.
“Well?” Julius was sitting by the fireplace in the parlor and looked up at William’s entrance.
Earlier that morning, William had informed Morris, Francis, and Emmett of what he and Frank had discovered in Oxford. Frank had gone to Hugh’s house to tell the others.
“That woman, whoever she is, was in Oxford just days ago.” William stopped at the sideboard and stared down at the pale ebony liquid in the crystal decanter. Its golden hue was a stark reminder of Leah’s honey golden eyes.
“How do you know she was there?” Julius asked.
William decided against the liquor. Now that he had a house full of women to look after, he’d have to remain alert. He turned to Julius, who was sitting on the edge of his chair. This side of the house didn’t get much sunlight. Only the fireplace was lit, and Julius’ eyes, which danced the line between blue and violet, were currently a dark mixture of the two.
No one was more concerned about the rumors than he, for everything that had taken place eighteen years ago had been about him. If anyone would see prison, it would be Julius.
William moved to the chair opposite his friend. “Mrs. Wells was at the observatory the night we found S.D. She spoke to S.D. for a moment before fleeing.”
Julius' gaze moved toward the upper corner of the room as though he could see past the walls and into the room where Leah slept. The thought of it disturbed William in a way, be he ignored it.
Though he couldn’t help but remember the way Leah had dared to stare into his eyes and present her challenge. Blood had rushed to his loins, and only Zed’s presence had stopped William from climbing into that bed.
That, and the fact that she was likely a criminal… and married.
Though nothing about the woman who confronted him made sense. She'd dared him as though they were equals while she laid helplessly in bed with a war hero standing over her. Those eyes had not been the eyes of a woman who feared anyone, much less a man.
So, who was this Mr. Wells?
“I receive threats and a woman who knows this S.D. lives next door to Francis and Genie?” Julius asked with a shake of his head. “This is no coincidence.”
“No, it is not.” William placed an elbow on the armrest and his chin between his fingers as he thought. “Who do you think she is?”
Julius shook his head, and his gaze became unfocused. A sign that he was thinking and seeing something else. “Do you think she knows my Aunt Romina?”
That was a name that William had heard recently during the Brothers’ discussions on who they thought the blackmailer to be. Was it possible that Julius’ family was working with S.D.?
You’ve not heard from your aunt in years,” William said. Lady Romina had escaped the madness of that night long ago with her two children. “But if Lady Romina is behind this, she would have good reason to be.”
Julius ran a hand through his golden hair. “Perhaps I went too far when I began to take their lands from them until it was all mine. I thought taking my uncle’s legacy would satisfy me in some way, but it has not.” Then he looked at William. “It was not one of my better decisions.”
William agreed. He remembered those afternoons with Natalia in the wheat fields and remembered how the girl had found her mother crying whenever her father went off to see Julius’ mother.
What Natalia hadn’t known, and what William and his friends had, was that Lord August’s plan had been to kill Julius in order to take the title for himself. The Brotherhood had stepped in before any harm could come to their friend.
They’d been between the ages of twelve and fourteen when it happened. William recalled the blood and the lifelessness that had stared back at him from August’s eyes as he’d laid at the bottom of the stairs.
“Do you think about your cousins?” William asked.
Julius shrugged. “It’s been nearly twenty years. I’m sure they’ve both moved on with their lives. Everyone said Lorenzo and I favored one another and if that’s so, then I’m sure he’s married, though I regret my last words to him weren’t kind…” He shifted, becoming unsettled in his chair, and then went on. “I imagine Natalia to be married as well, though I hope Tally Cat has grown a better attitude by now.” He smiled even as he insulted his cousin. Tally Cat had been what Julius called her, saying she was just as feisty as an alley cat.
Did Julius imagine such good for his cousins because he felt such guilt about what he’d done to them?
William gave him a small smile. “If Tally is anything like she was as a child, I doubt any man is capable of taming her.” She’d not always been a nice girl, though William had never been able to leave her alone.
