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In fact, he was counting on it.

“I have.” Sebastian nodded, letting his gaze move to the stairs, where Drake and Gregory were now descending. Gregory would be accompanying Sebastian’s sister and the others to the shops, acting as host for the house party—and likely as pack mule for Tiffany and some of the other ladies. He was dressed for the day in a navy-blue suit with a blue-and-silver striped waistcoat, which matched the dress Tiffany had been wearing at breakfast.

Beside him, Drake was dressed for riding, like Sebastian. The biggest difference between their attire was that Sebastian was wearing a forest-green frock coat while Drake’s was a deep copper. Both of them wore black top boots and kid gloves. Drake was tapping his riding crop against his boot garter, his expression even more stony than usual.

Perhaps because, like Mei, Lady Astrid had not come down for the morning meal. With Lady Astrid, Sebastian was quite certain it was her way of making a statement about Drake’s behavior last night. He had no doubt she’d be sallying forth later today, full of vim and vigor as usual, to make Drake pay for quieting her scolding.

“Are you ready?” Drake asked shortly, barely nodding at Lady Darcy, who looked a bit taken aback at his brusque manner.

“Yes.” Sebastian smiled at Lady Darcy. “I hope you enjoy the outing today, Lady Darcy.”

“I am sure I will, Your Grace,” she replied, smiling and stepping back, still keeping a wary eye on Drake.

“Lady Darcy, the others are gathering in the drawing room. May I escort you?” Gregory offered his arm, which the lady happily took. She did not glance over her shoulder at Sebastian as she was led away, he noted. Not that he’d expected her to. She had far too much self-assurance for that.

Sebastian turned away to find Drake looking at him with a raised eyebrow and a certain amount of speculation in his gaze.

“Are you going to court Lady Darcy?” Drake asked, appearing genuinely interested in the answer.

“No.” Sebastian gestured for Drake to precede him to the door. Their horses had already been saddled and were waiting for them out front. Sebastian had wanted to leave as quickly as possible since they needed to return this evening. Not for Mei, although that was certainly on his mind now, but because staying away for too long could cause comment.

The murders of their fathers were a conspiracy, and Gregory’s old steward, Arthur Montblanc, had been wrapped up in it. Gregory’s father had raped Montblanc’s niece, who had been working as a maid in their household. She was not the first, but she was the last. The old duke’s cruelty toward Gregory’s mother might have been a factor as well, as Sebastian had long suspected Montblanc harbored a fondness for her that went far beyond that of an employee. Gregory had never noticed, and Sebastian had not mentioned it, especially after their discovery of Montblanc’s perfidy.

Unfortunately, Montblanc had escaped before they’d realized his involvement, and they could not question him, but he’d left behind a letter for Gregory. In the letter, he’d warned them of a plot against the dukes, a conspiracy, and that they should not investigate lest they put themselves and those they loved in danger.

Of course, they were not going to let go of looking for answers, but forewarned was forearmed, and they were doing their best to make it appear as though they accepted the official ruling that their fathers’ deaths had been a tragic accident. Which meant they had to act as normally as possible.

The only clue they currently had was the description of a man who had provided sleeping potions to Montblanc, which Tiffany had recognized. Aaron Heywood had been turned out by Matthew’s father, resulting in the death of his pregnant wife. Tiffany thought that her and Sebastian’s father had hired him after that, and that he was still working for Sebastian.

A quick day visit to his estate, which was a couple hours’ ride away, was unremarkable enough as long as no one knew that he was there to question Aaron Heywood. Especially when the rest of the house party was at a village which, as Lady Darcy had said, was one Sebastian had visited many times in the past. There might be a few who wondered why he was not taking the opportunity to get to know the invited debutantes better, but no one would look askance, either. It would certainly not be worth gossiping about once everyone returned to London.

If they stayed longer, they’d have to come up with a reason. Which might be possible, but the best course of action was to be innocuous.

Thankfully, once they were on their horses, they were riding fast enough to make conversation impossible, so he did not have to answer the same questions Gregory had peppered him with this morning.

Still, even though he was not talking about Miss Hu, he could not stop thinking about her. No matter that his mind should be more focused on uncovering more of the conspiracy that resulted in the death of his father.

24

Sebastian

The ride to Somersham Hall went by quickly enough, the countryside rolling by and giving Sebastian plenty of time to think about Mei and his next move in regard to her. The fact that she had not come downstairs this morning could be indicative of something or of nothing. What would be important was how they comported themselves once he saw her again.

Did she know how to arrange a rendezvous?

Despite her declaration that they could be lovers, he had no idea what her experience was with such things.

He did not want to press unwanted attentions on her.

If she had changed her mind, that would be that… though he would begin his campaign to make her his duchess once they returned to London, anyway. Not wanting to be his lover would not be the same as not wanting to be his duchess.

Would it?

Perhaps he should ask Tiffany.

It was a relief to pull up in front of the manor and be forced to focus on the task at hand, rather than having his mind wander to Mei.

Footmen came boiling out of the front door, looks of alarm on their faces, followed by Sackwell. The long-time butler had been Sebastian’s father’s butler, and his white mane of hair got whiter and sparser with every passing year. He appeared more stooped than the last time Sebastian had seen him, as well, though his eyes were bright and clear. Getting on in years, he was no longer capable of running multiple households, so Sebastian left him in charge of the estate house. When Sebastian was in residence, Sackwell and Riggs worked together to keep the household running, but otherwise, Sackwell was perfectly capable when there was no one about.