“It wasn’t a very bad winter that year, and at the end of January Lady Woodley took the girls…I’m sorry, took Lady Audrey and Lady Claire to Idleridge for a spell, I think in the hopes that the country air would ease Lady Claire’s emotions.”
Audrey worried her lip. “I recall that trip. Claire was so distracted. She hardly left her chamber, but she wouldn’t talk to me about why. And she avoided mother almost entirely.”
“Did something happen in Idleridge?” Juliet pressed, seeing the flicker of something in Ursula’s eyes.
The maid bent her head. “I—well—”
“It’s all right, Ursula. We’re just trying to get at the truth.” Juliet waited patiently as the maid struggled.
Finally, Ursula said, “I was looking for Lady Claire one night, she had disappeared for a long time. I found her in the stables with Mr. Blackwood.”
“Mr. Blackwood?” Juliet said, looking around the room for an explanation.
All eyes of the family were wide. Jude stepped forward. “Warrick Blackwood? War?”
Ursula didn’t look at him, but gave a shaky nod.
“Who is this person?” Juliet asked, turning her gaze to Gabriel. He was standing at the fireplace, fists clenched.
“The horse master for my brother, Edward,” Gabriel explained through his teeth. “He works at the estate in Idleridge managing the horses, breaking them, buying and selling them.”
“Why in the world would Claire have gone down to him?” Jude mused.
Now it was Audrey who shifted. “She was always fascinated by the horses,” she explained. “And I think a little by War. What exactly did you see when you found them together, Ursula?”
“Just an intense conversation,” Ursula said. “Mr. Blackwood had Claire’s arm and she was saying something. She was quiet, I couldn’t hear what it was, but she was obviously angry. She was very close to his face. When they realized I was standing there, they parted and Lady Claire walked away. She told me not to say anything to anyone.”
“So you didn’t,” Gabriel said, and Juliet tensed at the anger that was deep within his tone. He was glaring at the maid, and if he exploded, as it looked like he wanted to do, Juliet was afraid he would cut off any further information they might get from the young woman.
She gently touched Ursula’s arm, turning her slightly so she couldn’t see Gabriel’s face. “Did you ever determine why Lady Claire was so upset?”
“No, and we returned home shortly after. I hoped that London might help, but Claire only grew more desperate,” Ursula said.
“And was there anything else you could remember?”
Ursula sucked in a breath. “About a week before she disappeared, Lady Claire said she wanted to go to the bookshop. Cramer’s in Piccadilly.”
“That’s slightly far afield,” Jude said. “Had she gone there before?”
Ursula shook her head. “Not with me as accompaniment. She said she’d gone with Lord Gabriel.”
Juliet looked to Gabriel and found his lips pursed. “No, I never took her there in my life.”
“Go on,” Juliet said. “You went to the bookshop.”
“Yes,” Ursula said. “But she didn’t seem to want to look at books. A man came in and began to talk to her in the shelves. I snuck up and heard him give his name.”
“Jonathon Aston?” Gabriel snapped out.
Ursula jumped at the sharp tone. “N-No, sir. He said his name was Adam Howe. They talked for a moment, too quiet for me to hear, and then he left. I questioned her afterward and she said the man was a friend of a friend but would tell me no more.”
“And is that all?” Juliet asked.
Ursula nodded. “Yes.”
Gabriel moved forward now in a long, jerky step. “And you kept all this secret for over two years?”
Juliet positioned herself slightly in front of the servant. She tried to meet Gabriel’s eyes, but he wouldn’t look away from Ursula. “Gabriel,” she began softly. “Ursula has already told us that at the time she wasn’t certain these details were part of the facts of Claire’s disappearance.”
“I swear, my lord,” Ursula sobbed. “I didn’t think it would make no difference. I didn’t want to get Claire in trouble, nor Mr. Blackwood. Nor myself.”
Audrey moved forward and put her arms around her maid for a brief hug. “Oh, sweet Ursula, I know you love Claire very much. You would never hurt her.”
