Chapter 26 #2
By three o’clock, Violet and Theodore had not yet returned from their walk, Eric had not appeared on the road, and the unease beneath Adelaide’s ribs had sharpened into something she could no longer dismiss as impatience.
“Your Grace?”
Adelaide looked up from the letter she had been pretending to read.
Mrs. Graves stood just inside the morning room door, hands folded neatly before her apron. There was something uncertain in her expression, though not enough to alarm Adelaide immediately.
“Yes?”
“Mrs. Sullyard is outside.”
Adelaide frowned. “Outside where?”
“Near the west gate, Your Grace. She sent word that she wishes to speak with you privately.”
That made even less sense. “Why has she not come in?”
Mrs. Graves hesitated. “She said it concerned His Grace.”
Adelaide straightened. “What about him?”
“I don’t know, Your Grace. Only that it has to do with the business in London.”
Everything else disappeared beneath that, and Adelaide pushed back her chair. “Did she say what happened?”
“No. Only that it was important, and she did not wish to discuss it before the household.”
That should have sounded wrong, and later, Adelaide would know that. But Loretta Sullyard had never in her life possessed enough discretion to avoid an audience when one was available.
If she had learned something concerning Eric, she would ordinarily have swept into Wolverton’s drawing room wearing concern like jewelry and made certain everyone understood she possessed information no one else did.
The thought that Loretta might now know something connected to Eric’s sudden departure was enough to sweep every ordinary question aside.
“Elise.”
The child looked up from the book she had been examining on the carpet.
“I need you to remain here with Mrs. Graves for a little while.”
Elise frowned. “Where are you going?”
“Only outside.”
“Is Eric home?”
“No.”
Her disappointment was immediate. “I thought perhaps he was.”
“So did I.”
Adelaide crossed to her and bent to kiss the top of her head. “I won’t be long.”
Elise caught her sleeve. “Promise?”
Adelaide smiled. “Promise.”
The promise would haunt her before the hour was over.
She followed Mrs. Graves through the entrance hall and toward the side door rather than the main steps. The western path curved behind a stand of old yews before reaching the smaller gate used by tradesmen and tenants who preferred not to approach the formal drive.
“Did she come alone?”
“I believe so.”
“You believe so?”
Mrs. Graves looked faintly embarrassed. “One of the stable lads brought the message. He said her carriage was waiting beyond the gate.”
Adelaide’s pace slowed. “Why beyond it?”
“I don’t know, Your Grace.”
Another small wrongness that was not enough to stop her, but enough to notice. Adelaide rolled her eyes as she pushed through the side door.
She would never come to Eric with so little information.
Warm air met her immediately, carrying the scent of clipped grass and late roses. The grounds looked peaceful. Too peaceful, perhaps. A groom crossed the far edge of the stable yard. Somewhere near the kitchen garden, someone laughed.
Mrs. Graves remained behind. “Shall I come with you, Your Grace?”
Adelaide almost said yes, then pride, haste, and anxiety made the decision for her. “No. Stay with Elise, please. If Violet returns, tell her where I’ve gone.”
Abigail dipped her head. “Yes, Your Grace.”
Adelaide started toward the gate. By the time she reached the yews, she could see the carriage waiting on the road beyond the boundary wall, and Loretta stood beside it. At least, Adelaide thought it was Loretta.
The woman wore a pale traveling cloak and a bonnet pulled low enough to shadow most of her face.
“Loretta?”
She turned and relief touched her features. “Thank God you have come,” she said and hurried forward several steps.
Adelaide’s unease sharpened. “What happened?”
“It’s Eric.”
Those two words pulled her forward despite everything. “What about him?”
Loretta looked toward the carriage. “There’s been a difficulty with the London matter. Atlas sent word.”
Adelaide’s stomach tightened. “What difficulty?”
“I don’t know all of it.”
“Then what do you know?”
Loretta wet her lips. “Adelaide, perhaps we should speak inside.”
“Inside where?”
“The carriage. I have papers.”
Adelaide looked past Loretta at the door that stood open. No footman waited nearby. No driver was visible from this angle. Every instinct she had ignored for the last five minutes suddenly rose at once.
“No.”
Loretta blinked. “Excuse me?”
“Bring the papers into the house.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because—”
A movement sounded behind Adelaide, and she turned.
Too late.
A hand clamped over her mouth.
The other locked around her waist.
Adelaide drove her heel backward blindly and connected with something solid enough to draw a curse.
She bit down hard.
The man swore again and jerked his hand away.
