.
As luck would have it, Zed’s man found the evidence they needed in order to keep Sarah’s mouth closed the night before Leah was set to leave for William’s estate.
Lying in bed, Leah listened and waited for the knock on her door. When it came, she got up and put on her shoes. She’d already been dressed and ready to go. She wore her last outdated gown, the only one William hadn’t ruined, and had been forced to pair it with her outdated chemise and corset as well, since the new ones wouldn’t line up correctly with her gown. Still, she’d had no choice if she didn’t want to draw attention tonight.
Zed was there with a single lamp. “The men are in the parlor. Let’s move quickly.” He took her hand, and they fled down the stairs and out the back door, leaving the lamp behind.
It was still cold in late March, but Leah could sense the warmth was soon to come or perhaps her optimism streamed from something else. They would finally be free. Still… “Do you think our plan to be… right?”
Zed didn’t stop, even as he gave her a hard look. “Do you think it right for her to blackmail our mother, us, and Julius?”
No, she didn’t.
“Don’t forget,” Zed said as they emerged from the side of the house and started down the quiet road. “She lives well off our money.”
That was true. Leah would never forget the elaborate fruit hat Sarah had been wearing that night at the observatory. “But we hardly make enough to buy her anything close to that dress she was wearing or that hat.”
“Perhaps we are not her only victims.” Zed turned a corner at the end of the road where it was busier and caught a hack. It was a luxury that they’d once again be able to afford, and it pleased Leah, though she hadn’t always minded walking.
Her brother seemed anxious, and she asked him about it.
“Lorena is determined to find out the truth about that night.” He’d been at the Ashwick residence for most of the week, because while he’d started as her butler, Zed had become part of the personal staff that attended Lorena when she wished to set out on her own. “We went to a dozen places, but no one had the answers she sought… thank God.”
Leah understood Lorena’s determination. Though had she not grown up with William, she wasn’t sure if she’d have understood what had driven those boys to commit the acts they did all those many years ago. Some people would think them savage. Leah knew otherwise. They were dangerous, certainly, but not carelessly so. “Let me see the letter again.”
Zed handed it to her without question.
In the shadows, she tried to read it again, but truly there was no need. She’d likely memorized the entirety of it. She simply wanted to hold it and make sure it was real. This was their way to breathing easy, the way they’d make sure Julius was never bothered again.
And perhaps that would finally take the shadows from his eyes.
And it would please her mother, rest her soul. Romina had taken on the punishment of Julius’ truth, so he could be free. She’d be glad to know that Leah and Zed had found a way to do so.
“This will all be over soon,” she said aloud.
When Zed didn’t join in her enthusiasm, she asked him a question that had been on her mind for some time.
“What did Julius say to you the day before we left for France?”
Zed was silent in the shadows. “I’d rather not tell you, Leah.”
“I’ll love Julius no matter what,” she promised. He was her cousin and had been scarred in the worst way.
“And while that may be,” Zed whispered. “I don’t know how you’ll feel about me once you know.”
That struck her to the core. Did her brother have a secret as well? She truly wished she remembered more about that night.
“I don’t think there is anything you could do that would stop me from loving you, Zed.” She placed a hand on his arm and then leaned her hand on his shoulder.
He covered her hand with his own. “And while I believe you, it still worries me, Tally. This is the plight of the married Men of Nashwood.”
She understood. “No one is perfect.”
“Yes, but some have fewer flaws.” He patted her hand before moving.
They arrived at their destination quicker than she’d have liked. Sarah Martin lived in Mayfair in a terrace that cost more per month than Leah made in a year. Her guilt fled as she realized Zed had to have been right. Romina couldn’t have been her only victim.
Zed helped her up the short steps and knocked.
Leah’s heart was racing even as a butler opened the door.
“Can I help you?”
“Is your mistress available?” Zed asked. “We’ve some news from Lord Reinburg.”
The butler, who might have closed the door on them, instead opened his eyes wide and allowed them entrance. “I’ll get Mrs. Douglas at once.” It was a false last name, but who would question it when she had so much money?
