“Then please, tell me what is on your mind.”
Running his fingers through his hair, Nic breathed in deeply then exhaled in slow measurements. His gaze dropped to the floor. “The other day when I met Diana’s maid, the girl intrigued me, and I felt as if I knew her somehow.” He shrugged. “She looks so familiar, but I cannot figure out how we met.”
Tristan groaned and rubbed his forehead. “Stop right there.” When Nic’s eyes jumped up and met Tristan’s, he continued. “Are you going to tell me you seduced Miss Tabitha into your bed?”
Confusion swept across Hawthorne’s expression for a split second before he rolled his eyes. “Of course I didn’t seduce her. What would make you think such a thing?”
“Because you have a way with charming women, and I noticed the way you had acted around her the other day.” Tristan arched an eyebrow.
Nic flipped his hand in the air. “Well, remove that idea from your mind because it did not—and never will—happen.”
Tristan couldn’t believe how relieved he felt right now. He nodded. “Then pardon my intrusion. Please continue.”
Clearing his throat, Nic straightened. “As I was saying, the girl interested me enough to watch her closely. Something just was not right about her. Last night I caught her in Diana’s carriage with Diana’s trunks, yet I knew Lady Hollingsworth was at that party which you had attended. When I talked to Miss Tabitha, my suspicion grew so I followed her to a place I have never been before—a few hours southwest of here. She arrived at a small cottage that sat on a beautiful piece of land surrounded by a magnificent grove of trees.”
Tristan nodded. “That’s the place she took me when she kidnapped me. It’s Diana’s grandmother’s cottage.”
“As it were, I continued to spy on her.” He paused and cocked his head. “Were you aware they are keeping one of Lord Elliot’s servants there?”
Surprise washed over Tristan and he blinked. “No, I was not.”
“Apparently, Lord Elliot had beaten her severely, and Diana is now caring for her.”
A smile stretched Tristan’s mouth. Diana had such a loving heart. “That is something she would do.”
“However,” Nic said, folding his arms across his chest, “were you aware that Lady Hollingsworth had taken this maid from Lord Elliot’s townhouse the very night of his murder?”
“Of course not. Don’t be ridiculous. I was at the cottage during that time. There was no way Diana had taken this servant on that night.”
“Well, she did. Both Tabitha and the servant girl had spoken about it while I was listening to their conversation.”
Tristan’s mind scrambled to remember details about that night. Wasn’t that the night the women had given him a drink of tea laced with sleeping draught because he’d had a bad dream? Come to think of it, that next morning when he was soaking in the tub and Diana had walked in on him, he realized her boots were caked with dried mud and she looked tired.
Pain throbbed behind his eyes and he tried to rub it away. No! This couldn’t be right. Nic must not have heard correctly.
“Tristan,” Nic said as he walked closer, “I believe Lady Hollingsworth knows more than she has told you. From what I had overheard, I received the impression that Miss Tabitha killed Lord Elliot and Lady Hollingsworth knows about it.” He placed his hand on Tristan’s shoulder. “And if Miss Tabitha killed Lord Elliot, then she was the one who killed Diana’s husband.”
The confusion inside Tristan grew thicker and it felt like his head was being squeezed by giant hands. Not only that, but his chest tightened, making it harder and harder to breathe. If what Nic said was true…
“No!” Tristan pushed his friend’s hand away, rose from his chair, and stormed to the window. The throb in his head had intensified. “What you say cannot be true. If Diana knew Tabitha was the killer, she would have said something to the magistrate.” He swung and glared at Hawthorne. “Mine and Diana’s reputations are at stake here. She knows neither of us wants to pay for a crime we did not commit.” He raked his fingers through his hair as frustration built inside of him like a fierce volcano, ready to explode. “She wants to be with me as badly as I want to be with her, yet we both know making our relationship public is out of the question because of this very issue.” He breathed deeply. “And if she has known all this time who the killer was, then she bloody well better report it to the magistrate.”
Sighing, Nic leaned back against the edge of the desk. “Do you think Miss Tabitha is blackmailing Diana then?”
Once again, Tristan thought back to the time he was held prisoner, remembering the way Tabitha and Diana acted around each other. “No. Tabitha is not blackmailing. Diana loves her maid too much to be fearful of her, and Tabitha has too much respect for her mistress to do such a thing.”
That conclusion meant only one thing. Diana knew who had killed her husband and Lord Elliot and wasn’t about to say anything. If Tristan got arrested, would she then speak the truth to free him? He wasn’t sure he wanted to wait until that time came to know of her loyalty.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Icannot believeshe wouldn’t tell me,” Tristan whispered brokenly.
“There must be a reason.”
Tristan shrugged. “The time we were apart, we each held onto the love we had once shared even though we tried to hide it those years. And now, when we can finally be together, she is the one stopping it, all because of her maid.”
“Let’s not assume anything yet,” Nic said. “Because of what I heard Miss Tabitha and the other girl say, I believe Miss Tabitha is the killer. But I will continue to watch them both closely. Perhaps I’m wrong and Diana doesn’t know—”
“Then we must find out.” Tristan’s heart broke—a feeling he had never wanted to experience again. “From what I have observed between Diana and her maid, they are as close as sisters. If she is protecting Tabitha, I want to know now—not after I’m arrested.”
