“You’ve spoken with Mother?” Her nod gave him permission to drop his guard. “Nothing much has changed since.”
He’d received one letter from Kit, but the message had only been about the progress in Wales. Claudette had charmed Gareth’s family, and their reconciliation had unified the Welsh constabulary’s pursuit of Collins.
Annabel had stopped paying Kit’s wages.
The pay had begun as a salve to his conscience. Kit hadn’t wanted it, but Jasper could think of nothing else to do for a man who insisted on walking through every door first, who dropped everything on a whim, and spent his time in unsavory crowds doing little but hiding in the dark.
Their ices arrived, and Jasper tucked into his. He didn’t particularly like vanilla, but there had been too many other choices, and his head was beginning to ache.
“This can’t be easy for him either,” Fiona said.
Jasper had been overwhelmed when he took his father’s title, and he’d been prepared for it since birth. Kit had been at his side, watching everything as an outsider, keeping his inheritance a secret while being employed by his cousin. “I’m sure it isn’t, but he hasn’t asked for help.”
Jasper had been paying his cousin to be his friend.
“I’m glad we could see each other today,” Fiona said. “Father is sending me to Paris again.”
What scrape had she gotten into now? “I thought Mrs. Linden was keeping you out of trouble.”
“I am keeping myself out of trouble, thank you. She is there as my guardian angel.” Though Fiona’s tone was light, she was fiddling with her ice as it melted. “He’s decided I should go back out next Season. A visit with Mr. Worth is the first step.”
“Fi.” He resisted covering her hand with his. Charlotte would be too happy to spread a rumor neither Fiona nor Annabel needed. Instead, he waited for her gaze to meet his.
The doubt he saw there touched the same spot Jane and Johanna found. He wanted to do more to the man that had hurt her than simply break his nose. “You’ll be the star of every ball.”
Her eyes twinkled. “Not a diamond?”
“Diamonds are overrated.” He said it loud enough for Charlotte to hear. “Annabel says so.”
His skin prickled. He glanced from Fiona to Raines and caught the young man staring again. Just like he stared at his cards before folding.
When he had something to hide.
Chapter Nineteen
“Thank you for accepting my invitation.” Annabel felt nothing like a marchioness while entertaining her first guest, but she did her best to channel Lady Lambourn as she served coffee.
“I was pleased to receive it.” Jocelyn Fletcher added cream and sugar to her cup. “How was your visit to the country?”
Annabel tapped her biscuit against her saucer, debating how to begin, or whether to begin at all. She and Jasper had agreed not to share the details of their visit, but several things concerned her, and she suspected Jocelyn could help.
“We encountered highwaymen on the road to Ramsbury.” Just saying the words made her bones shake at the memory of firing the pistol.
“Drake and I had something similar happen, but they were sent to kill us.” Jocelyn’s brows gathered as she frowned. “Do you think there’s a similarity?”
“Our histories share the same man.” Annabel’s words came out in a rush, and relief washed in to fill the void.
“Tell me everything.”
Annabel recounted the story, pouring in every detail that she had rolled over in her brain since that night on the road. She had hoped to make better sense of events, but something still bothered her.
Jocelyn set her coffee aside. “You don’t believe this was a simple robbery, do you?”
Annabel saw the moonlight glinting off the narrow sword in every nightmare. Sometimes she didn’t have to be asleep. “No.”
“And Jasper agrees with you?”
Given that their armed footman had followed behind them at a discreet pace throughout their stay in Ramsbury, and that Jasper had insisted she take carriages rather than walk in London… “Yes.”
“Wise man.” Jocelyn looked away, staring out the window as she toyed with her necklace. “Is it safe to assume you have fully broken with Spencer?”
The odd choice of words made Annabel pause mid-sip. She put the coffee and treats aside. “How did you know?”
“He doesn’t like to be crossed. He and Stratford have that in common.” She turned back and refilled her coffee.
Her pebble-hard gaze stole Annabel’s breath. It was very much like Yarwood’s. A soldier who had faced danger and come out the other side.
“He convinced you of something about your new husband, likely using your family’s situation as an incentive. Am I correct?”
Tears pricked Annabel’s eyes as she nodded.
“It isn’t your fault.” The words should have been comforting, but there was little softness in them. “It’s what he does, and he has practiced it for years.”
Annabel leapt from the sofa and walked to the fireplace, putting distance between them. How could she have been so stupid? “Why didn’t you tell me this the first time we met?”
“Because, in my experience, no one changes just because someone tells them to.” Jocelyn kept her seat. “And because, from that same experience, I know strength comes as much from bravery as from knowledge.” She gave a dry chuckle. “Plus, Hello, nice to meet you, your employer is a lying prat, is not the way to make new friends.”
