Chapter 38
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Matthew
While Matthew was waiting for Johanna and her mother to come to the sunroom, he had even more time to think. He went to his study to write a quick list of the questions that he’d been formulating in his head, not wanting to forget any of them in the moment.
As he was leaving his study, he paused, then summoned some of his footmen to bring a small table and chair into the sunroom, along with his blotter and ink, so that he could take notes. He did not know what would be important, so he wanted to make sure he got everything down.
Once things were arranged to his liking in the sunroom, he dismissed the footmen and sat down on the chair.
It was a good room, he felt. Not only because it was close to the countess’ bedroom, but also because it was bright and sunny.
Even the wallpaper, which was yellow and decorated with purple flowers and green stripes, was nicely cheerful.
The kind of room that should be unthreatening. Hopefully, it would make his mother-in-law feel more comfortable.
Matthew had set up the room so the table was across from the couch, so Johanna’s mother could sit there with her. He would not be directly across from them, but a little to the side, so it would hopefully feel less like an interrogation. It seemed right.
He hoped it was right.
Once again, his hand brushed over his empty pocket.
The only reason he even noticed was when his fingertips found nothing, and he was reminded, once again, that he did not have his coin.
Although he’d enjoyed breaking his fast and realizing how often he did not use his coin to make some decisions, the number of times he reached for it only to come up empty made him realize how often he did.
Sighing, he sat down, then was immediately forced to jump to his feet again as the door opened, and Johanna came into the room with an older woman on her arm. Rose came in behind them, a very strange expression on her face. Matthew wondered if Johanna had told her everything already.
Johanna and her mother were very similar in facial features, but she, Micah, and Charlotte must have gotten their coloring from their father.
Their mother’s honey-wheat hair was more akin to Bridget’s dark blonde, and she had very blue eyes rather than the violet of three out of four of her children.
Her hair was pulled back into a neat chignon, showing off the angular lines of her face.
If he had not known she’d been starving herself, he would have been able to guess by her appearance. Her dress hung loosely on her frame, and there was still a tight gauntness to her mouth—though that might have as much to do with the obvious fear in her eyes as she looked at him as anything else.
“Matthew, this is my mother, the Countess Falmouth. Mother, this is my husband, the Duke of St. Albans.” Johanna shook her mother’s arm gently as Matthew bowed, and she dropped into a rather awkward curtsy before straightening again.
“It is a pleasure to meet you,” he said, coming forward to take her hand. “Please, come and sit. Would you like me to ring for some tea? Or something to eat?”
Some of the fear in her expression receded, and she glanced at Johanna, who nodded eagerly.
“I have already broken my fast, thank you,” she said faintly as Matthew escorted her over to the couch and helped her to sit in the middle.
Johanna was there a moment later, seating herself on one side, leaving the other open for Rose to take her place.
Johanna’s mother glanced at her daughter as Johanna took her hand, as if she was unsure of what was happening.
Matthew had given a great deal of thought about how not to frighten the poor woman. After all, she was his wife’s mother. He certainly did not want her frightened of him.
“Thank you for agreeing to assist me with the investigation,” he said, taking his seat at the table.
He glanced up to see Rose mouthing the word ‘investigation’ as her brow furrowed, and she glanced at her aunt, who was now holding both her daughter and her niece’s hands in her lap.
The three women had managed to hold together an entire family and estate while the man who was supposed to have taken care of them stole their funds.
“I… yes.” The countess glanced at Johanna, who smiled encouragingly at her, then positively beamed at Matthew.
Warmth filled his chest, and he sat up a little straighter.
“I hope you do not mind me taking notes. I do not want to forget anything important.”
“Of course.” Appearing confused but much less frightened, the countess straightened in her seat. “I did not mean harm to anyone, ever. I thought I was helping. All I have ever wanted to do is help. That’s why I learned about herbs and healing.”
Rose pressed her lips together, obviously wanting to ask questions but keeping them to herself for the moment.