The interior of the house made Leah’s lips part. Silk wallpaper and golden fixtures covered the walls, while Persian rugs covered every corner.
They stood in the sitting room and neither took a chair, as though afraid of staining anything.
Footsteps were heard down the hall before Sarah appeared.
At seeing them, the blonde woman’s eyes widened, but then she narrowed them. “Why are you here? There’s no need to deliver my money in person.” She was draped in silks and enough precious stones to feed the House for years, and there was not a shred of guilt on her face.
Zed placed a hand on Leah’s shoulder when she took a step toward the woman. Any guilt she had about using the evidence she and Zed had found vanished.
Zed spoke calmly. “We’ve come to tell you that neither I nor Natalia will be sending you any more funds. You’re also forbidden from threatening Julius ever again.”
The woman smiled and lifted a brow. “I think not.” Then she motioned to a table in the room. “Place the money there or there will be consequences.”
“We’ll tell Julius,” Zed said. “And I’m sure you can imagine what he’ll do to you once he finds out.”
Sarah touched a stone at her throat then lowered her hand and straightened. “Julius can’t touch me. I’ve very powerful friends.”
“Is that how you’ve gained all this money?” Leah asked. “Along with blackmail? Who else funds your lavish existence?”
Sarah wrinkled her nose. “Oh, Natalia, you’re just jealous because you’re nobody now, and I have everything.” Then she smiled. “I never liked you. You were the worst mistress I ever served. Demanding and ungrateful. It was easy taking money from you.”
Shame colored Leah’s cheeks. She’d not known she’d been so terrible.
Zed tightened his hold on her shoulder but spoke to Sarah. “And our mother? Had she ever done anything to deserve what you did?”
Sarah’s eyes widened. “The money was Lady Romina’s idea. At first, I was going to blackmail Julius, but I sent the letter to your house because I didn’t want him to know it was from me. Then I found out that your house had been abandoned, but she must have had someone send all her correspondence to wherever you fled. I received a note with money. and she asked me to keep Julius out of it.” She touched the stone again, and Leah realized she recognized the jet stone.
“That belonged to my mother,” Leah said aloud.
Sarah shrugged. “She gave it to me fair.”
“Fair? You blackmailed her!” Leah was so angry she felt like weeping. Why had this woman destroyed her mother so?
Sarah looked away. “She deserved it. She knew the plan your father had set to take the title from Julius and said nothing.”
“No.” Leah wouldn’t believe that.
Sarah frowned. “Why do you think she felt such guilt?” Her blue eyes widened. “You didn’t know, did you?” Sarah’s laugh was harsh. “Your father promised to make her a marchioness. He’d planned to have Julius’ mother killed as well, but unfortunately, both Julius’ mother and his uncle died.”
The fragmented memories of Leah’s past floated before her eyes. She remembered her mother’s constant weeping and tears. There was no way she’d known about the blackmail. Her mother wasn’t driven by power or status. Romina had loved her husband. Leah knew it within her heart.
Leah turned to Zed. “Is she lying?”
Zed didn’t answer her because Sarah spoke again.
“She knew.” She paused for dramatic effect. “As did your brother.”
Since Leah was already staring at Zed, she didn’t miss his reaction to the news, and the worst sort of fear drew Leah’s skin taut, leaving her cold. “Lorenzo?”
Her brother’s blue eyes were sad. “I knew, but it wasn’t anything like Sarah implies.” He pulled her closer. “I found out that night and tried to stop our father, but he kept promising the family would be better off with Julius gone.”
“Why didn’t you warn Julius?” Leah asked.
“I did,” Zed said and looked away. “And that was when Julius vowed that if I got involved any further, whatever our father’s fate was would also be ours.”
The blood rushed from Leah’s bones. “Ours?”
Zed slowly nodded. “You, me, and our mother.”
How had she not known any of this? Had she truly been that blind to her surroundings?
Of course, she had, because rarely had Natalia cared about anyone’s feelings but her own. She hated the girl she’d been. “Our mother knew?”
“I believe she’d known for some time. She was against it and prayed often,” Zed said. “She prayed God would stop our father, but she never stepped in to stop him.”
