“You are wrong in your thinking that anything untoward has transpired between us.”
“You call kissing stable hands appropriate? Your parents will not agree.”
“How do you…” The question hung on her lips unfinished as her mind grasped for answers. “You have been watching me.”
“I have people to do such trivial things for me.” The Dowager Marchioness waved away her accusations as if they were nothing.
Diana did not know what to say to that. She was confounded by the lengths to which the Dowager Marchioness was willing to go in seemingly all aspects of her life. Unable to say anything that would not make the situation worse, Diana was grateful when the Earl and Marquess entered the room.
“Shall we break the fast?” the Marquess asked politely, as his eyes took in the tense situation between them.
“Of course,” the Dowager Marchioness answered, sweeping past them as if nothing at all had happened.
Diana, not quite ready to sit across from the Marchioness and pretend that everything was well between them, pardoned herself on the excuse of going to look in on her sister. She climbed the stairs and turned to see how Georgette was recovering from her headache of the night before, when Frances emerged from Diana’s bedchamber. Her face was white, her lips clamped in fear.
“What has happened?” Diana asked, rushing toward her in concern.
“The papers are gone,” Frances breathed shakily.
“I have them.” Diana pressed her hand against the fabric of her gown where she had hidden the papers.
Frances breathed a sigh of relief, but the frown did not leave her face. “The Dowager Marchioness has been watching you.”
“I know. She just admitted it.”
“Do you think that she knows about the papers?”
“I do not know. There is no way to be certain, but I have a feeling that if she did, she would have destroyed them already.”
“Then there is still hope for the both of you.”
“The both of us? To whom are you referring?”
“I believe that I have found the missing boy from the letters.”
Diana’s brows arched in surprise. “I thought you said that no one within the manor house staff fit the description?”
“They did not, but he is not of the household staff.”
“Who?”
“Sarah’s brother, David.”
“The groom?”
Frances nodded her head excitedly. “Yes.”
“What causes you to believe this?”
“I went to take your letter for David to deliver to your parents at Kilgrave and instead I found Gabriel recovering in David’s room.”
“You saw Gabriel? How did he look?”
Frances gave Diana a look that said she disapproved of the interruption.
“He is improving. It was from Gabriel that I learned that David was brought to Wales from Westwallow when he was quite young to live with his uncle.”
“That alone does not determine his paternity.”
“No, it does not, but I then went and spoke with David. He said that the midwife was not his natural mother but he had been placed in her charge after his true mother died.”
Diana frowned. “But if David is the late Marquess’ son, then why would the midwife say that the Dowager Marchioness had murdered the babe? Surely, Sarah would know the truth of her own brother’s birth.”
Frances’ excitement dimmed a bit at this. “I do not know. Perhaps she lied to protect him.”
“That is a terribly bold lie, to accuse a noblewoman of murdering a baby.”
“The letters say that the Dowager Marchioness did try to murder the babe. It would not have been a leap of imagination to claim that she had succeeded.”
“Perhaps not, but the Dowager Marchioness would know the truth of the matter and if it was a lie. Such a lie would not protect the boy from her wrath. I am not saying that you are wrong, but I am also not convinced that he is the one we seek.”
“There is only one way to know for certain.”
Diana nodded. “When my father arrives, he and the Earl of Appley can act as the proper noble witnesses to the unsealing of the legitimization documentation. They can then confront the Dowager Marchioness and the Marquess, together if necessary. I greatly dislike thinking that the Marquess would be a part in something such as this, but I suppose that his father gave him little choice.”
“He was so young to be placed with the charge of a secret such as this. I do not envy him the position of carrying such a burden.”
“Nor do I.”
“Should we not give him the opportunity to explain himself before publicly humiliating him?”
“I would gladly do so, as I have grown quite fond of Ernest, but we cannot risk that he will put his mother above the truth.”
“It could be days before your parents are able to arrive.”
“Then we must continue to guard the secret until then, not letting on to anyone that we know anything.”
“That is not going to be a simple matter with what we have learned.”
“No, but we must do it.”
“Will you be telling Lady Georgette?”
“No,” Diana shook her head. “She does not need to bear any more disappointment than what she has already endured. We will wait until we know the full truth of the Marquess’ involvement before we declaim his honor.”
“So, we are alone. What if something should happen to either of us? Should there not be someone else who knows what we know? Someone who will be able to tell the truth in our stead?”
“The Dowager Marchioness is not going to murder us in our beds, Frances.”
