin, and did the task himself. “Enough. How could I not, darling? Duke or not, Ryleigh should not have disrespected you like that. Besides, I said nothing that wasn’t true.”
More tears emerged and he wiped them away.
“Stop. You were right to call him out on his behavior. How else is he to learn you are a woman grown?”
She nodded. He was right. “I best make sure the door is secured. Mrs. Keir is likely in the kitchen and the other young women are snug in their chambers.”
“All right. I’ll come along. Only in the event you need a champion,” he teased.
“You are indeed a hero, my lord,” she said softly. Seriously.
They reached the foyer to see Sebastian assisting Rebecca with her cloak. Rebecca rushed over and hugged her, whispering. “I’m sorry, Gabs. Ryleigh didn’t mean—”
