Chapter 21
Spending a night in the cells at the magistrate’s office had not been pleasant.
Alastair had expected to be spoken to as soon as he arrived, but Maddox had gone home.
Alastair was to speak to him in the morning.
Alastair couldn’t understand why he couldn’t just deal with this now, but he wasn’t in control anymore. He had to wait.
And he didn’t want to go through that again.
It was cold, there was only a blanket, and there was a draft coming through the high window.
If he stood on tiptoe, Alastair could see people’s feet as they went past. Occasionally, he saw a small child crouch and look in, curious as to the man trapped in a cage. It was humiliating.
He could only hope that this was sorted out quickly, and he could explain himself.
But when he was let out the next morning, ready to speak to Maddox himself, Alastair was surprised to see Edmund waiting for him in the waiting room on the first floor. His friend looked relieved when Alastair entered the room.
“At least you don’t look worse for wear,” he remarked.
“What are you doing here?”
“I followed you here as soon as Helena told me what was going on. I spoke to Lord Maddox and explained that you were with me the whole time they were looking at for Fairleigh’s death. And I could prove it, although it took most of the night to get it sorted.
They had to speak to my servants and confirm what time we got back. Thankfully, all of my servants involved were able to say confidently when we returned and that we were still there in the morning.”
Alastair let the words sink in. He’d been so shocked and incensed by how he’d been dragged in unceremoniously that he’d forgotten that Edmund was his alibi. After his game with Fairleigh, he’d been joined by Edmund, and they had gone back to his house to sleep.
“And this couldn’t have waited until tomorrow?” he demanded. “Or that I couldn’t have been treated like a decent person instead of thrown into a cell like I’m already guilty?”
“Apparently, Lord Maddox had an anonymous letter sent to him. It named you, and that you were planning on fleeing the country for Denmark.” Edmund held up his hands. “Don’t ask. That’s what I was told.”
That would explain why he was being dragged out of his home at an inopportune moment. Alastair could still see Arabella’s face in his mind as he left. She looked horrified, almost betrayed. And that broke his heart.
She had to think he had something to do with it again. After she seemed to be softening to him, her earlier suspicions were going to come full force once more. Alastair knew he needed to talk to her.
“Where’s Maddox?” He looked around. “I need to speak to him.”
“He’s gone to the courts. Busy day, apparently, but he said that you can use the facilities here to get yourself cleaned up.” Edmund pointed at the nearby settee. “I brought you some fresh clothes. Then I’m going to take you home so you can get some sleep.”
“No.”
His friend blinked at him. “What do you mean? You can’t have slept well in a cell below street level with people gawking at you.”
“I need to see Arabella first.” Alastair went to where his clothes were laid out, beginning to tug the cravat off his neck while trying not to choke himself. “I want to talk to her.”
“Do you think that’s a good idea?”
“I have to make sure she’s all right. She’s probably got a lot going through her head right now, and I want to be sure that she’s safe.” He swallowed. “I’m very worried about her, Edmund. I don’t want her to suffer more than she already has.”
Edmund tilted his head to one side, watching him curiously. “You really are in love, aren’t you?”
Alastair didn’t answer that. He didn’t need to; his friend knew him all too well.
And he was only just coming to terms with his own feelings.
He was in love with Arabella, in spite of himself.
She shouldn’t have gotten under his skin like this, and Alastair had been clear he didn’t believe in love, or that it would even happen to him, but now both were changing.
Arabella was the woman who’d be just right for him.
He just wished they’d been able to get to know each other better, to be genuine friends first, instead of starting out on a rushed courtship that came out of nowhere and now they had to keep up the pretense.
He wished they could build that friendship properly.
But then he thought about their current positions and knew it wouldn’t have happened had they not been thrown together. He was stuck and unsure what to do.
He didn’t like that at all. Being uncertain about his future was not something he liked. It was too scary for him.
He just knew that he needed to go and see Arabella and make sure she was all right.
After changing quickly and bundling his other clothes under his arm, Alastair followed Edmund out and into his carriage. As they hurried away, Alastair looked out of the window and saw Lord Maddox looking down from a window on the second floor.
Wasn’t he meant to be in court right now? It was likely he used that as an excuse so he didn’t have to face Alastair and admit he’d gotten it wrong. That he’d hauled a duke in without any further proof.
He was likely going to be humiliated with what he did. Alastair wished he could give him a tongue-lashing for such behavior.
That was a job for another time.
It didn’t take long to get to Arabella’s townhouse. It looked quiet as if there was nobody present. Alastair jumped out before the carriage had stopped properly and hurried up the steps, banging hard on the knocker.
He could feel his hand shaking, which made the knocker stutter. After what felt like forever, and by the time Edmund had joined him, the door opened and the Fairleighs’ butler appeared. Before he got a chance to say anything, Alastair pushed past him.
“I want to see Lady Arabella.”
“Your Grace…”
“Now.” Alastair stood in the foyer and glared at him. “Where is she? I need to speak to her.”
The butler looked from him to Edmund, and seeing neither were going to leave, hurried off. Edmund approached Alastair, his expression concerned.
“Are you sure you should be doing this?” he whispered. “I think you should be going back and getting some rest…”
“She probably thinks that I really had something to do with it now,” Alastair hissed, trying to fight back his annoyance with his friend. “I want to assure her that I didn’t do anything wrong!”
“With everyone’s emotions on a thin wire, do you think that’s a good idea? It could end up getting worse and things might not be repaired properly.”
“I’ve got to try before someone gets in her ear first! You know how gossip is, and with her witnessing it firsthand…”
“Why are you here?”
Alastair’s heart missed a beat when he heard Arabella’s voice.