But she’d not done more than pray, her brother was saying. Leah knew without asking. It had been guilt money all along and Zed had known.
She broke from his hold and when he reached out to her, she held up her hands. “No, I need to think about this for a moment.” Zed’s heart seemed to break in his eyes, but there was simply too much information coming at her at once. She heard a laugh then and turned to the smiling Sarah. Finding the strength to end this horrible night, she fisted her hands. “You will tell no one of that night or you will regret it.”
“How?” Sarah asked with impatience. She’d had her fun and was ready to see them out.
“Jesse,” Leah said.
Their host stilled. “What does my son have to do with this?”
Now it was Leah who smiled cruelly, though she didn’t feel very cruel at all. Her heart was broken, and she felt as though she would vomit at any moment. Still, she held onto the act, a performance that would probably be her greatest yet. “Jesse,” she whispered as she walked over to Sarah. “Who could the poor boy’s father be? Is it Lord Reinburg? It does make sense. After all, you do receive money for his upbringing from him. Am I right?”
Sarah kept her face emotionless. “He’ll not care if word gets out. He loves Jesse and visits often.”
Leah hesitated at that information. Hearing that Jesse was loved broke her, and she realized she didn’t want to go on. She couldn’t.
But Zed had no qualms. “Does Lord Hilltower also visit the boy you tell him is his son?”
Sarah turned to Zed and, for the first time, there was real fear in her eyes.
Zed came to stand at Leah’s side. “Can a child have two fathers? They both send him money. Perhaps it’s possible then.”
Sarah hadn’t only been blackmailing the poor but had found other ways to dress herself and the stately home she lived in.
Sarah closed her eyes and took a breath. “Very well. I won’t say a word.”
Zed nodded.
But there was more.
“We’ll not say a word either,” her brother went on, “but just in case you think to end one of your relationships in lieu of the other and find it safe to blackmail us again, just know that we know who Jesse’s true father is.”
Sarah looked amazed. “It’s Lord Reinburg.”
The illness Leah had felt taking over her stomach grew. She’d known that in order to ensure Sarah kept their secret, they would have to use something so vile that Sarah would never think to blackmail another man again.
But never had she thought it to include threatening the livelihood of a child. Never mind the money. It wasn’t often that lords cared for their bastards, but Reinburg visited Jesse. It hurt to do this, but all Leah had to remember was that she was also doing this for Sarah. A threat was better than the woman losing her life.
Leah straightened and knew it was time to finish this. “You keep telling yourself whatever is necessary, but it won’t ever be the truth. We are in possession of a letter you usually keep in a book underneath your mattress.”
“No.” Sarah touched the necklace again, which seemed to be the woman’s habit when she was bothered by something, but at Leah’s glare, she dropped her hand. “How did you break in? I should call a Runner.”
“Please do,” Zed dared. “There is so much to discuss.”
Sarah threw up her hands. “Very well, I’ll never say a word to anyone about what I saw that night.” Her lips trembled as she looked away and whispered, “I hardly like speaking about it anyway.”
“Tell Reinburg you lied,” Zed said. “It was a story you made up.”
“Tell his heir, Lord Henry, as well,” Leah added.
“Yes, yes, I’ll do anything.” Tears filled her eyes. “Just leave Jessie out of this. Don’t do this to the boy.”
That sorrow returned, and Leah started for the door. Zed could have the final words.
Ignoring the butler, she rushed from the house but came to a stop at the sight of William.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Is this where she lives?” William started up the stairs, and Leah could feel the growing violence and anger rising within him.
She tried to stop him, but he was too strong to contain. He swept past her and moved into the house. The butler was there and tried to prevent further progress, but with only a look from William, the man fled deeper into the house. He likely knew the criminal Sarah was and wished for no part of it.
“William, please, it’s been taken care of. She won’t harm him anymore.” She wrapped her hands around his arm, only to be dragged along.
Zed emerged from the sitting room and was surprised. “Sir William. We weren’t expecting you. Mrs. Wells and I were only—”