“No, ma’am, I never would!” Ursula blubbered. “I’m so sorry.”
Audrey squeezed her again. “We’ll talk more about it later, Ursula, but I do understand the position you were in. After all, you kept my secrets from time to time, didn’t you? Now, why don’t you run along, go see Mrs. Ribbon in the kitchen for some chocolate.”
Ursula sniffled before she slipped from the room. As she left, Gabriel glared at his sister. “You ought to sack that girl for lying.”
“Gabriel,” Audrey said, her soft tone a warning.
“You bloody well should,” he shouted. “We all know she lied.”
“Watch your tone, Gabriel,” Jude said, his eyebrows lifting.
Juliet sighed as she moved toward Gabriel. She stopped in front of him and took both his hands. She felt Audrey and Jude staring at the exchange, knew they were judging the fact that she could be so bold. But that didn’t matter now. What mattered was Gabriel. He was all that mattered.
“Look at me,” she said, her tone soft and soothing. When he met her gaze, she said, “You are angry, but not at Ursula. We knew the servants might have more information, and we were right. This is a good thing, Gabriel.”
“How is it good?” he asked, but the heat was gone from his voice. He seemed to be left with only defeat in its place and the sound cut her to the bone. “If the maid had told us all this years ago, perhaps we would have found Claire by now.”
“Or perhaps you wouldn’t have,” she whispered. “You must deal in the now, not yesterday or tomorrow. And right now we have a great deal more information than we did before we came here. This Warrick Blackwood works for your family, yes? So you can talk to him.”
Jude nodded. “He’s in London, actually, which will make it easier.”
Gabriel looked past her to his brother-in-law. “He is?”
“Yes. He brought a few horses in to be sold for Edward and is staying in town for the holiday, I’m told.”
“You see,” Juliet said with a smile. “It was meant to be. And beyond this Blackwood fellow, you also now have a name of one of Aston’s associates. Someone he trusted enough to send after Claire.”
Gabriel’s expression sharpened when she said those words. “Yes, what Ursula described was obviously an arranged meeting to exchange information. This Howe person would have to be very trusted since Claire was clearly of importance to Aston’s plans. He wouldn’t have sent any regular lackey to meet with her.”
Juliet’s smile widened. If Gabriel was beginning to move the pieces of the puzzle around, then his high emotion was starting to fade, at least slightly.
“Jude will put some men on it, see if this person is still in London,” Audrey said, linking her arm with her husband’s.
“If he is, he could be a conduit to whatever schemes Aston runs here,” Gabriel mused.
“Then he could very well lead us back to Aston directly,” Jude said. “I’ll call in some help on it today and have them report directly to you, Gabriel.”
“We are closer than ever now, Gabriel,” Juliet said.
His gaze held hers. “Yes.” When he said it his voice was softer and seemed more relaxed. “I suppose my next step is reaching out to War. Perhaps he can meet us back at my home later today.”
“Come to my office,” Jude said. “You can pen a message there and I’ll have it delivered right away.”
Gabriel nodded slowly and began to follow Jude from the room. But as he passed Juliet, he stopped. “Thank you,” he whispered, sliding his finger across her hand
slightly. “Thank you.”
Juliet caught her breath as she and Audrey watched them go together. But the moment they were gone, Audrey turned back to her and Juliet realized she was about to be questioned on subjects she wasn’t ready to broach.
“You and my brother must be close if he is involving you in this business with Claire,” Audrey said. She motioned Juliet to a chair and moved to the sideboard to pour them both tea.
As she brought the cups over, Juliet drew a long breath to calm herself, then shrugged as if the question had no meaning. “Your brother wants help. I am in London and available.”
Audrey shook her head. “Oh, I think it is far more than that and we both know it. He wouldn’t turn to just any stranger to discuss our wayward sister. He is far too protective of Claire.”