“You were taken advantage of. You could not have known.” At that moment, Matthew knew his statement to be utterly true.
The woman in front of him would not have harmed anyone, not for any amount of money.
Not even to save her family. “And you are not the only one. We know the Duke of Clarence’s steward was involved in the plot to murder our fathers, but we are convinced he did not know the full breadth of the conspiracy or how many of them would be killed. ”
He explained it that way for Rose’s benefit, and her eyes went wider and wider with every word until her lips popped open in shock. By the time he finished, her head swiveled around to try to pin Johanna with a look, but the countess was between them, and Johanna was looking at him.
Obviously, Rose was less than pleased about being kept in the dark, but she was going to have to hold it together for the moment for the countess’ sake. She fumed silently, forced to hold her tongue by the circumstances that her cousin had arranged.
Matthew made a mental note that his wife was perhaps more diabolical than he had realized.
“I did not know. I promise,” the countess replied, tears filling her blue eyes. “I thought perhaps the duchess needed something to help her sleep. Or even the steward himself. He did not seem well.”
Matthew made a note. He wondered if Gregory had noticed anything about his steward seeming unwell in the weeks before his father’s death. If he had, he had not mentioned it before. It was worth asking.
Johanna
If she had not fallen in love with her husband before, seeing how gentle he was with her mother would have done it.
She could not even be worried about Rose’s reaction to everything Johanna had been keeping from her because she was so overcome with absolute adoration and relief.
It felt like being rescued all over again.
He was very serious, taking notes as he went through everything with her mother that Johanna had. Everything she had already told him. Johanna wished there was more for him than she had been able to give. It did not seem very helpful.
“So, the steward collected five potions from you, then sent a man to collect the rest of the order a few days later?” Matthew asked, repeating what her mother had said. She nodded.
“Yes, five more potions.”
Which was more than he could have needed for eight dukes.
Had more been prepared in case more dukes arrived?
Had there been other targets at the lodge that had managed to escape the dukes’ fate?
Or had the murderers just wanted to be prepared?
Johanna felt sick to her stomach at the ruthlessness of it all.
Perhaps, she reasoned, the steward had wanted a few for himself, to help him sleep at night, either before or after. He must have known some of what was going to happen, from what Matthew said.
“The steward, what did he look like?” Matthew asked, which made Johanna blink.
That was not a question she’d asked her mother.
She’d assumed when her mother said that the man who bought the potions from her was the Duke of Clarence’s steward, that he was.
Especially after she’d found out that Clarence’s steward had been involved in the plot.
It had never occurred to her to double-check what the man looked like.
Matthew nodded as he wrote down the description her mother gave.
“And the man who came for the rest of the order? Did he give you his name? What did he look like?”
“No name,” her mother said, squeezing Johanna’s hand as she sighed and looked down into her lap.
The shame she clearly felt, even though it was not her fault, broke Johanna’s heart.
“I barely remember him. I only saw him for a very brief moment. He had dark hair and a beard, and I only remember that because of his scar.”
“His scar?” Matthew’s head came up.
Johanna’s mother nodded, releasing Rose’s hand so she could use her own to draw a line across her face, from beside her nose down to her chin.
“Right through his beard. Looked ill-healed, and I remember thinking it likely should have been stitched and was not.” She shook her head, reaching for Rose’s hand again.
“I only noticed because it was so striking. I could have done a better job of it, and I remember wishing I’d seen him when he’d first gotten it. ”
“Was he very thin or more broad-shouldered?” There was something in her husband’s voice, the tiniest change, that had Johanna’s focus sharpening.
“Broad-shouldered.” Her mother hesitated. “Why? Is he important?”
“Perhaps.” Matthew looked down at his notes and took a deep breath.
His voice was tight as he spoke, with controlled emotion that made Johanna’s heart ache for him.
“It’s the scar, you see. There was a tenant my father threw off our land—Aaron Heywood.
He was a tall, broad-shouldered man with a beard, and about five years ago, he was gravely injured by a bull that had gotten loose.
