“What happened then?”Matthew asked, spurred on by pure curiosity.
Falmouth’s shoulders slumped.
“He has not returned since.”He raked his hand through his hair.“I am so stupid.I should have realized he was doing it on purpose.”
“You are not stupid at all; you trusted him.He turned out to be unworthy of your trust, but you could not know that at the time.”Matthew gave his coin another flip.Ah, yes, good.He got up from his seat, sliding the coin back into his pocket, and went over to clap the young man on the shoulder.He was not even a young man, truly, still more a boy on the cusp of manhood.He had his title and the responsibility that came with it but without the control he would one day have once he reached his majority.“It was not your fault that your father left your guardianship to the wrong man.Nor was it his, if he had no reason to think that this man was anything other than honorable.”
“I suppose that’s true.But what do I do now?”The young earl turned to look at Matthew, pleading for guidance in his eyes.
Which was the first time in Matthew’s life that he’d ever found himself in such a position.Would it disturb Falmouth if he pulled out his coin and flipped it?Then again, Matthew had no proof that his coin worked for anyone else’s life.Though it had predicted Nathanial and Kalina’s happy marriage.
But that was just one instance.While Matthew was happy to rely on his for himself, he did not want to reassure anyone else that they could live their life byhisluck.
Especially someone who was so down on their luck as the Earl of Falmouth already was.
“I ah… well.I have someone investigating Mr.Blash.Well, I have a friend who has sent an investigator after him.Drake.The Duke of Ormonde.He’s got the right sort of contacts.And, well… give me a moment.”Matthew turned around so he could flip his coin in front of him, with his back to Falmouth, so he could not see exactly what Matthew was doing.He would learn soon enough, Matthew was certain, but right now did not seem like the time to try to explain, especially when no one was there to vouch for the explanation.He turned back around.“Yes, we’ll search for Mr.Blash and look into his activities, and in the meantime, you can stay here and learn from me.”
“You’ll be my tutor?”
“Well, in certain things.We should hire a real tutor for you, though, as well.”Matthew eyed him.“And you’ll need to attend university.Grandmama will know what to do.”
If she did not already have a tutor in mind, she would ask one of her myriad contacts to suggest someone, he was sure.
“Grandmama will know what?”As if mentioning her had summoned her, his grandmother swept into the room with the younger two girls trailing after her.Matthew was not certain of their ages, but the one with honey-wheat hair was a little older and a little bigger.That would be Bridget.The youngest, Charlotte, was like a wraith.She was dressed in all white, which nearly matched her white-blonde hair, and her eyes were a lighter violet than either of her siblings, making her appear even more washed out, almost ghostly.The somber expression on her face did nothing to dispel the impression.
“Where to get a tutor for the earl.”Matthew gestured at his soon-to-be brother-in-law, who appeared both eager and hopeful.
“Ah, yes.A tutor for Micah and a governess for Bridget and Charlotte.”Grandmama tapped her lower lip as she went to sit on one of the chairs.
“We do not need a governess,” Bridget protested immediately, crossing her arms over her chest.Beside her, her younger sister shifted silently back and forth on the balls of her feet, swaying slightly in a wind that no one else felt.It was more than a little eerie, and Matthew felt keenly uncomfortable looking at her.
“You need what I say you need, and you certainly need a governess.And a dancing instructor.We should discuss what instrument you’ll learn as well.”Grandmama pointed at the chair next to Micah.“Sit.”
Unsurprisingly, despite the mutinous expression on her face, Bridget went and sat.Charlotte trailed after her like a silent specter.
Matthew hoped his bride was having a less fraught discussion with her mother than he was with the rest of her family.
ChapterEleven
Johanna
Staring at her mother, Johanna shook her head.She could not have just heard what she thought she heard, but just in case her mother said it again… She got to her feet, snatching up one of the blankets on the foot of the bed and hurrying over to the door to press the material against the crack along the bottom.The last thing she needed was for someone to overhear her mother confessing to murdering a duke.
That was a hanging offense.
Turning around, she stared at her mother, who was still looking back at her with fear in her eyes.
“We have to escape here, Johanna,” her mother whispered.“You have to gather your brother and sisters, and we have to escape.”
“And go where, mother?”Johanna wrung her hands in front of her and shook her head, swiftly returning to her mother’s bedside so they could speak quietly.The fear that was in her mother’s eyes shook her, yet she worried about far more than what her mother had just said.
There would be consequences if she was overheard, but she also now worried that the lack of food and the condition of the family had driven her mother to madness.Johanna was not sure which would be worse—if her mother was overheard and believed, in which case she would be hanged or if her mother was overheard and declared mad.She would be sent away to somewhere Johanna could not help her, if that was the case.
Either way, there would be a stain on the family.
“Anywhere but here.”Her mother reached for Johanna’s hand and closed her claw-like fingers around it, her grip surprisingly strong in her desperation.“You cannot marry a man whose father I killed.He’ll find out.”
Johanna reached up with her other hand and pressed it to her mother’s forehead.She was warm to the touch, but not feverish.Still.Whatever her mother was thinking, she was not in her right mind at the moment.
