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Lily turned her gaze to her brother, who appeared mollified by Brendan’s assertions.

“See that you do, Filminster. My sister is irreplaceable.”

Brendan wished he could speak with Lily, and communicate to her all the thoughts simmering in his head, but after allaying Abbott’s fears, more family arrived.

Lord and Lady Moreland were first. The latter swept into the room with visible agitation, her expression strained with maternal panic. At the sight of her daughter, she let out a soft cry and rushed forward, gathering Lily into a fierce embrace that all but overwhelmed her.

Brendan watched as Lily all but disappeared in her mother’s arms, her slight frame nearly vanishing beneath the taller woman’s protective hold.

Then Lord Moreland pulled his daughter into his own embrace, shaking his head and murmuring something Brendan could not hear. Cradled against her father’s chest, Lily looked more diminutive than he had ever seen her, still so composed, yet achingly fragile.

He had just begun to make his way toward the Abbots, intending to ease their understandable alarm, when the next announcement came, the arrival of Richard and his wife.

That was the moment Brendan fully comprehended the extent to which his familial circle had expanded in the past week. Though distantly connected to Richard through Annabel’s marriage to the duke, the earl and the duke being cousins, he had never thought of the connection as meaningful. Now, things were different.

Now he was wed to someone the earl viewed as under his personal protection. A faint ache in Brendan’s jaw reminded him precisely how fiercely Richard defended those he loved. Brendan doubted he would ever forget the force of that punch.

And now he had a new brother-in-law as well. Aidan stood at a slight remove, watching him with a gaze still taut with tension. Brendan suspected the younger man’s vigilance would not lessen any time soon.

And of course, Lord and Lady Moreland. After confirming their daughter’s well-being, their attention turned to him.

Lord Moreland gestured him over.

“This is a fine tangle, son,” he murmured. “I thank God no true harm came to anyone. Is the matter concluded?”

“Not entirely, my lord. We have reason to believe the footman was acting under instruction, or at the very least, in someone’s employ. The household itself is secure now, but we must still uncover the identity of the person who hired him.”

“Wesley confessed, then?” Richard asked, his voice sharper.

“He did. According to him, he was paid to suppress the truth … to conceal the identity of the baron’s killer.”

“Wesley confessed to his involvement?” Richard demanded.

“He did. The killer paid him, according to what he told us.”

“If he was paid, why was he still here? Do you think he was waiting to quit in order not to raise suspicion?”

“That, and he had been promised additional blunt if he could find a letter that the baron had written.”

“A letter?”

“I was going to task Briggs and Michaels with searching the house to see if they could locate it. It might reveal the identity of the murderer.”

Richard exhaled hard, shaking his head. “That would be a wonderful thing, if we could find it. This situation this morning with Lily could have turned lethal. Sophia would be devastated if …”

The earl turned his gaze across the room where Lily and the countess were seated together, Lady Saunton’s arm around Brendan’s wife as they both sat in relieved silence across the room.

“There are no words to describe how devastated I would be right now if something had happened to Lily.”

When Brendan turned back, he found Richard contemplating him thoughtfully, his emerald eyes glimmering. “There is something special about these Abbott girls. Have you informed your wife that you are in love with her?”

Brendan felt heat rise along the back of his neck. “Not yet.”

A hand landed warmly on his shoulder, and Brendan turned to see Lord Moreland, whom he had momentarily forgotten was standing behind him.

“Splendid news,” the older man said, his voice rough with emotion. “There is nothing in the world quite so rewarding as loving one’s wife. Is that not so, Saunton?”

At that moment, the duke and Annabel entered the room. His sister moved with no concern for formality, her composure undone by anxiety. She rushed forward without hesitation and threw her arms around him, holding him tightly, as if to be certain he was truly there.