Groaning, he buried his face in his hands, resting his elbows on the table. His head throbbed with indecision. So maybe she had been a thief, but while she was with him, she brought love, laughter and happiness back into his home. His children loved her. He had loved her.
Curse him, he loved her even now.
Expelling a deep breath, he straightened in his chair. His gaze fell to the opened newspaper. In bold letters the article announced,Notorious Thief, Richard Macgregor, Found Dead—Stabbed in Alleyway.
Trevor gasped and picked up the newspaper to read more. He scanned the article quickly, then read through it once more to try to make sense of what happened. Macgregor was dead. Murdered. But the paper didn’t sound like the police were diligently looking for his killer. Why would they when Macgregor had been a wanted criminal for years?
Then a name jumped out at him. Miss Eliza Watson. Trevor quickly read on. She’d been in front of the hospital that night with her maid and saw a man stabbed down the street, and running away was a woman.
A woman?Why would a woman want to kill Macgregor? Trevor chuckled, knowing he had wanted to strangle the man a time or two. Even Louisa had motive…
Louisa.
Trevor jumped up, knocking his chair over. Had she killed Macgregor? Although Trevor didn’t blame her, would the police see it the way Trevor had?
She needed help. His heart could hear her crying through the letter. Indeed, she was alone and helpless, and she did need his help. Louisa also needed her family’s help. She’d asked him in her letter not to tell her parents, but Trevor felt he had to. They needed to know, didn’t they?
“Hobbs, have my horse brought around,” Trevor barked as he hurried out of the dining room, marching toward the front door. “Never mind, I shall do it myself.”
He opened the door, ready to rush out, but stopped quickly. A gentleman and a younger boy stood at Trevor’s doorstep.
“Oh, forgive me for almost running you over,” he quickly apologized. “I am in a hurry and—”
“Lord Kenbridge?” a small voice asked.
Trevor lowered his gaze back to the boy. He didn’t recognize the lad at first, but then the eyes and smile looked familiar.
“It’s me, Norman Boyd.” He pointed to the man standing beside him. “And this is my father, Baron Grisham.”
Trevor blinked several times. The boy looked entirely different all cleaned up, like a gentleman’s son.
Trevor smiled. “What a pleasant surprise.”
“Forgive us for coming unannounced,” the baron began, “but Norman said he needed to speak with you.”
“Forgive me, I’m in a hurry,” Trevor told them, but then motioned for them to come inside, “but I do have a few minutes to visit since my horse has not yet been saddled.”
“This will only take a moment, Your Grace,” Norman said. His expression suddenly changed as a frown claimed his face. “I want to apologize, my lord. That day you caught me, I was told to lie to you.”
Trevor shook his head. “Lie to me? By whom?”
“Macgregor. He told me to watch you and try to pick your pocket, but he wanted me to get caught, and when I did, I was to lie to you.” Norman took a deep breath after his hurried speech.
Folding his arms across his chest, Trevor nodded. “Pray, please tell me what you lied about.”
“About Louisa. Those things I told you were a lie.” He shrugged. “Well, most of it, anyway. Louisa was Macgregor’s best pupil, and she did teach us how to steal, but…” He licked his lips then swallowed hard. “She never did kidnap any children and she never did kill anyone. That was the lie.”
Relief poured through Trevor from the boy’s admission. Although it upset him to think the lad lied to him, which created doubt in his mind about Louisa, Trevor did understand why Norman did it. Macgregor had all of the children frightened to death.
“Do you forgive me, Your Grace?” Norman asked with a sincere voice.
“Of course, I do.” Trevor ruffled the boy’s hair and smiled. “Thank you for letting me know. This has worried me since you told me.” He looked up at the baron. “And thank you for bringing him.”
“You are very welcome, Your Grace.”
The man turned with his son and started out the door, but Trevor quickly stopped them. “One more thing, if you don’t mind.”
Baron Grisham arched his eyebrows. “What is it?”