“He is that,” Juliet murmured as she sipped her tea. “Perhaps then it is because he knows I can be trusted. After all, I was of some help to your mother during her illness and showed that I could be discreet even when villagers had questions.”
Audrey watched her for what seemed like an eternity. “Yes, perhaps that’s it,” she said. “There is more to Gabriel than it seems, you know.”
“Oh yes, I know.” Juliet ducked her head as thoughts mobbed her.
Audrey smiled. “He was always so serious, even as a boy. He would rather dissect a problem than play sports or make friends. But he was fiercely loyal. Once a boy was making fun of Claire’s dress and Gabriel marched across the lawn and punched him right in the lip. The boy had to be five years older than Gabriel. But Gabriel didn’t care.”
“Did he win the fight?” Juliet asked, and found she had no trouble picturing a young Gabriel doing just that.
“Of course not.” Audrey laughed. “The boy outweighed him by two stone at least! But Gabriel got his shots in. The older boy didn’t walk away without a black eye. And he left Claire alone after that.”
“You were lucky to have him and the rest of your family.” Juliet smiled.
“You don’t have siblings, do you?” Audrey asked.
Juliet shook her head. “No. It is just me. If I were to disappear, there would be no massive search party. I hope Claire will appreciate it when she does return.”
Audrey nodded. “I hope we will have a chance to test if she will. But as for you not having anyone to search, I think you’re wrong.”
“Well, my father, of course.” Juliet sipped her tea again.
“No, I didn’t mean him. I think if you were to disappear, my brother might move heaven and earth to find you.” Audrey held her gaze evenly.
Juliet shifted. “Your brother has more important things to do than worry about me,” she said with a blush. “You know his focus.”
“I am beginning to see it more clearly now,” Audrey said.
Juliet stiffened for Audrey’s implication was clear. Only she knew the truth. Yes, Gabriel might want her, he might even like her, but when it came to his focus, it would always be Claire. And if he had to choose, Juliet knew she would not win.
Which was why she had to be so careful and not ever expect too much. It was the only way to keep from being bitterly disappointed.
Gabriel sat in the comfortable chair in his parlor and stared across the short distance that separated him from Juliet. They were waiting for War to arrive, for they had been lucky enough that Gabriel’s message to the man had been answered before they left Audrey and Jude’s home. He was on his way to Gabriel’s now.
Gabriel should have been thinking about that. He should have been planning his line of questioning to the horse master. Instead, he was focused on the alluring woman across from him.
His emotions had been raw today, far from normal. And yet Juliet had been able to rein him in just as easily as she could inflame him. It was almost as if she had cast a spell over him.
“Why do you look at me so?” she asked, breaking the silence that had hung between them since they departed Audrey’s. “Are you disappointed in me?”
He drew back at the question. “No,” he said. “No! Quite the contrary, Juliet.”
There was a clearing of a throat at the parlor door, and Gabriel stood as his butler announced, “Mr. Blackwood, sir.”
Gabriel pursed his lips in frustration. As much as he wanted to speak to War, he also wanted to disabuse Juliet of any thought that he might be unhappy with her. But it would have to wait, for War stepped through the door.
Juliet had gotten to her feet and Gabriel heard her soft gasp. He looked at the man who had been his family’s horse master for nearly a decade and understood why. War was enormous, well over six and a half feet tall and thickly muscled from long days of hard physical labor. Unlike the soft dandies of London, he had a rugged face, made rougher by the neatly trimmed beard that shadowed his cheeks and chin.
“War,” Gabriel said, coming toward him and extending a hand. “Nice to see you.”
War nodded as they shook. “My lord.”
Gabriel stepped back. “Would you like something to eat or drink?”
“No,” War said. “I don’t have much time, I’m afraid. I’m meeting with a breeder shortly.”
Gabriel arched a brow at his guest’s somewhat dismissive tone. War had never been all that impressed by titles, even the title that paid his salary. Gabriel had actually always liked him for that.
“Then I will be swift,” he said. “I wanted to ask you about Claire.”
