February 14, 1889 Morning #2
She had to find Byron. She moved to the stairs and climbed a few to get a better look around the ballroom.
Her cursory glance availed nothing, so she returned to the floor and resumed her path along the wall.
She doubted that he would be dancing, so she would either find him on the outskirts or have to search other rooms. She knew there were some men playing billiards and there were certain to be women in the drawing room.
Perhaps he had found Mr. Risewell and was questioning him about any packages he’d received.
She ran into Admiral Hoddle at the edge of the ballroom before she found any of the Sherards.
Her stomach dropped. She hadn’t even thought about the implications of her realization.
Was Hoddle involved in the whole conspiracy?
It would explain why he was trying to get Maureen committed. But they didn’t have any proof.
“You seem to be in quite the hurry, Miss Blayse,” he said. “You’ll trip over your hem if you aren’t careful.”
Mira laughed a little, trying to skirt around him. “I’ve done it before, I assure you.”
“Why aren’t you dancing? A fine young lady such as yourself should be wearing out her dance shoes.”
“I haven’t found my partner yet.”
“Oh, yes, the young Mr. Sherard? I spoke to him a little earlier. I think he was with Mr. Risewell.”
“Thank you very much, sir.” She was about to pull away when a thought occurred to her.
“I hear that you might be taking a trip to Wells.”
He narrowed his eyes a moment, then let out a good-natured laugh.
“Why, news travels fast in this town. I thought it might be good to get Maureen out of Bath for a little while. I wouldn’t want to go too far, as it seems she’s formed an attachment.
” He gestured to where Maureen and Bertie were slipping away from the ballroom.
“Looks like they are heading to the music room. ‘If music be the food of love, play on,’ and all that. I’d better go fulfill my duty as an upstanding guardian. ”
He wandered off, leaving Mira with more questions.
She couldn’t tell whether he was truly concerned for his ward or whether he was hiding a more nefarious motive.
But she couldn’t dwell on unknowns when she may have discovered who really had the documents.
She stepped into the hallway, intent on searching all the adjacent rooms. He was not in the billiards room or the parlor or the library.
She didn’t expect him to be in the drawing room, but she decided to check it just the same.
As she approached the door, she found Mr. Wilburn Treadway exiting, which was rather curious.
She was surprised that the Risewells had the forethought to invite him.
She poked her head in, hoping that Byron would be there, and found Mary sitting on the sofa, hunched over.
At the creak of the door, she looked up, eyes rimmed with red.
“What are you doing here?” Mary said, her voice thick but tinged with anger.
“I-I was looking for Byron.”
Mary scoffed. “The two of you had plenty of time together last night.”
Mira’s cheeks burned. “I beg your pardon?”
“Don’t play the fool. I waited up for Ambrose, and I know you were out past two in the morning. Don’t you have any sense of decency at all? What if the servants saw you together? Or what if the carriage driver spreads gossip?”
Mira’s jaw tightened. “You are assuming the very worst, not just about me, but about your brother. There was a very good reason why we were out last night. In fact, as you are wearing the necklace that was stolen, I assume you already know that we were investigating the very burglary you asked him to look into.”
Mary stood, pacing away from Mira. “It doesn’t matter what you were actually doing.
Don’t you see what it looks like? You could bring condemnation on the entire family should someone misunderstand your actions.
” She turned, shoulders straight, her mouth in a thin line.
“Miss Blayse, I have not had much contact with my brother these past few years and even I am thoroughly aware of your impropriety. I know how often the two of you are alone together. How often you ride together in a closed carriage. If I am aware of it, I cannot begin to imagine the number of rumors spreading through society circles. Don’t you care at all about his standing? About our family?”
“Of course I—”
“This sort of scandal is exactly the sort of thing that could affect Castel and the succession of the barony.”
Mira clenched her fists. “Scandal? What scandal? If you have heard rumors about us, Miss Sherard, I have not encountered them. Is your family’s image really so fragile?”
Mary approached her, nose wrinkled with derision and fury. Mira found it difficult to stand her ground.
“You have no sense of what our family’s position is.
No sense of the delicate balance that we have kept for generations.
