Tristan didn’t say anything for the longest time before shaking his head. “No. A cold blooded killer would only think of themselves, not others.”
“Well, Tabitha was thinking of you and Diana. Do you know what she told me?”
“What?”
“She told me that if I cared about you, that I would try to find the real killer so that you and Diana could be together, as you both deserve.” Sighing heavily, he pushed his hair back away from his eyes. “Oh Worthington, I think we both jumped to conclusions when we overheard her and Sally. I honestly feel deep down in my heart that Tabitha is not the killer.”
Tristan laid back and looked up toward the rafters. For several minutes he was quiet, and Nic didn’t want to say anymore, either. Blaming Tabitha had been very wrong, and even if Tristan didn’t realize that, Nic would have to apologize to Tabitha soon or the guilt would eat him up.
“I can’t do this,” Tristan muttered.
“Can’t do what?”
“I cannot allow things to be unresolved between Diana and I. And I especially cannot go on with this doubt in my head.” He met Nic’s gaze. “I, too, have felt that blaming Tabitha was wrong, but with everything we’d heard and the way the maid acts, it’s hard not to think that way.” He scrambled to his feet. “Now that I’ve had more time to ponder on this, I realize that Diana would discern the girl well enough to know if she was a killer or not.” He breathed deeply. “I have been too quick to judge when I should have trusted Diana more.”
Tristan marched to the stall’s gate and picked up his overcoat. “I’m going back to the house to speak with Diana. Things need to be resolved tonight!”
Chapter Thirty
Tristan treaded assoftly as he could up the stairs toward Diana’s bedroom. The house was quiet, and he feared everyone would be asleep. He didn’t care if the maids were asleep, but he needed Diana awake. They needed to talk this thing out.
He reached her door and stopped, lifting his hand to knock, but hesitated. What if she wouldn’t allow him entrance? He couldn’t very well carry on a conversation with a door between them.
Instead of knocking, he grasped the handle, turned it, and entered. The room was dark, but in the corner near her bed was a lamp that had been dimmed, illuminating Diana’s body as she sat at her vanity table and stared in the mirror. She didn’t look his way, so he assumed she hadn’t heard him. He waited a few brief moments before taking a step inside.
She wore the same nightgown and wrapper that she’d been in the first time he saw her after his kidnapping. Although he still thought she was the loveliest woman he’d ever seen, her eyes were swollen from crying and her desolate expression nearly brought him to his knees in agony. She was this way because of him.
“Diana,” he whispered.
Gasping, she swung toward him but remained on the chair. “Tristan! What are you doing in here?”
He walked in further, closing the door behind him. “We need to talk.”
Her surprised expression turned hard as anger appeared. “No we don’t. We have said everything that needs to be said.” She turned back toward the vanity mirror. “I would appreciate it if you left my room.”
“I fear that I cannot do as you request. You see,” he paused, stepping closer to her, “I cannot let things continue like this. It’s breaking my heart to see you so distraught, and this matter must be resolved tonight.”
“Tristan, please,” she said with a heavy sigh as her hands covered her face. “We have nothing further to discuss.”
“Yes, we do.” He reached her and knelt beside her, resting his hand on her knee. “I still need to tell you how much I love you, and how wrong I was to accuse Tabitha, and especially how wrong I was to doubt your word.”
Gradually, she removed her hands as she met his stare. Her green eyes glistened with moisture. “You were wrong?”
“Indeed, I was. Men don’t like to admit that, I know, but when I’m wrong, I say it.” He caressed a lock of her silky auburn hair as it hung on her shoulder. “I was desperate and grasping at anything as a means to bring us together. I’m so very tired of hiding my feelings for you. I want the whole world to know how much I love you and how badly I want to be your husband.”
A tear slipped down her cheek. “But why did you blame Tabitha?”
He shrugged. “Because of what Hawthorne and I had overheard. But I understand now how angry and hurt the maid was for my cousin’s violation against her, and I realize now why she is so disturbed with men in general. I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions and blamed her.” He moved his hand up and stroked her wet cheek. “As I pondered our conversation while in the barn, I realized I hadn’t trusted your word. If I love you as I have proclaimed then I need to believe in you. Forgive me, my sweet Diana, for having a weak moment. It will never happen again.”
“Oh, Tristan.”
She turned toward him more and wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled her close as she cried silent tears against the crook of his neck. Moisture gathered in his eyes, and his heart ached with sadness for causing her so much pain. He kissed the side of her head and held her tightly.
“Tristan, I know Tabitha didn’t do it,” she said brokenly as she lifted her head and met his eyes. “She was too weak and her soul was broken. She wouldn’t have had the strength to kill Ludlow. And your cousin…” She shook her head. “Tabitha was here at the cottage watching over you the night Lord Elliot was killed. We gave you a sleeping draught because we both feared what you might find if you had awakened and caught us.” She sniffed and pulled back slightly. “You see, I had left Tabitha here to watch over you so I could ride out to get Sally from your evil cousin. I was there the night he was killed.”
Her words poured through him like ice as shock vibrated through his body. “You?”
“He’d beaten Sally and I had gone to his townhouse to rescue her. When I walked in on your bath the next morning, I had just returned. That’s why my boots were dirty and I looked so tired.” She took a deep breath. “Tabitha had been here the whole time and was still in her room.”