War’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly and he folded his arms across his broad chest. He didn’t respond, but just waited.
“We were visiting my sister’s maid today, asking her about Claire, and she mentioned that just before Claire disappeared, she had a conversation with you in Idleridge.”
War nodded his dark head. “Yes, I saw her just before she ran off with Aston,” he said.
Gabriel waited for him to elaborate, but he didn’t. “I’d forgotten how taciturn you can be,” Gabriel muttered before he said, “What was the conversation about?”
War shrugged. “She was upset, but she never told me why.”
Gabriel gritted his teeth. He had a feeling this was not the whole story, and he was beginning to get angry about it. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could Juliet stepped forward.
“It seems Lady Claire was not particularly open about the reason she was upset with anyone,” she said. “But do you have any ideas?”
War turned his intense gaze on Juliet, and Gabriel saw him look her up and down in a slow perusal. He did the same and knew what the other man saw. Pure beauty, utter perfection. A man would be a fool not to notice that. And he supposed War, himself, was not hideous. Other women had cooed about him being quite handsome.
Juliet would soon go home to Idleridge. If War liked what he saw, what would stop him from pursuit?
Gabriel blinked at the wild place his thoughts had taken him. And also at how much the thoughts troubled him.
“This is Juliet Gray,” Gabriel said. “She was my mother’s healer and has been helping me search for Claire.”
“I remember you,” War said softly. “No, Miss Gray, I have no ideas. Claire was rambling about not belonging, but there was no other information I can share.”
Juliet’s gaze flitted to Gabriel and her lips parted. “It’s the same thing she wrote to Josie,” she breathed.
Gabriel nodded. “Yes.”
They held stares for a moment, both of them digesting this important fact. If only he knew why his sister didn’t feel she belonged in their family. Was it something she’d done? Something she feared they would find out and shun her for? Didn’t she know them better? Woodleys didn’t turn their backs on their own.
“Is there anything else?” War asked, glancing behind him at the door. “I have a great deal to accomplish today.”
Gabriel snapped back to the room and shook his head. “No, nothing else. We won’t detain you any further.” War nodded to them both and began to leave the room. Bu
t before he could depart, Gabriel moved toward him. “War?”
The other man turned back, his lips pursed. “Yes?”
“If you hear from Claire, you will let us know,” he said.
He turned away as he said it, expecting a simple answer in the affirmative. But instead, War cleared his throat.
“No.”
Gabriel spun back in surprise. “I beg your pardon?”
War shrugged. “Claire won’t call on me.”
“But she came to you before,” Juliet said, watching War with a renewed focus.
War looked as though he was going to laugh, but something stopped him. “Yes, well, she won’t repeat it. I can almost guarantee that. Now, if you will excuse me.”
He said nothing more and left the room.
Chapter Seventeen
Juliet paced to the window and stared out to watch Warrick Blackwood mount a stunning black stallion and gallop away without so much as a backward glance.
“Do you think he was honest?” she asked, but didn’t pause to allow Gabriel to reply. “Because there was a certain quality to the man that was…odd. He is holding something back, though I don’t know if it has to do with Claire’s disappearance.”
“I feel the same way,” Gabriel said, moving to stand beside her at the window. “Though I know War. I have for many years. I don’t think he’s holding back information about Claire leaving. There may be something more he keeps his council about, but not why she left or where she may be.”
She turned to face him with a sigh. “Well, whatever Mr. Blackwood is or isn’t telling us, you cannot be disappointed with this day. You have so many new leads to follow, people to talk to. I should go to allow you to work on—”
“Juliet,” he interrupted, and reached out to take her hand. His gaze bore into her, pinning her in place as all the air in the room vanished in a heartbeat. Suddenly it was very close and very hot between them.
“Y-yes?” she stammered, wishing she didn’t sound so moved.
He was quiet for a moment and she searched his face, trying to determine his thoughts. But, as always, he hid them well.
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