Perhaps he spent time with her because he’d rather eat at her house than Julius’. Lady Darvess had had poor taste in both men and food, and the dessert portion of her meals had been the worst. She liked to have her cook create puddings. Her favorite was prune and currant, and though William had pretended to enjoy it, the meal was forever a stain in his mouth.
“With a father like hers,” Julius said. “I’m not surprised she had the tendency to play both angel and devil.” Then he changed the subject. “Do you think Mrs. Wells knows my aunt? Do you think she’s the blackmailer?”
William thought that could be so. “Blackmailers, by all accounts, are usually selfish people who’d do nothing that would put their lives in danger for someone else’s benefit. Mrs. Wells walked into a street, ready to protect helpless women from a man more than twice her size.”
“A good point.” Julius rubbed his jaw. “But self is not the only reason one would stoop so low as blackmail.”
William narrowed his eyes. “Do you think she has family and is in need of the money?” The image of Leah with child came and went just as quickly. He shook his head. “I can’t imagine a woman like her leaving children to fend for themselves and, once again, she’d not place herself in danger if she had children to consider.”
“You’re right.” Julius shrugged and looked down where his hands rested on his stomach. “She was a fool to go after a man as large as Mr. James.”
William agreed. “Had I not been full of rage, I don’t think our fight would have ended so quickly.” Mr. James was a large man and had William not caught him off guard, things could have gone differently.
An enraged expression passed over Julius’ face. “Any man who would use his strength on a woman in such a way deserves to die violently.”
William agreed again. “We’ll protect all the women while we’re here and see no harm comes to them. How are they taking to you?”
“Fine,” Julius said. “It seems that you’ve won their eternal affection. They’ll allow any man in the house that you deem worthy.”
That was good to know. It would make his job easier.
Julius went on, “And before you ask, I would never proposition any of the women in this house. They’ve enough troubles as it is. There’s no need to add me as a burden.”
William nodded, though he decided to not make the same vow aloud. Leah’s golden eyes and soft skin still called him. She was not helpless in any way.
A blackmailer. She was causing his friends pain.
So, why couldn’t he steer his mind from thinking about sinking deep inside of her and feeling her delicate mouth part underneath his hard one? He wanted to watch her eyes burn for him, stroked to life with his bare hands.
How easy it would have been for Jasper James to have put that light out completely.
“She could have been killed,” William whispered and then realized he’d spoken aloud.
Julius stood. “Yes, think of how easily our problems would have been solved.” He started for the door.
“Where are you going?” William asked.
“To get Maura, so she can tell us all she knows about Mrs. Wells.” Julius was gone in a blink and with the door closed behind him, William began to think about what he’d seen that night at the observatory.
Closing his eyes, he remembered a mysterious woman following Lord Reinburg and then that same woman speaking with S.D. What had been said between them? Neither he nor Frank had a clue, but the conversation had not been friendly.
Perhaps S.D. had simply stepped on Leah’s toes… but he doubted it. He knew it was nothing more than wishful thinking on his part. He wanted her to be innocent so he could…
Could do what? Bed her?
She didn’t have to be an innocent for that to happen.
Maura stepped into the room right before William could let his thoughts go any further.
Julius offered her the chair he’d been using and barely let her sit before asking, “What do you know about Mrs. Wells?”
Maura looked at the two men and asked, “Why?”
William leaned forward. “She doesn’t seem like the others.”
Maura’s sigh of relief worried him. “I agree. She is nothing like the other women. She’s not…”
“Broken,” William said aloud. Though being strong didn’t necessary mean Mrs. Wells hadn’t gone through some hard situations. It simply meant she’d not let them destroy her. There was no more perfect strength than that.
Maura nodded rapidly. “Yes. That’s what I mean. She’s not even fragile in any way. She doesn’t seem to fear anything, and she enjoys Sudworth’s company. I’ve often caught them speaking.”
William stilled. “Are they…?”
Maura shook her head. “No. If they are, they are very good at hiding it, but when I see them together, I don’t get the feeling that they wish to know one another in that particular sense.”
Julius leaned on the back of her chair. “And what would you know about that particular sense?”
