Chapter 44
Cynthia
A cage, though adorned with pretty things, is still a cage. I look over at Charles as he prepares for the day, a heavy sigh flitting from my lips. He glances at me through the mirror and frowns.
After a moment, he turns to look at me. “You seem unhappy, my dear. Whatever is the matter?”
“I long to leave. I have been cooped up in this house for several days now.”
Charles goes back to fixing his cravat and smirks at me in the mirror. “Have you tired of me already? Is my cum not spilling from you even now as you sit there?”
Heat spreads across my face as I turn and hide the soft smile. “No. I am not tired of you. But I do wish to go make some calls. I miss my friends terribly. We’re nearing the end of The Season, and I worry we will not see each other until next year.”
“Ahh. So you wish to cause more mischief. Is that what I’m hearing?”
With a soft laugh, I lean back against the pillows. “Still holding that against me even though your brother and Anne dine at our house now nearly every evening? I feel as though your bruises were worth it.”
“Hmmmm,” he growls as he comes over to kiss me. “Yes, but your care and treatment of them after was far better.”
“What treatment?” I giggle. “You act as if my slick has magical properties.”
He shrugs. “They’re nearly gone, aren’t they?” With another sigh, I look out the window. “My darling. I don’t like to see you so down. What if your friends were to come here? The weather is rather nice out. A garden tea wouldn’t go amiss.”
My lips part into a wide smile as I slide out from the bed, pull my wrapper around, and head to the desk. “It will be just the thing.”
As I pen my letters, I glance back over at Charles. Something is wrong. Normally, the bond has a nice, solid hum to it. Today, it almost jangles.
“My love?” I say as I set down the quill and walk over to his side. “What’s wrong?”
He gathers my hand in his. “I’ve not wanted to tell you this. It’s all rather silly, but now that we’re bonded, it’s harder for me to keep unpleasant matters from you.”
“Then tell me. Please. I’d rather know than to feel your unease with no words to explain it.”
“I have been receiving letters. Threatening letters. They involve you.”
I jerk back from him as ice floods my veins. “Why?”
“That, I don’t know. I can surmise they wish to harm me through you.”
“But who would want to do such a thing?”
A heavy sigh flits through his lips. “That’s what none of us can figure out. Until we do, however, I’ve been keeping you here where you’re safe.”
“I see. How long?”
He leans over and kisses the top of my head.
“The notes have been steady for over a year, but recently, they started targeting me and then you. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.
I know you do not wish to be bound to this town house, but just give us a little while longer to figure things out. ”
As I nod, he slips from my hands, and I go to finish the letters. My heart feels heavy as I request for all of them to come. At least he’s not trying to separate me from my friends. Besides, I can really use the distraction now that I know the true cause.
My heart flutters with happiness as all the wives crowd in around me. They greet me with smiles, well wishes, and hugs all around. Little Thomas even coos as he reaches his chubby little hands out to me. With a grin, I take him from Teresa and hold him in my lap.
“He’s been inconsolable without you,” she laughs. “Poor thing looks about the parlor every time I bring him down there. I can’t even walk by anymore without tears springing to his eyes.”
“Be honest,” Joseph says. “You’re just wanting someone who is willing to watch him so you can have the night off.”
“Well, who wouldn’t with a husband like you?”
The other men groan as he leans in to kiss her.
I hoist little Thomas up a bit higher, holding him close as I breathe in his smell. “Well, I don’t mind having him come visit whenever he likes. Such a charming little gentleman.”
“The child is certainly charming, but his emissions certainly are not.”
Lewis strides by with the massive vase in his hands from yesterday. “Emissions never are. Doesn’t matter the age.”
When he sets it down on a nearby table, Charles strides over. “Ah. The winnings. I had quite forgotten about that in the midst of such excitement yesterday.”
“I figured as much,” he laughs. “We have, of course, taken out the other notes and returned them to the wives so that they may spend them. I figured you’d want the vase.”
“I’m quite good without it.”
“Come now,” he chides with a soft chuckle. “It’s a family vase.”
“Then wouldn’t it look good in your house?”
“Gentlemen,” I laugh as I slide in between the two of them. “This is not Gentleman Jackson’s. The ladies and I will take tea in the garden. Be sure not to tear the house apart while we’re gone.”
Charles gives me an indulgent smile as he brings me close. “You heard the duchess.”
“We heard,” the men murmur as they go back toward Charles’s study.
