“From what I have heard,” Dominic continued, “the police are baffled. They have many suspicions, but nothing conclusive.”He grinned at Tristan. “Perhaps you won’t need a good solicitor after all.”
“You are correct there.” Tristan nodded. “They cannot get me on this one. I did not kill the man, although the thought had crossed my mind often enough.”
“Yours, along with many other blokes,” Trey added.
“Which is why bets are being added in the book.” Hawthorne swung his gaze at Trevor and nodded. “And I’m very happy to see you here with your brothers. I have some news for you as well.”
Trevor really didn’t want to hear what his brother’s friend had to say. He really didn’t care, for that matter. All that had been going through his mind since he brought Louisa and the children back from the circus was the way she’d acted. The way Louisa still acted now three days later.
Like she’d seen a ghost.
Like she was frightened of her own shadow.
But mostly, she had withdrawn from him, and the confusion inside him from her mysterious actions tore him apart more than he wanted to admit. Heaven help him, but he’d fallen madly in love with the woman, and he never wanted that happiness to end. So why did Trevor feel as if it was indeed ending?
“What kind of news?” he asked anyway.
“The other day, as I talked to Lord Talbot, I discovered his youngest daughter drowned about six years ago.” Dominic leaned on the table, closer to Trevor. “The girl’s body was never found. The girl would have been Louisa’s age.”
Trevor’s interest perked a bit. “What was her name?”
“I cannot recall right now. We were into our cups a bit more than we should have been—”
“Just tell me, man. Was her name Louisa?”
Dominic frowned. “I don’t believe so. But that doesn’t mean she’s not the same girl.”
Irritated, Trevor slapped the table. “Hawthorne, how can you think such a thing?”
“Hear me out.” Dominic raised his hand. “We have already surmised that something dreadful happened in Louisa’s past. What if Louisa is not her real name, but the name given to her by her guardian or the person who raised her for six years?”
Trevor opened his mouth to rebut the marquess’s theory, but the mere suggestion had him pausing in curiosity. If Louisa couldn’t recall her past, how did she know Louisa wasn’t her real name? He hated to admit it, but Hawthorne just might be correct with this assumption.
“You know I’m right.” Dominic grinned wide.
“Do not start fluffing your feathers like a proud peacock just yet, Hawthorne,” Trevor ground out. “There are still things that we must discover which would be similar to Louisa’s life. Did you ask Lord Talbot what his daughter looked like? Or her exact age?”
“Do we even know Louisa’s exact age?” Trey cut in. “We assume she’s in her early twenties, but Trevor, you must admit, when you first saw her, you thought she was much younger.”
“That’s because of her thin frame,” Trevor argued. “She’s filled out since that first day. She does not resemble a half-starved child any longer.”
Dominic shook his head. “The point I’m trying to make is because of her memory loss, that poor woman does not really know how old she is, either. For all we know, she might be Lord Talbot’s daughter.”
“Or Lord Danvers’s,” Trey added.
“Or,” Trevor said as anger filled him, “Louisa could be the Duke of Devonshire’s illegitimate daughter for all we know.”
Dominic rolled his eyes. “You arenothumorous, old man.”
Trevor bunched his hands, wanting to wallop Hawthorne… and enjoy doing it. “So it seems we are all on a goose chase. Weknow Louisa was born from Quality parents, but because Louisa might not be her real name, and we are not certain of her true age, finding her past is out of our reach.”
Silence stretched around the table as each man seemed lost in his own thoughts. All of this nonsense annoyed Trevor, but what confused him even more was knowing they might never learn Louisa’s true identity. What if she never regained her memory?
Trevor loved her, but would he dare go against Society’s rules and ask her to become his wife? Would marrying Louisa only bring ridicule to her and his children? He definitely could not put his family through that. If only thetonknew her like Trevor knew her, they’d see she was not just a mere servant. In fact, in ways she was better mannered than Gwen had been.
“I have an idea,” Tristan said, breaking the silence.
Trevor glanced at the middle Worthington brother. “What is that?”
