“We were attacked,” said the older man.
Lucas’s brows shot up, and he leaned over to shut the door. It wouldn’t give them total privacy, but it would help. “Where and when?”
“On the ride back to London. Coarse men. Terrified us all.” Beddoe lifted his chin. “Shot and killed my coachman, and for that, I will never forgive Geoffrey.”
“Geoffrey?” Lucas’s mind had gone there immediately, but he was surprised to see Beddoe so ready to accuse his brother-in-law. Up until now, Lucas had thought the man inclined to be tolerant of Geoffrey’s tendencies. Now he spoke as if he wanted the man strung up. “Why do you think it was him?”
“I didn’t. Not at first. These things happen, though never before to me.”
“Tell me what happened exactly.”
“I heard shots. Woke me out of a sound sleep, I tell you.” He spoke brusquely, but his hands were trembling enough that Lucas didn’t bother offering him tea. He poured a strong measure of brandy for the man who drank it down with unseemly haste. “The horses pulled to a stop, and the carriage door opened. Penelope screamed, of course, and a gun was forced in our faces, and the man asked for her.” He looked up at Lucas. “He asked forher.”
“Your wife?”
“No. He asked if she was Lady Dunnamore.”
“I told him who we were and that I’d see him hang, the bastard.” He paused a moment to finish off his brandy.
“And then?” Lucas prompted when he didn’t start speaking again.
“Then he searched everyone and asked again, where is she?”
“She being Diana?”
“Yes. I told him, still in Ireland. I didn’t tell him in a friendly way, you understand. So he hit me.” He rubbed his chin. Lucas didn’t see a bruise there, but it had been over two weeks. Any mark could have healed by now.
“Did he hurt your wife? Your servants?”
“Other than killing my coachman? No. Took the jewelry and my coins. Fortunately, Penelope wasn’t traveling with anything of much value. She didn’t trust the Irish not to steal it,” he said, and it was clear that he recognized the irony of fearing the Irish when they were robbed on an English highway.
“And then what happened?”
“Happened? Nothing. They took our valuables and left with my coachman lying in a ditch.” He shuddered. “I had to tell his wife.”
“I’m sorry.” He would not wish that task on anyone.
Beddoe nodded, but his gaze was far away. “I didn’t want to believe it. Not of my wife’s brother, but they were looking for Diana. They thought Penelope was her at first and were about to drag her away to do God knows what.” He shook his head. “They must have known that we meant to take Diana home with us. Penelope offered it to her, you see. Said she should visit with us for a bit. To show that there are no hard feelings between them.”
But there were hard feelings, and Diana had wanted to stay and take care of matters in Ireland.
“I went over this with Penelope, just to be sure. There’s no mistake. She told Geoffrey her plans. Told him that she would insist that Diana join us because it was proper. A woman can’t stay alone in Ireland. That just invites gossip.”
“But Diana refused her.”
“Surprised us both, I can tell you, but thank Heaven she did. Because what those men might have done to her, I don’t know.”
“They would have killed her. Possibly after doing worse.” He needed Beddoe to understand Geoffrey’s depravity. Fortunately, the man looked like he already knew.
“They asked for Diana. Asked after her again and again. They weren’t there for us. The robbery was an afterthought. We were an afterthought!” There was true outrage in that last part, but to his credit, Beddoe was focused on the real issue. “No one has reason to target Diana except Geoffrey. Penelope didn’t want to think it either, but we’ve been over it many times. There’s no one else who hates her. No one.”
Lucas let the words hang there. He believed everything, but even so, he needed more details, more ways to trace the attack back to Geoffrey in a way that would hold up before a magistrate. And though his blood burned with the need to kill the man, he had promised Diana that he would try to find another way.
So, he kept Beddoe with him for another two hours. They went through more brandy—enough to keep the man steady—and in the end, Lucas had all the details Beddoe could remember.
“Penelope’s terrified. Cries in her sleep and hates it when I leave the house.”
“Does she think the highwaymen will come back?”