She craned her neck to look at him. “Much, actually.”
William turned away, unsure if he should be present for such a conversation.
Neither of them spoke for a very long time.
William cleared his throat and turned back around to find them both staring at him as though nothing had occurred. “What story did she tell to gain entrance here?”
Maura placed her hands on her lap. “She was born in Bergerac. Her father was a teacher. Her mother a housekeeper to a wealthy family. Eventually, she was sent to live with an aunt in Paris, where she was then tutored in Latin and English. But war forced her to return home and it was there she met Maine de Biran. He’s a French politician, though recently she claims he’d begun to study philosophy. She said it was under his hand that she found the love for such subjects herself. However, formal lessons on the matter were cut short when she fell in love with an Englishman named John Wells. They married and moved here last year, but now she is here.” She straightened. “When she first arrived, she shared a room like the other girls, but when her roommate left, I decided she could keep the room to herself. The women often turn to her for advice, and she’s a teacher. I’ve begun to see her as more staff than anything else.”
“But why?” Julius asked. “Why is she here?”
Maura looked at both men with a frown. “That is not for me to share. Anything that has happened between her and her husband must be shared by her.”
William glared. “Then why tell us anything about her at all?”
“So that you have something to help start your investigation,” she said as though the answer were obvious. “I know you’re not asking me questions because you are simply curious about her, and indeed, I find I want answers as well. The Spinsters are to have tea with her in a few weeks when Taygete is up to it. We hope she’ll open up to us—”
“Make a day of it then and head to the country. My house is only hours away. We’ll have dinner in the evening. The men will be invited as well.” And there everyone could meet and measure the possible blackmailer for his or herself.
“Your parents live there, don’t they?” Julius smiled. “And your sister?”
William narrowed his eyes but said nothing about his sister Naomi. Julius would never actually go after her. He was only trying to rile William. “My grandmother is there as well, and I’ve always thought her an excellent judge of character.” He adored his parents, though his mother knew how to enrage him like few others. It was his grandmother, Mercy, who made him decide to have this occasion at his own home. Mercy was a sage of wisdom.
Maura straightened. “I don’t understand. Why not simply have it here?”
“We need to trap her,” William answered. For at his home, she’d find no place to hide. He was miles from a city or village.
Maura’s eyes widened. “I don’t know if Mrs. Wells will agree to it.”
“Don’t give her a choice,” William said. “You told me that she teaches here. I assume Emmett and Lorena pay her for it. Tell her that the meeting is part of her employment. We’ll do it at my estate. It’s only a few hours’ drive from the city, and a fortnight will give the weather time to warm up.” The king had given him land when he’d been knighted. William went often since it wasn’t far. “There’s more than enough room for everyone.” And if they had to get rid of her, he didn’t want to do it in London.
“You think this necessary?” Maura asked.
Julius asked, “Why were you suspicious of her?”
Maura looked away. “That doesn’t really matter anymore. After today, I think her to be a lovely addition to the home. I simply want more information.”
Why Maura would like such a scandalous creature as Leah went without wonder. All the Spinsters had been scandalous at one point, committing enough acts to fill the daily paper. William was without doubt that he would be mentioned in tomorrow’s rag.
Maura was hiding something about Leah, and he suspected that had Leah not shown her dedication to the women in the house, Maura would have opened up. It was just William’s luck that Leah would injure herself for the House’s cause that very afternoon, though he had to admit he was benefitting from it as well. If the women would trust any man he brought into the home, then William planned to get two soldiers he knew he could trust to watch the house when he and Julius left for his estate in a few days. Even though he thought Leah the culprit didn’t mean he’d leave the house vulnerable.
“Why was she in Oxford a few days ago?” William asked.
Maura’s eyes widened. “I didn’t know where she’d gone. She only told me that she had to see a sick friend.”
William wondered who this sick friend was but was starting to see that all the answers he sought would have to come from the source himself.
Why it pleased him to think of gaining those secrets from her, he didn’t know, and neither did he care. Many predators enjoyed playing with their food before they devoured their meals. Why should he be any different?