Adelaide screamed. “Help—”
Something struck the side of her shoulder as another man seized her arm.
Loretta stumbled backward. “For God’s sake, be careful!”
“Get the door!”
Adelaide twisted violently. “Let go of me!”
One man caught both her wrists, and the other hauled her toward the carriage. She kicked, clawed, and caught fabric beneath her nails.
“Loretta!”
Loretta went white. “Stop fighting.”
Adelaide stared at her. “What?”
“Stop fighting, you’ll only make it worse.”
Rage cut cleanly through fear. “You planned this?”
“No—” But her answer came too quickly. “No, I did not.”
“Then call them off!”
Loretta said nothing, and that silence told Adelaide everything she needed to know, and she fought harder.
One of the men nearly lost his grip. “Hold her!”
“I am holding her.”
Adelaide drove her elbow backward, and the man behind her grunted. For one glorious second, his arm loosened. She tore free of one hand and lunged toward the gate.
She managed three steps before a forearm caught around her middle and dragged her backward so abruptly the breath left her lungs.
“No!”
She reached for the stone pillar, but her fingers scraped uselessly across it. “Help! Somebody! Help!”
The carriage door opened wider, and Loretta stood beside it, trembling now. “This wasn’t supposed to be difficult.”
Adelaide stared at her. “Then you should not have chosen me.”
One of the men swore, and the next moment, Adelaide was shoved inside. She struck the opposite seat hard enough to jar her teeth. Before she could recover, one man climbed in after her while the other slammed the door.
Adelaide lunged immediately, and the man caught her shoulders. “Sit down.”
“Go to hell.”
He forced her back.
Loretta climbed in last, and the carriage jerked into motion. Adelaide heard the wheels bite into the road, and the estate wall disappeared past the window. Her heart hammered so violently she could barely hear anything else.
“Where are you taking me?”
Loretta looked at the floor. “Somewhere safe.”
Adelaide laughed humorlessly. “You may wish to improve your definition.”
“Atlas said—” Loretta stopped.
Adelaide’s entire body went still. “Atlas?”
Loretta looked up, and Adelaide saw the answer.
“Of course.”
“You don’t understand.”
“I understand perfectly.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Then try to explain it.”
Loretta’s mouth tightened. “Your marriage is a sham.”
Adelaide almost smiled. Almost. “You brought men onto Wolverton land and had me forced into a carriage because you think my marriage is a sham?”
“It is.”
“According to whom?”
Loretta looked away, and Adelaide leaned forward despite the man beside her. “According to your husband?”
Silence.
Adelaide’s fear focused in on Loretta. “What has he told you?”
Loretta’s expression hardened. “That you’ve manipulated Eric. That you’ve turned him against people who have known him all his life. That you’re making a fool of him with Theodore while planning to secure whatever you can from the marriage.”
Adelaide stared at her. “And you believed that?”
“I saw you with Theodore.”
“You saw what you wished to see.”
Loretta flushed. “You always think yourself cleverer than everyone.”
“No. Only cleverer than people who lure women toward unmarked carriages because a man told them to.”
Loretta flinched, and Adelaide sat back.
The man beside Adelaide shifted. “Enough talking.”
***
Back at Wolverton, Mrs. Graves had returned to the entrance hall after seeing Adelaide disappear beyond the yews.
She waited several minutes before remembering the second instruction.
The letter.
Atlas had given it to her that morning with an air of embarrassment, explaining that it concerned the unpleasant accusations raised at dinner.
He had said the duchess ought never to see it first. Better that His Grace examine the proof privately upon his return and decide whether it deserved attention.
Mrs. Graves had disliked the whole business, but she had also heard enough household whispering to know something had happened between the duke and duchess after dinner.
And Atlas was family.
She had therefore accepted the sealed envelope.
Now, remembering his exact instructions, she climbed the stairs to Eric’s study.
The room was empty.
Mrs. Graves crossed to the desk and placed the letter precisely where Atlas had requested, beneath the silver paperweight near the center blotter so His Grace could not possibly miss it.
The duchess’s handwriting had been imitated well enough to deceive at a glance, but not well enough to survive careful scrutiny.
The words inside were worse.
They spoke of a marriage entered for convenience and endured beyond patience. They spoke of regret and shame, and of being unable to continue the deception.
And then, near the end, came the line meant to destroy whatever remained after her disappearance.
I have had enough of this life and of pretending I belong in it. Do not look for me. By the time you read this, there will be nothing left to find.
Mrs. Graves adjusted the envelope once, and then she left the study and closed the door behind her.