He turned and saw her coming down the stairs, dressed in a simple muslin gown of pale pink, her hair pinned away from her face.
She was pale and her eyes were red-rimmed, as if she’d been crying.
But she was looking at him with fury in her eyes, so strong that Alastair almost stepped back.
He’d never seen her like this, not even when she accused him the first time.
“Arabella…”
“That’s Lady Arabella to you,” she said coldly. “You don’t get to be so familiar with me, Your Grace.”
Something about the way she said her title made him flinch. Edmund looked uncomfortable, shuffling from foot to foot. Arabella folded her arms and glowered at Alastair. “Why are you here? I thought you were arrested by Lord Maddox.”
“I was let go. I had an alibi for the night your father died.” Alastair stepped toward her. “I told you that before, didn’t I? I did say that I didn’t have anything to do with his death.”
“But you were with him the night he died, weren’t you?”
“In the club, yes. But not outside of it. He left separately to me, and that was confirmed by the servants who worked at the club. I was cleared of any involvement.” Alastair hurried on before Arabella could protest. “Anyway, I found out something recently. Something that involves a trust fund your father looked after for you and Philip from your mother’s side of the family. He had this…”
“I’m aware of the trust fund account, thank you,” Arabella said icily. “Our solicitor came over to talk to us this morning. He said that this account that was meant to be protected and given to us when we completed stipulations. It was emptied and now there’s nothing in it.”
Alastair faltered. He hadn’t anticipated the solicitor coming over to talk to Arabella and Fairleigh about it.
“That’s what I was going to…”
“That’s what you were going to talk to me about? Why haven’t you told me about it already? You had plenty of opportunities to tell me.”
“I didn’t have time to discuss…” Alastair began, but Arabella held up a hand, which was trembling slightly.
“You kept information from me, Your Grace.” She sounded strained. “You promised that you would share everything with me, and this time you didn’t. It makes me wonder what else you kept from me.”
“Nothing!”
“How can I be sure of that?”
She was starting to look at him as if he was a stranger, and that made Alastair’s heart feel like it was cracking.
He’d promised himself that he would look after her, no matter what, and she was starting to push him away.
Things were getting in a complete mess, and he didn’t know what he was supposed to do anymore.
“Your Grace.”
Fairleigh was walking down the hallway toward them, evidently surprised that they had visitors. He glanced at Arabella, who was now clutching onto the banister with her knuckles white. “Arabella?”
“Get them out of here,” she said through gritted teeth. “I… I can’t…”
She turned and hurried back up the stairs. Alastair heard her let out a small sob before she disappeared from sight. He started to follow her, but Edmund grabbed his arm.
“Don’t,” he murmured. “Leave her be.”
“Mr. Hale is right, Your Grace.” Fairleigh moved to stand in front of Alastair, his expression blank. “She needs to be left alone. I think you’ve done enough.”
“I haven’t done…”
“You didn’t force her into a fake courtship to prevent yourself from being partnered with Miss Linton.”
Alastair froze. Edmund stilled beside him. Fairleigh folded his arms.
“Arabella told me everything. She let it all out last night when we got home. What she did was foolish, trying to find proof that Pa died in suspicious circumstances, but you took advantage of her position by putting her in a place she didn’t want to be.”
“We agreed…”
“You might’ve agreed, but it was reluctant, wasn’t it?” Fairleigh shot back. “You did that to her, and now she’s going to have her reputation ruined more than it already is because of your actions.”
Alastair held up his hands, his pulse pumping hard in his throat. It made him feel lightheaded. “It wasn’t my intention to do that,” he said slowly.
The viscount snorted. “I don’t know whether to believe you or not. All I know is that we’re already suffering because of what happened to Pa, and your involvement is going to make things worse for us. If it gets out what you did…”
“I would never damage Arabella’s reputation like that,” Alastair protested. “I won’t say a thing about what we agreed. I’d protect her before I protect myself.”
The final sentence was out of his mouth before he could stop it. Silence filled the cavernous room. Fairleigh looked bewildered that Alastair would say something like that. They stared at each other for a long moment, the silence stretching between them. Finally, Fairleigh spoke.
“You really do care about her, don’t you?” He sounded stunned at that, almost in disbelief.
“Of course I do. I…” Alastair gulped. “I really do.”
He wasn’t about to admit he loved her until he’d said it to Arabella herself. Saying it to her brother first didn’t feel right. Fairleigh tilted his head to one side and regarded him thoughtfully.
“I believe you on that,” he said quietly. “But that’s not going to help you much here. Not right now.”
“What else can I do? I did nothing wrong!”
“Just give Arabella some space. She’s got to come to terms with everything without being pushed into it. You should know that about her by now.”
Alastair was aware of it, but he still wanted to complain and argue further, to get Arabella to speak to him. He didn’t want to leave until he’d gotten her to believe him. But he knew that wasn’t going to happen. Arabella would refuse his presence, and he would be fighting a losing battle.
He felt his whole body slump, and he bowed his head.
“All right. I’ll leave her alone.”
“You might want to look a bit closer to home.”
That made Alastair look up, finding the viscount staring at him with a piercing gaze that made him uncomfortable. “What do you mean by that?”
“You should be careful who you trust, Your Grace,” Fairleigh said quietly. “Pay closer attention to those around you. You might find the answer where you’re not expecting, and that will be your downfall.”
Then he turned and walked away into the morning room, closing the door behind him. Alastair stared after him in confusion. He had no idea what was going on here. Fairleigh was starting to speak cryptically, and he had no idea where that was going.
“What was that all about?” Edmund asked.
Alastair shook his head, still somewhat stunned.
“I have absolutely no idea.”