How could she trust him?
‘I know it is possible,’ she admitted. ‘But I cannot risk assuming the best. If I reveal who I am and he truly is one of them, we are finished.’
‘But they tried to kill him,’ Sarah protested, twisting the blanket anxiously between her fingers. ‘Why would they do that if he already belonged to them?’
‘Then why has he not cleared my name?’ Charlotte countered sharply. ‘He knows about the Odd Fellows—clearly he does—and yet he continues to allow suspicion to fall upon me.’
She rose and began pacing restlessly before the hearth.
‘And how do you explain his behaviour since the party began? The drinking, the gambling, the libertine behaviour. No one attempting to infiltrate a deadly criminal organisationbehaves so carelessly. It seems far more likely he has always wished to join them.’
‘What about the Duke of Armitage?’ Sarah asked.
Charlotte groaned aloud. ‘He will not return for months.’
‘Then perhaps we continue quietly gathering information until he arrives. Once he returns, we leave this place and seek out the Duke and Miss Grace. Or rather...’ she corrected herself, ‘the Duchess.’
‘I suppose we have little choice. Assuming we survive that long.’ She stared blindly into the fire for a moment.
A grim silence settled between them.
After all, they were precisely the sort of girls Wolverton had described.
No family. No protection.
Sarah had gone noticeably pale.
Charlotte seized her hands firmly.
‘We must be extra careful from now on. Do you understand? Never wander alone—not in the corridors, not on the grounds. And I think we ought to carry concealed weapons at all times.’
Sarah looked alarmed, but nodded. ‘I suppose I could sew hidden pockets into our gowns. Or perhaps into our corsets. Large enough for a small knife.’
‘That is a marvellous idea,’ Charlotte replied, genuinely impressed.
‘What I cannot understand is why Lord Stanley interfered with the Odd Fellows before. He was their enemy once, was he not?’
After several moments of thought, Charlotte spoke carefully. ‘Perhaps he interfered with their operation inadvertently—which would explain the attempt upon his life. As he said himself, he only financed Mr Wilberforce because they are related, not because he genuinely believed in the abolition cause.’ She tapped her lips absently as her thoughts returnedto the terrace conversation she had overheard so long ago. ‘Wolverton did say it was merely business. Nothing personal.’
The memory sent a shuddering chill through her.
Exhausted, she sank down onto the bed.
‘It appears it is only the two of us for now,’ Sarah said quietly.
Charlotte nodded faintly before another thought struck her.
‘Did you manage to speak to that maid?’
‘I did.’ Sarah’s expression dimmed. ‘It is not good news, I’m afraid.’ She looked apologetically at Charlotte, clearly reluctant to burden her with further bad tidings.
Charlotte sat bolt upright.
‘At first I nearly dismissed the whole thing,’ Sarah continued. ‘She kept speaking of ghosts and other superstitious nonsense. But once she calmed herself...’ She swallowed nervously. ‘The truth sounded considerably worse.’
‘Tell me.’
Sarah glanced uneasily towards the bedchamber door. ‘She says maids have been vanishing from this estate.’