Your family is nothing. Has nothing.” She leaned even closer.
“It’s a pity that Ambrose has regained his memories.
If he hadn’t, it would be all too simple to stop this madness.
Simply separate you and let his memories of you slip away.
Why, if I had known of your relationship to him sooner, I could have done something. He wouldn’t even know you existed.”
Mira’s eyes burned, she couldn’t breathe.
“How dare you,” Byron said from the doorway.
They both turned towards him, watching as he stalked forward. He stepped between Mira and his sister.
“You have no right to speak to her that way.” Byron’s entire body was tense, his chest heaving.
“I have every right, as your sister, to ensure your future,” Mary said, though her voice faltered.
Byron laughed, but there was an edge to it.
“I am not aware of such a sisterly duty. But I do know that a sister is meant to be supportive, is meant to love her younger siblings instead of disparaging them. A good sister would not deride her brother’s choice of wife or profession.
And she certainly would not wish injury upon her brother or the woman he loves. ”
“I—”
Byron clenched his fists. “Would you really rather I went back to forgetting? Never knowing one day from the next? Not even remembering to write you or mother?” He gestured behind him to Mira.
“I would not be here if it were not for Miss Samira Blayse. I would not have recovered my memories, save for her patience.”
Mary shook her head. “I’m grateful that you’ve recovered. But can’t you see that this woman is actively ruining your position in society? The way you run around together is disgraceful, disregarding all sense of propriety.”
“As if you didn’t act the same when you were courting,” Byron said. “I may have been six at the time, but I had eyes.”
“We were engaged,” Mary said, voice tight. “It was an entirely different situation.”
“For heavens sakes! Is that what this is about?” Byron said, turning to Mira. “Will you marry me?”
Mira blinked. He wasn’t serious, was he?
Goodness, he was.
“Y-yes. Of course, I will.” Her emotions were in all sorts of disarray. Shock, frustration, excitement, anger, and love all muddled together.
His shoulders relaxed by a fraction and he took her arm. He turned them both towards his sister in a united front. “There. We’re engaged.”
“You can’t—” Mary spluttered.
“We just did. I am sick and tired of playing society’s games. Now will you leave us alone?”
Mary stood taller. “You are being ridiculous. Be honest with yourself, Ambrose. Do you love her or are you merely infatuated with the first woman you could remember after your accident?” Mary threw her hand out.
“Have you considered her character at all? What sort of respectable woman lowers herself to take on a secretarial job and willingly chooses to engage in detective work? From my first impression of her I—”
“I know well enough what your impression of me is.” Mira stepped forward, heat rising within her.
“I have heard every insult, every snide comment of derision, and I have tried to keep the peace, because believe it or not, I love Byron and would never want him to lose his family in loving me.” Tears sprung to her eyes.
“I know what it is like not to have a family. I’ve longed to have a mother, to have a sister, and I thought we might have had that relationship, but clearly that was never meant to be.
” She wiped the hot tears from her face, shaking her head.
“From the moment I met you, I found you to be judgmental, disagreeable, and myopic. You are so focused on how others perceive you, that I can’t imagine you even know who you are. ”
“How dare—”
“How dare I stand up for myself? It is a wonder, isn’t it?
” Mira’s heart raced. “I’ll admit that we haven’t taken the most pains to be proper and perhaps that is a failing.
But I find your hypocrisy to be a worse one.
I understand that you have had a terrible time at love, and I expect that you still feel the pain of losing it.
So how can you possibly pass the same judgement that hurt you so terribly onto your brother? ”
“Ambrose—”
“His name is Byron,” Mira said. “It is his first name. The name given to him by his mother. It’s the one he prefers to use, and you refuse to use it even in private. Do you know your brother at all? Or are you too busy judging him? Judging him because you are afraid and he is not.”
“Of course, I know him!” Mary yelled, turning to face her brother again. “I can’t allow you to give away your entire birthright based on what you think is love.”
“Think?” Byron said. Mira had never heard him say something with such vitriol. “I don’t think you know what love is, Mary. If you did, you wouldn’t have let it walk out the door twenty years ago. You would have fought for it. Who cares if he didn’t have a title? You could have convinced father.”