“She had every intention of murdering a newborn babe still warm from its mother’s breast. It is quite clear that she is not beyond committing such a sin.” The look on Frances’ face told Diana that she truly believed the Dowager Marchioness was fully capable of killing them both if she thought that they knew the truth.
“Is there anyone that you can trust to tell, to help keep us safe? The Earl of Appley, perhaps?”
“No,” Diana shook her head. “He is friends with the Marquess and would feel honor bound to inform him of the accusation.”
“Then there is no one?” Frances looked truly terrified and Diana’s heart went out to her.
“I will understand if you wish to return to Kilgrave Manor without me. I can ask Georgette to return with you under the guise of her health.”
“No, My Lady. I could never leave you. Remove the thought from your mind.”
Diana smiled. “I could not ask for a better or more loyal friend.”
“Always, My Lady.”
“There is one person that we can trust.”
“Who?”
“Gabriel.”
Chapter 35
“Gabriel? Are you certain, My Lady.” Frances looked at her doubtfully.
“I am.”
“Then you should go now while no one else is with him and the Dowager Marchioness is occupied in the dining room. I will stand guard and make certain that no one follows you.”
“Then let us go quickly before we are discovered.”
Frances nodded and the two girls slipped back down the stairs and out of the door as quietly as they could manage. She showed Diana the way to David’s room where Gabriel was recovering, then went to stand at the door to keep watch as Diana climbed the stairs to the small hallway above. When she reached the top, she paused in front of the designated door and knocked.
“Enter,” Gabriel’s voice beckoned from beyond.
Opening the door, she stepped inside of the dimly lit room and took a moment to allow her eyes to adjust. She could just make out his features through the gloom and her heart went out to him for being relegated to such an undesirable state. The room smelled of horses and hay and the dust of it hung in the air, musty and stale.
“You should not be forced to recover in such a place as this.”
“It could be much wor
se, My Lady,” he chuckled, then grunted from the pain of the motion.
“This is my fault.” Diana moved forward to kneel beside his bed and took his hand in her own.
“I was shot by brigands. How is that your fault?”
“Not the shooting,” she shook her head. “Your being relegated to the stables is my fault. The Dowager Marchioness had me followed at Westwallow. She knows about us.”
Gabriel frowned. “Are you well? Has she done anything to punish you because of me?” His eyes traveled over her features as if reassuring himself that she was indeed unharmed.
“I have not been physically harmed, but I am being forced to wed the Earl of Appley or you and your entire family will be displaced.”
“Do not do it for us. We will find another way to survive. Return home to Kilgrave where your family can protect you.”
“It is not just that. My maid Frances and I have discovered something terrible about the Dowager Marchioness and I cannot in good conscience leave here without the truth being revealed.”
Gabriel’s frown of concern deepened. “What it is? What have you discovered that could be so terrible that you would risk your future happiness to see it brought into the light?”
“It is quite possible that she murdered someone.” Diana thought that it would be best to start with the worst of it and explain the rest from there.
“What? Who?” Gabriel demanded to know, attempting to sit up in his bed in spite of the pain that Diana knew he was in.
“It has been said that the Dowager Marchioness murdered a baby, but I do not know if she succeeded.”
“Nonsense,” Gabriel shook his head in disbelief. “She can be difficult, but she would never harm an innocent babe. Why would she? Who told you such a lie?”
“The maid Sarah told my maid Frances the story.”
“It is below stairs gossip for easily frightened maid servants to scare each other with.”
“It is not,” Diana shook her head. “There are letters from the late Marquess that prove that the Dowager Marchioness did, indeed, attempt to murder a newborn babe.”
Gabriel’s eyes grew sharp and piercing. He had great respect for the late Marquess and could not so easily dismiss his words as he could idle chatter.
“Tell me everything.”
“Are you familiar with the maid servant Sarah of whom I speak?”
“Yes, David’s sister,” he nodded in confirmation.
“There was a maid who used to work at Westwallow Manor that would travel with the family when they came to Wales, just as Sarah used to do before coming to live with her brother. Sarah said that it was this maid who caught the eye of the former Marquess and that sometime later the maid became with child.”
“With the Marquess’ child?” Gabriel asked in disbelief. “I thought him a more honorable man than that. Are you certain?”
“The letters that I found confirm Sarah’s story.”
“Go on,” Gabriel nodded his head solemnly for her to continue.
