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Michael gave a low chuckle. “Hardly. I have only ever admired one woman, and she did not want me. Thus, the tragedy of my loving heart continues.”

“Poor boy,” Lucas said with mock sadness, and Michael saluted him with his glass.

“Which woman?” Isaac asked. “Is it someone we know? Perhaps we can persuade her of your charms.”

Michael shrugged his shoulders. “Lost to the annals of history, I am afraid. But do not fear, it was long before I knew you all.”

“Well, she was clearly blind,” Lucas said. “You can do better.”

Michael snorted. “You do not know her, but you are a most faithful friend, and I thank you for it. Perhaps I should dally more, as you are wont to do.”

Lucas gave a soft cry of protest, and the two of them began bickering.

Seth was happy to watch them toss insults back and forth as he relaxed in his chair. Lucas’s loyalty was a steady port in a storm, always present and deeply ingrained within him.

His friends would fight for him, no matter what he had done. Whatever he needed, they would be there. It was both a comfort and a curse.

As Lucas and Michael sparred with one another, Seth occasionally caught Isaac’s eye as his friend raised his gaze to the heavens in despair, but it was pleasant to spend time with them all.

Or at least it had been until he climbed into the carriage and set off for home.

Something had been nagging at the back of his mind throughout their meeting. Something that would not let up, dangling just out of reach.

He stared out the window, watching the trees pass by, the worm coiling and turning in his stomach relentlessly, as if it had been roused by a particular topic that needed to be explored.

When was Michael ever in love?

The worm rose, its teeth chomping at his insides as he tugged at his right sleeve, pulling it down over his wrist.

Seth swallowed, a lump forming in his throat as the guilt gave way to suspicion.

He had never allowed himself to consider the possibility that any of his friends might have been involved in Gordon’s death, but the fact remained that it was still a mystery.

What if one of them had known more than they had revealed at the time?

He plucked at the fabric of his sleeve, tugging at it incessantly all the way back to the manor.

He had some investigating to do, or else this restlessness inside him would never give him a moment’s peace.

CHAPTER 16

Alicia was not sure why, but for the next few days, she saw very little of her husband.

She had intended to enact her plan in earnest but was held back by her concerns and worries.

Seth, for his part, seemed distracted, spending hours in his study.

One day, she had walked past and glanced inside—as the door was wide open—to find Seth on his knees, sifting through a huge pile of correspondence, looking furious.

She had hurriedly walked away, wondering what had triggered the dark mood he had been in since his trip to London, unsure how to lighten it.

A few days after her meeting with Bridget and Katie, the housekeeper suddenly requested that she come to the entrancehall. Alicia was adding a triple-laced collar to one of her latest creations when she received the summons.

When she came downstairs, she heard a high-pitched, frightened noise coming from the basket at the housekeeper’s feet.

Alicia stared at the wicker basket in horror, having completely forgotten Bridget’s promise to send her a kitten.

“This arrived for you, Your Grace,” the housekeeper said, her serious expression unwavering as Alicia bent down and opened the basket.