A Brush with Shadows

by Anna Lee Huber

  Whether Gage could sense this, I didn’t know. He’d often teased me about being able to read my expressions like an open book. Whatever the case, he flashed me one of his smugly knowing looks, ever aware of his potent effect on me and every other female in near proximity. It was an expression certain to annoy me, and this time was no different.

  His eyes lit with a gleam that told me how much he enjoyed riling me, and he leaned close to murmur, “Don’t you know I’m the only one allowed to render your appearance to such a state?”

  My body flushed at the implication, and my breathing quickened even as I continued to scowl.

  “Whatever the cause, I hope it wasn’t as pleasant as I would have made it,” he added with a wicked grin.

  Had we been in our bedchamber, I’d no doubt how our exchange would have ended. But since we were standing in the middle of the drawing room with the door open, Gage kept his hands to himself, though not his gaze. I wasn’t sure that didn’t make our exchange all the more titillating because of it.

  I inhaled a deep breath. Two could play at this game. “I’ve been looking for you.”

  His pupils widened. “Have you?”

  I nodded, stepping nearer to smooth his already straight collar. “I was sorry to see you’d already risen from our bed before I woke.” I flicked my gaze up at him through my lashes.

  He inhaled a swift intake of breath and pressed a hand against the small of my back, drawing me ever closer. “Yes, well, that was my mistake.” The gust of his breath and the brush of his lips against the tender skin behind my ear nearly made me forget myself.

  But I hadn’t forgotten the words we hadn’t said to each other. The words that would be harder to say the longer they went unsaid.

  I pushed against his chest, reluctantly urging him to stop nuzzling the side of my neck. Evidently he’d forgotten where we stood. Or perhaps he didn’t care if we shocked his aunt or the staff.

  “I’m sorry I lost my temper yesterday,” I told him, growing serious again. “I should have recognized what talk of a curse would mean to you, to your mother’s memory.” I smiled sheepishly. “I think sometimes I become so determined to find the truth that I become blinded to the affect that truth might have on others.”

  Gage exhaled a long, slow breath, and lifted a hand to brush a stray tendril of hair back from my face. “But you weren’t wrong. It is something we should explore.” I could see how much it cost him to admit such a thing. He looked as if he would rather do anything else. And so he did. “But first, what did you think of Lady Juliana’s revelation of the mine partnership?”

  I shook my head at his blatant attempt to change the topic of conversation, but allowed him to do so. After all, the discussion of his mother and the curse was far too fraught to be conducted in such a public place. “I suspect, the same as you, that the partnership was the subject of that newspaper article Alfred dropped. The gardener did say he recognized the words Tavistock and Gunnislake, didn’t he? But I think your grandfather could tell us more.”

  “My thoughts precisely. What of Lady Juliana? Did you find her trustworthy?”

  “You spent far more time with her than I did. But from the little I observed, yes. She seems a caring, agreeable girl. And as terrible a match for Alfred as you feared.”

  His mouth flattened in sympathy. “I worry the duke is only interested in seeing her married off to someone with the right lineage. She’s but one of six daughters.”

  “Do you think the coronation was simply an excuse for the duke to remove her from the vicinity of Langstone Manor and whatever scandal might erupt now that he knows Alfred is missing?”

  “It’s probable.” He sighed. “Though royal events do require a great deal of preparation.”

  I studied his exasperated expression, trying to decipher what he wasn’t saying. Normally such a countenance meant only one thing. “I’m surprised your father hasn’t remarked on the coronation.”

  He grimaced. “He has. He’s been pestering me about it, insisting we return from ‘rustication’ in time to attend.”

  I frowned. Well, that explained Gage’s reaction to his father’s last letter. Lord Gage knew very well we weren’t off on some lark.

  “He said we’re to be special guests of the king.”

  My eyes widened. “Even me?”

  First the letter to Lord Tavistock praising me and now this. What was Lord Gage up to? Perhaps he was bent on reforming my image, for purely selfish reasons. But if I’d learned anything from my encounters with Gage’s father, it was that there were always hidden barbs.

  “Yes, well, William is a bit different from past monarchs,” Gage replied, linking my arm through his to guide me out to the hall.

  That was true. Much of society was all abuzz about the rights and privileges he’d recently bestowed upon the numerous illegitimate children he’d had with his longtime mistress, as well as the fact he included them in royal events.

  “I suspect if he has any interest in your past at all, it’s more out of curiosity than scorn,” he added. “Hammett, just the man I wanted to see,” he declared as the butler appeared before us. “Are you aware whether Grandfather is feeling well enough for visitors?”

  The butler’s expression was so sour, I wondered what on earth could have made him pucker so. “Aye, sir. Though . . .” He hesitated, looking at me. “Ye might want to retire to yer chamber first.”

  I stiffened, thinking at first he was disparaging my appearance.

  “Yer maid requested she see ye.” Hammett’s mouth barely formed around the words. His eyes darted to Gage. “Mr. Gage, too, if he’s available.”

  So this was what the old retainer found so distasteful. A servant beckoning her mistress to attend her. Such things weren’t done. But, of course, Gage and I weren’t normal employers, and Bree and Anderley weren’t merely servants.

