She made to leave, but Mrs Buckley gripped her hand. “There was someone she mentioned once. It’s the only time she ever referred to the debts. She kept those secrets, even from me.”
Daphne’s heart galloped. “What did she say?”
“That Lord Templeton could bleed a desert dry and call it charity.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The sky had turned a murky grey by the time Dominic reached Shadowmere. The first heavy drops of rain landed on the sleeve of his greatcoat as he waited for Crocker to unlock the gate, the iron chain rattling against the bars.
“Has anyone passed through here today?” He was keen to know if Daphne had stuffed her clothes into a valise and quit the house in a temper.
Crocker shook his head as he worked the key in the padlock. “First time opening it since before dawn, sir.”
The tension in his shoulders eased.
Not the tightness in his gut.
It wasn’t Moseley’s document tucked in the saddlebag that troubled him. Nor the reckoning that awaited him when he explained his absence to Daphne. He trusted his instincts. They’d been needling him since he left London, since Moseley’s veiled warning.
Evil men often return to the scene of their crimes.
He looked back at the road.
Would he dare come to the Masque?
“I’ll post two extra men on the gate in the morning. I want every carriage searched. Admit no one who isn’t on the list.”
“Aye, sir.” Crocker dragged the chain through the iron railings. “And if there are strays that can’t be accounted for?”
“They remain in the gatehouse under lock and key until Ramsey comes to vet them. No exceptions. No excuses. That includes the magistrate.”
Crocker nodded as he stepped aside to let him pass.
Dominic reiterated the same concerns to Duncan, his head coachman, as he dismounted. “Search every boot before the vehicles are parked. Man them night and day. No one leaves here without my permission.”
A groom hurried from the shelter of the stable block, steadying the restless horse and taking the reins with a respectful nod.
How often had the same courtesy been shown to the man who destroyed his mother? Had the bastard ridden through the open gate, confident no one would ask questions?
“Shall I post a groom near the footpath?” Duncan nodded towards the cobbled passageway that led to the gardens. “A man could climb the stile on the lane and cross the fields without being seen.”
Damn. He’d never had to consider it before.
Guests liked spectacle. They arrived bold and brazen. A man with darker intentions would not.
“I’ll speak to Ramsey.”
“I expect he’s of the same mind, sir. He went that way with Miss Harland some time ago.”
Dominic stilled. “How long ago?”
Why the hell were they walking when there was work to be done?
Duncan shrugged. “Two hours, I’d say.”
“Two hours, and they’ve not returned?” He heard thecrack in his own voice. Had she left Shadowmere? Without waiting. Without giving him the chance to explain. Was Ramsey aiding her escape or attempting to bring her home?
Home.