“The letters say that the Dowager Marchioness discovered the truth and when the babe was born, a son, that the Dowager Marchioness took it with the intention of killing it with her own two hands.”
“I find all if this terribly difficult to believe. Are you certain that the letters were truly from the Marquess?”
“I am certain, and I know that Sarah was quite convinced about her story as well.”
“And where are these letters now?”
Diana blushed, but lifted the fabric of her gown and pulled out the letters. She handed them to Gabriel, and he squinted a them in the dim light.
“I cannot make out the words in this light, but that is indeed the late Marquess’ handwriting.” He handed the letters back to her and laid back against the pillow, closing his eyes against the pain of his shoulder.
“First tell me what Sarah said, then tell me what the letters say. If we are going to keep you safe, we must know what the servants believe, as well as the truth itself.”
Diana nodded, took a deep breath, and began to tell Gabriel the maid’s story word for word as it was told to her by Frances. She told him about how the late Marquess of Westwallow’s marriage to the Dowager Marchioness had been arranged and that neither party had had any say in the matter whatsoever. She told him that in all the years that the noble couple were wed that they had never once loved each other, her heart breaking for them as she said the words.
“And that is the same fate that she would curse you with?” Gabriel growled in disapproval.
“It appears to have been an open arrangement wherein the rules were well known to everyone involved. The marriage was one of convenience, a business endeavor between their families, to expand their respective fortunes.”
“All brides hope for love no matter the marriage arrangement, do they not?”
Diana shrugged her shoulders.
“According to Sarah, neither the Marquess nor the Marchioness expected wedded bliss. The Marchioness was expected to produce an heir as quickly as possible and she did. The moment that the Dowager Marchioness was with child, it is said that she refused the Marquess her bed.” Diana blushed deeper at this and Gabriel smiled, reaching up to caress her cheek.
“Under the guise of the unborn babe’s health and safety, no doubt?”
Diana nodded. “That is what she said. Once Ernest was born, the Marchioness had no more use for the Marquess, and she made the separation permanent. It is believed that they never shared another single loving moment between them from that day forward.”
“The Marquess had his heir and that was all that mattered to society. To people such as they, love is of little importance.”
Diana nodded. “I am familiar with the mindset.”
Gabriel winced at the reminder. “I am sorry. I forget that you are of their people.”
“It is of no concern,” she shook her head, her heart breaking at the reminder of the social rift between them.
“Go on with your story,” he urged gently, his thumb caressing her cheek in soothing repetition.
“A few years after Ernest was born, a long-time maid to the family died, I do not know her name, and a new maid was hired to take her place. The new maid’s name was Caroline and was rumored to have been a beauty beyond compare. According to tales whispered among the staff here and at Westwallow, the late Marquess fell madly in love with this new maid, besotted by her beauty, along with her kind and gentle nature.”
“An intoxicating combination for any man,” he smiled up at her lovingly.
Diana blushed and smiled. “Indeed.”
“These were qualities sorely lacking in the Marchioness, I would be willing to wager.”
Diana nodded. “From what I have witnessed of the Dowager and of what I have been told of this Caroline, she could not have been more opposite of the Marchioness if she had tried.”
“And starved for love and affection the late Marquess was helpless to resist her,” Gabriel sighed, his eyes telling Diana that he understood the feeling all too well.
Diana nodded again. “Love is difficult to resist.”
“It is impossible,” Gabriel agreed.
“The Marquess and the maid had a passionate affair that lasted several months, until Caroline became with child. The moment that she began to show, their secret affair was brought into question. The Marchioness, discovering her husband’s infidelity, commanded that Caroline be sent away from Westwallow immediately, but the late Marquess would have none of it and he kept her hidden away in a cottage somewhere on the estate.”
“How did he manage to do that without the Dowager killing him in his sleep, if she was of as murderous a mind as you say?”
“He justified his refusal to dismiss the maid on the grounds that he could not leave a woman, any woman, laden with child to fend for herself. Per the Marquess’ instruction the maid stayed at Westwallow and was tended by a midwife.”
“What happened then? How have I never heard this story?”
“In order to protect them both, Caroline swore that she would never disclose the true identity of her child’s father. Though the Marchioness and most of the servants believed the baby to have been the late Marquess’ child, they could never prove it for a certainty and so the maid was allowed to live on at Westwallow. She was kept in a separate cottage on the estate during the last few weeks of her confinement, away from the prying eyes of the staff and the fury of the Marchioness.”
The Enigmatic Lady in the Ivory Tower Page 23