  “Thank you, Hammett,” Gage said before leading me toward the stairs.

  We entered our bedchamber to find Bree puttering about the room. She never was one to sit idle.

  “Bree, you wanted to see us?” I asked.

  In answer, she dipped her head toward the connecting door. “This way.”

  I shared a look with Gage before we followed her.

  Upon seeing Anderley waiting for us, I assumed at first she was leading us into the other room because he also needed to be included in the conversation. After all, her waiting in Gage’s assigned chamber, particularly with his valet present, would have been highly improper. But when his eyes flicked to the side, bright with derisive humor, I realized he wasn’t alone. Before the wardrobe stood a fastidious man of middling height with an intricately tied cravat. He sported an impossibly trim waist that made me suspect he was wearing a corset.

  This was the man whom Anderley believed was responsible for playing pranks on us. I would never have guessed. And from the manner in which he stared down his nose at us all, I suspected he would sooner go to the gallows than admit his culpability.

  “This is Lord Langstone’s valet, Mr. Cooper,” Bree explained, offering the man a smile of encouragement. “He has something he wishes to tell ye.”

  He cleared his throat. “Yes. I . . .” He rocked forward on his heels before trying again. “In light of recent developments, I thought it best I inform you of what I know.” His eyes lifted to meet Gage’s and then mine. It was clear he didn’t wish to do so, but something had impelled him to trust us. I glanced at Bree. Or someone.

  “You’re speaking of Lord Langstone’s coat,” Gage inferred.

  “Yes, sir.”

  He nodded. “Go on.”

  Cooper’s eyes slid toward Anderley, rife with animosity. It was apparent he wished for the other valet to be sent away, and just as apparent Anderley was not about to be budged. “Lord Langstone confided in me that, for reasons of his own, he did not wish to marry Lady Juliana.�
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  I couldn’t decide whether to be irritated or amused at the valet’s dissembling. From everything I’d learned about Alfred, it was doubtful he was the type to take his servant into his confidence. It was far more likely that Alfred had grumbled about the matter, either too foxed or too angry to care that his valet heard.

  “However, Lord Tavistock and the Dowager Lady Langstone were eager for the match. Very eager,” he stressed. “I believe they were exerting some pressure on him to comply, but he said he was determined not to. He . . . he said he had other plans.”

  None of this was news to us except the last.

  “What plans?” Gage asked.

  Cooper straightened even taller. “I don’t know. He was quite secretive about them. But . . . I’m astute enough to comprehend they would not be welcomed by his lordship or her ladyship.”

  “You think they might have decided to stop those plans had they known about them?”

  “Maybe.”

  I wasn’t sure exactly what he was trying to imply, and I’m not sure he was either. But something about the situation must have worried him enough to bring it to our attention. I didn’t know how shrewd Cooper truly was, and I certainly wasn’t going to trust only his word on it. However, I did know that the body often sensed things that the mind could not necessarily explain. If his intuition had been strong enough to impel him to overlook his dislike for Anderley and Gage and share his suspicions, then I was inclined to listen.

  “But that’s not all.” He cleared his throat again more forcefully. “Lord Langstone was blackmailing someone. Perhaps they’re the person who did him harm.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  “I don’t know who,” Cooper hastened to say before Gage could ask. “But I believe it was someone in this house. He instructed me that if something untoward should happen to him, I was to retrieve some items he’d hidden underneath a loose floorboard in his chamber and destroy them. When I heard about the state of his frock coat, and that no other trace of him had been found, I decided I should follow his orders. But when I went to retrieve the items, they were already gone.”

  Gage and I stared at each other through much of this recitation, already acquainted with this hiding place.

  “Do you know what items he’d hidden?” Gage asked, and then before the valet could reply added sternly, “It’s important that you be honest with us. In order to help Lord Langstone, we need to know what he was concealing.”

  But Cooper shook his head sharply. “I don’t know. He never told me.”

  “Did you ever peek?”

  The valet drew himself up in affront. “Of course not.”

  Gage glared at him in challenge, but I pressed a hand to his arm, letting him know I believed the other man was being truthful. Cooper didn’t know.

  But I wondered if I did.

  I frowned, recalling the sight of the dowager kneeling before her fireplace, frantically burning those letters from Lord Gage. I’d not yet had time to do much investigating into the matter, but I’d not forgotten. But if they were the items Alfred had used for blackmail, why hadn’t she burned them as soon as she found them? She must have reclaimed them at least several days before, since the letters had already been missing from the hiding spot when Gage and I searched Alfred’s room. Or had she wanted to keep them, but grown fearful when Alfred’s bloody coat was found that Gage and I might discover them in the course of our inquiry?

  “Do either of you know what it was he might have hidden?” Gage asked, turning first to Anderley and then to Bree.

  Both shook their heads, though Bree’s appeared less than definitive. Once Gage looked away, her gaze met mine, telling me she had something she wished to share with me. If she’d uncovered the same thing I had, I could understand why she didn’t want to admit to it in front of Gage.

  “Perhaps Mrs. Webley knows,” Cooper suggested.

  Gage frowned. “The dowager’s maid?”