Worry gnaws at my insides as we step into the cool, crisp air and sit at the nearby tables.
Once the maids set out the tea and snacks, they go back inside so that we may have a bit of privacy.
The others carry on, still laughing about and planning the sheer shifts they plan to surprise their husbands with.
“Penelope said there is to be a gathering at Midsummer,” I offer. “Perhaps we should all purchase a few scandalous bits and baubles made with this miracle fabric and wear them there. Won’t it be a lark if they talk with one another, speaking of our daring and prowess only to have it be us all?”
Augusta, of course, finds the most joy in this plan. She claps her hands in excitement as she takes up the charge, leading the conversation. I, on the other hand, sit and mull over what Charles told me this morning. I clutch little Thomas close, holding him as I bounce a bit.
“Cynthia,” Teresa calls out. “Are you well?”
“As well as I can be, I suppose.”
“Are you worried about the letters?” she asks, her face taking on a sympathetic smile.
The others take on a somber appearance, causing a flare of irritation to slide down my spine and wrap around my insides. “You all knew?”
They nod.
“And I didn’t until today.”
“To be fair,” Augusta chimes in, taking a cup of tea from one of the servants. “Things like this have been going on for far longer than you’ve been married. They’ve just been targeting you now.”
“I suppose. It does still feel wrong to not have heard a whisper of it.”
Emma steps forward, her eyes shining as she holds out her hands. “Might I share in the love of little Thomas?”
Teresa looks over at her, a soft smile easing across her face. “Still not with child?”
Emma bites her lip and shakes her head. “It’s not from lack of trying, you understand,” she says as a light blush fans her face.
“Trust me,” Augusta laughs. “We all understand.”
I glance over at Anne, taking in the odd expression on her face, but soon find myself distracted as Teresa pulls out her reticule and brandishes a small gun. We all gasp, and Emma turns a bit, shielding Thomas with her body.
With a wry smile, Teresa displays the small weapon. It’s beautiful with what looks like pearl inlay on the handle. “Joseph wants me to be safe, especially with Thomas around.”
“I can understand that,” I muse. “But how is it that you can be in possession of such a thing?”
“I offered to carry around a sword, since rapiers are more what I’m comfortable with, but Joseph insisted it was unwieldy. This was the compromise.”
She hands it off to Catherine, who holds it by the butt as she passes it to Augusta, who looks at it with utter delight.
The women chatter amongst themselves, passing the gun around to everyone but Emma as I settle back into my seat, nearly done with my tea.
It does my heart good to see all my friends gathered in one spot.
“Tell me, since we’re all revealing secrets,” I laugh. “Did you all know about my wedding?” They nod their heads, eyes sparkling with happiness.
“Norhaven sent word to all of us on Thursday,” Emma says before making a silly face at Thomas, causing him to laugh.
I turn to Teresa, my face twisted in mock outrage. “You knew?” I ask. “That morning you had me regale you with the tale. You knew?”
“Guilty,” she giggles as she sips her tea. “And I did such a good job at hiding it all. You had not a clue.”
“Not one.”
“Would you like some more tea, Your Grace?” a maid asks at my side.
I jump a bit at the intrusion, so preoccupied that I didn’t realize anyone had come back outside. The voice is unfamiliar to me, causing me to turn and look at them. Odd. I thought I had met everyone in the household. “Are you new to our employ? I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”
In an instant, she’s behind me, knife at my throat. Only the displacement of air tells me she truly moved. My heart pounds in my chest as the sharp edge meets my delicate skin. As much as I long to cry out through the bond, I find myself stuck in fear, unable to do anything.
The others cry out, their voices ringing about my ears, but soon quiet as she digs the blade in deeper. My pulse races as I drag air in and out of my lungs. After a few moments, spots dance before my eyes, clouding my vision.
I am to die like this? Before I ever even lived?
“Why?” I ask, my voice shaky, barely audible. If I am to leave this world, I would like to know what crime I committed. It’s only fair.
“Why?” she repeats. “Why indeed. Your husband would rightly know. He has the missives. All of them do.”
“Y- you know who’s been sending the letters then?”
Her hand falters just a touch before she readjusts her grip. “You still haven’t figured it out, have you? I am the one. I have been the one keeping your men in a grip of terror as they searched all over London.”
“That’s not possible,” I rasp out, doing my best to keep her distracted as the gun continues to switch hands.