When he could not pay his rent, my father threw him and his wife out of the home his family had lived in for five generations. ”
Closing his eyes, Matthew swallowed hard.
Releasing her mother’s hand, leaving her to Rose, Johanna got to her feet and went to him. Tears had welled in her eyes in sympathy for the repressed emotion emanating from him.
“What happened to them?” she asked in a low murmur, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze.
Matthew reached up to put his fingers over hers, and she felt the sigh ease out of him.
“I do not know,” he said quietly. “By the time I found out, they were long gone. I looked for them, briefly, once my father died, but…” He shook his head. “There was so much to do, and it had been so long. Perhaps I should have looked harder.”
“Perhaps not, if he had something to do with the plot. He might not have wanted to be found by then. And there was naught you could have done for them before your father died.”
“No. Perhaps. I could have given him some coin, at least.” Matthew squeezed her fingers. “Well. What’s done is done. It might not even be the same man.”
Though it was clear from his tone, he did not believe his words for even a moment. Neither did Johanna. The coincidence was far too great.
A knock on the door made all of them jump, and out of the corner of her eye, Johanna saw her mother clutch Rose’s hand with both of hers. Even though she seemed relieved at having unburdened herself to Matthew, the general fear still remained.
Holt opened the door, stiffly upright as ever, his gaze quickly scanning the room and finding Matthew with Johanna standing behind him.
“Your Graces,” he said, bowing. “I apologize for the interruption, but the Duke of Ormonde has called and is most insistent that he speak to the duke and Lord Falmouth immediately.”
“My brother?” Johanna asked, bewildered.
“But why— Oh.” It suddenly struck her that this must have something to do with Mr. Blash.
With everything going on with her mother, she had almost forgotten about her brother’s former guardian, especially since Micah’s guardianship had officially been turned over to her husband.
“Put Ormonde in the library and fetch Lord Falmouth, please, Holt,” Matthew told the butler. “I think we are finished here, anyway.”
“I would like to come with you,” Johanna said quickly, and relief rushed through her when Matthew nodded his agreement.
He rolled up the paper he’d been writing his notes on and held it in one hand while holding out his other for her to take.
She glanced over at Rose and her mother.
“I will come join you shortly, I promise.”
“Not to worry, dear. Rose can keep me company.” Her mother looked around the room.
She appeared almost ten years younger than she had when Johanna had entered her bedroom this morning, such was the weight that had been lifted from her shoulders.
There was a lightness to her expression that did Johanna’s heart good to see.
“I think I want to stay in this room for now. It’s very nice. ”
“I am glad you like it,” Matthew said, his lips curving up in a genuine smile. “Please feel free to make as much use of it as you like. It does not get used often enough.”
“Thank you.” Her mother’s smile was as genuine as Matthew’s.
They liked each other, then. After such a fraught conversation, Johanna had not known what to expect, but Matthew had handled things perfectly—and without the use of his coin.
“We will speak when you return,” Rose said, giving Johanna a look.
She smiled sheepishly back at her cousin.
Whatever tongue-lashing Rose wanted to give her, Rose would feel Johanna deserved for keeping her in the dark, and Johanna rather felt she deserved it, too, even if she would not do anything differently given the chance.
Rose tended to play the protector in their relationship, but Johanna could not regret her decisions.
Neither would she try to escape the scolding Rose was no doubt already preparing in her mind.
“We will.”
With that, they swept from the room. Johanna might have been grateful for the short reprieve, but anything to do with Mr. Blash was going to get her ire up.
The man had stolen from them. Lied to her.
Even when she’d told him that her mother was starving, he had not confessed to his crime nor provided the funds to feed the family, convincing Johanna to sell herself instead.
If not for Matthew, she could not imagine what straits she and her family might be in now.
She was not certain he would have even given her the money he’d promised from Mr. O’Connell’s payout.
Whatever news the Duke of Ormonde had brought of Mr. Blash, she wanted to know.