  “Yes. She’s been a servant here for longer than many of us.” He paused, but I could tell he had more to say. “And she has a decided talent at uncovering things the other servants wish she hadn’t.”

  I couldn’t decide whether he admired this about her or he was purely intrigued.

  “We’ll speak with her,” Gage said.

  Cooper bowed. “Then, if there’s nothing more . . .”

  “There is.”

  Gage’s words halted his steps, though the tiny crease between his brows told me he wanted to disobey.

  “Had Lord Langstone been ill recently? We understand he was suffering from a stomach ailment in the days before his disappearance, but what about in the weeks and months prior to that?”

  The valet’s eyes were wide with mild surprise. “Yes, actually. Numerous times. Enough that I’d suggested he might wish to see a physician about it.”

  If he’d offered such advice, then clearly he’d not believed his sickness to have been caused by overindulgence, and I was given to understand that a good gentleman’s valet knows the difference.

  Gage tipped his head in consideration. “Did he accept your advice?”

  “Not that I’m aware of, sir.”

  He nodded. “Thank you. You may go.”

  Cooper bowed again stiffly and hurried from the room.

  “I have to say, McEvoy,” Anderley remarked once the door closed behind him, “I’m impressed. Never thought you’d convince the fussy toad to talk.”

  Bree’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “Yes, well, that’s because ye dinna ken what I promised to tell him aboot you in return.”

  Anderley’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.

  “My valet’s odd grooming habits aside . . .” Gage began.

  I smothered a giggle behind my hand as Anderley turned to him in affront.

  “What odd habits?”

  His eyes glinted with teasing. “I’m sure Mrs. Gage doesn’t want me to explain how you sometimes rinse your hair with ale.”

  A tinge of pink crested Anderley’s cheeks. “Well, maybe I should share the method with Miss McEvoy. It’s quite effective.”

  “Oh, aye,” Bree agreed. “Does make your locks wondrously shiny.”

  “Why, thank you,” he replied, turning back to Gage. “Though, I’ve heard the smell of hops on a woman can be quite tantalizing. Perhaps you wouldn’t wish Mrs. Gage to attract so much attention.”

  At this, I could no longer contain my mirth and laughed out loud. The others joined me, possibly driven to such hilarity by our present frustrations.

  When our laughter faded, I found myself perched on the edge of the bed, swiping tears from my eyes. Anderley stood with his arms crossed, looking at ease despite being the cause of such glee.

  “What do we make of Cooper’s assertions about Langstone having made other plans to avoid marrying Lady Juliana, and the possibility he was blackmailing someone?” Gage asked, recalling us to the matter at hand. He leaned against the bedpost beside me, lifting his eyes to the ceiling overhead. “Do we believe him?”

  “Well, we’ve heard from several people that claim Alfred didn’t wish to marry Lady Juliana,” I pointed out. “But what plans could he have made to counter that?”

  Gage’s brow furrowed. “Grandfather has been ill. Perhaps he hoped he would die before Alfred was forced to propose.”

  “Yes, but I gather that’s the reason for all the extra pressure they were exertin’ on him to wed in the first place,” Bree said.

  I tapped my fingers against the mattress. “And what of the mine partnership your grandfather formed with the Duke of Bedford? Does that in some way force Alfred’s hand? Is that what so upset him about it?”

  “For that matter, why is he so against marrying her?” Anderley scoffed. “He must know he would be expected to wed sometime. He is the heir.”

  “Aye,” Bree chimed in. “And Lady Juliana
is a duke’s daughter, and from all accounts, attractive and pleasant. He could do far worse.”

  “Is this the general opinion belowstairs?” I asked, for it sounded as if they’d shared these views before.

  Anderley glanced toward Bree before shrugging. “More or less.”

  “I’m thinkin’ there’s another girl.” Bree arched her eyebrows in emphasis. “Someone he’d rather tie the knot wi’.”

  Miss Galloway’s face appeared before my eyes. Bree might not be far off. Though there was a great deal more information to be gathered before such a suspicion could be deemed as more than rampant speculation.

  Had Rory debated the same thing? Was that the real reason why he didn’t like Miss Galloway?

  “Continue to keep your eyes and ears open.” Gage scowled at the wall across from him. “I still think some of the staff know more than they’re saying.” He glanced at Bree. “And find out, if you can, whether any of the servants saw someone slip something into Lord Langstone’s food or drink. If he was being poisoned, he was most likely ingesting it.”

  Bree nodded and turned to me. “Ye have need of me, m’lady?”

  I knew this was her polite way of telling me I looked a dreadful mess.

  “Yes. I’ll be there in a moment.”

  While she moved through the connecting door, I looked to Gage to confirm he still wished to speak with his grandfather. I could see the questions about my disheveled state forming in his eyes—questions I didn’t particularly wish to answer at the moment. Not when they would result in a scolding for my carelessness. So I hurried across the room after Bree before he could voice them. “If you can give me a quarter of an hour, I’ll join you.”

  With the door shut firmly between us and the men, I swiveled to allow Bree to begin unfastening the buttons down the back of my dress. “Now, tell me what you know about the blackmail.”