Page 19 of Lyon’s Obsession (The Lyon’s Den Connected World #91)
“Your tone indicates something life-changing. I heard you use that same tone the day you came for me and my father in the slews. You used it again when it was determined I was to be sent off to school. Once more, when my father finally passed, but not since then.”
“For you, it will be life-changing, and I wish I had the power to protect you,” Duncan stated plainly.
Alexander swallowed hard against the fear rushing to his throat. “Then, be about it,” he said again through dry lips.
Duncan did not look at him while the man read from the correspondence. “In 1797, Moreau called again at the same British logging concession. This time, he presented the owner of the concession with legal papers to claim one of the servants in the household as his property.”
Alexander’s chest tightened, and he could barely breathe. “Was Miss Moreau the servant?”
Duncan did not look up. Instead of answering, he continued to read: “Moreau was told the person he sought had died from a fever, which had passed among those working on the land. The person Moreau sought was one Madelyn Dutton.”
Alexander felt the blood drain from his face, as the room began to spin.
Within what could only have been a matter of seconds, but felt infinitely longer, Duncan pressed a glass into Alexander’s hand.
“Drink, boy,” he heard his friend say as Duncan lifted Alexander’s hand to bring the glass of brandy to his lips.
“Another,” Duncan encouraged as Alexander’s mind was flooded with a thousand questions. His hands were trembling, but he could not prevent their motion.
“My mother is dead,” Alexander managed to whisper. “I always hoped…”
“I know, son,” Duncan said as he forced another sip of the brandy past Alexander’s lips.
“How did she arrive in Honduras?” he asked, still not fully comprehending what Duncan shared. Alexander had spent years constructing in his mind how he would care for Madelyn Dutton for the remainder of her days. It was his father’s last wish.
“We must assume Darwood Lisey took your mother with him to the Americas. We already knew Lisey held interests in the southern part of the United States. Why he abandoned her in Honduras we cannot say with any confidence. We have nothing to prove Lisey died also.”
Alexander spit out the words of bitterness filling his mind. “The bastard was alive when he traded my mother’s life to Moreau.”
“We possess no idea how often Madelyn Dutton was used as barter,” Duncan said softly, a fact which did not make Xander’s despair less.
Duncan stood slowly and returned to his place behind the desk.
“Such was some fifteen years prior, Alexander. All we have to go on in this matter are statements from those who sailed with Moreau during those years. Supposedly, he won Madelyn Dutton in a card game. Originally, Moreau wanted nothing to do with Lisey’s bet, but Lisey convinced Moreau that Mrs. Dutton would make a good mother to Moreau’s daughter, who was somewhere around seven years of age when this occurred.
Reportedly, when he arrived in the Crown Colony, Moreau was not best pleased to learn Mrs. Dutton had passed. ”
Alexander fought the rush of revulsion spreading through him.
“Treated as nothing more than a fine sword to be bought and traded.” He nearly choked on the words.
“My mother deserved better than both my father and Lisey. Neither of them treated her with the care and gentleness she rightfully merited.” He looked off as if seeing something not there.
“If she had not died, I could have rescued her from what both men executed against her. It was always my purpose. Always the reason I worked so hard to become Marksman.”
Duncan suggested, “Let us dispatch someone to the area to reclaim Mrs. Dutton’s remains and to learn the specifics of her death.
Claim a death certificate for the family Bible and such.
Let us bring her home to you, so you might honor her as a son should.
Doing so might not lessen your grief, nor the grief of your mother’s family, but it would be a gesture of goodwill for all involved and permit each of you to claim a bit of peace. ”
Alexander’s maternal Smithfield grandparents had refused to meet with him or his late father when they first arrived at Marksman Abbey, for they had lost the patronage of a man who should have brought them some peace and security when Madelyn Smithfield eloped with Robert Dutton.
They were nearly as bitter as was he. However, over the years, he had managed to bridge some of the harm both Robert Dutton and Lord Johnathon Dutton had exacted upon their hopes for their daughter Madelyn’s happiness.
Perhaps now his mother’s brother and sisters would wish to realign their families with the earldom, especially if Madelyn was entombed as the Countess of Marksman.
“I will see to it in the morning. Yours is an excellent suggestion.”
Duncan permitted Alexander a bit of time to digest all he had just learned.
They sat in silence for a good five minutes or more.
How many times had he sat in silence considering his mother’s fate?
How often had he dreamed of seeing her at the end of a long, dark alley?
An empty street with silver blue light illuminating every corner—every twisted piece of broken furniture and pottery, lying upon the bricks and revealing yawning doorways and shadowy corners.
His mother would appear, and her presence would drive away the gloom, but no matter how fast he ran to reach her, he could not even claim her hand.
He swallowed the bile rushing to his throat and reflected on how he had failed his family, nearly as badly as had his father.
The idea of another lost opportunity saddened him deeply: He was truly alone in the world.
“I assume Annalise also passed from the fever,” he said without emotion.
Alexander had experienced repeated nightmares for years.
He would wake with the echo of his sister’s pleas for Alexander to force Lisey to permit her to stay with him in the slews.
“She did not,” Duncan said softly.
Alexander’s heart jumped in his chest. “Annalise is alive?” he pleaded. “Where? How do we know with confidence? Tell me, and I will go after her. Is she still in Honduras? If so, I will set sail tomorrow. Arrangements can be made quickly, if necessary.”
Duncan said steadily, “You must only travel across London. Your sister resides with Moreau. When Moreau discovered Madelyn Dutton deceased, he instead claimed Madelyn’s child as a companion for his daughter. He raised Annalise Dutton as his niece.”
“Miss Moreau?” Alexander’s lips could barely form the words. Immediately, he was on his feet. “I must go to her. She must be made aware of who I am.”
Just as quickly, Duncan again circled his desk to block Alexander’s progress. “You cannot. Be sensible. You will ruin everything. We are in the middle of a critical investigation which could lead to England’s destruction, and it will be placed in jeopardy if you act as you plan.”
“Miss Moreau is my sister,” Alexander said through a sense of wonderment. His prayers had been answered.
“Aye, yet she believes she is Honfleur’s niece, and you are the enemy.
Do not forget, it was Miss Moreau who was meant to retrieve the note Margaret Childers paid the servant to leave behind for Honfleur.
Fortunately, Theodora encountered the girl Lady Godfrey hired as a seamstress, leaving the note on the small table in the retiring room before the girl spoke the words she had been instructed to say and departed suddenly.
My daughter recognized the servant as appearing odd in her actions and became suspicious and quickly secured the note before Miss Moreau could reach it. ”
“And we both observed how roughly Honfleur treated Miss Moreau after she and I shared a dance. The blaggard caused her to wince in pain. My God, Duncan, the reprobate placed his filthy hands on my sister. You expect me to walk away from this slap on my family’s honor?”
“I expect you to employ your renowned reason and consider your loyalty to your King. If you act now, you will permit these notions of fleecing the Bank of England and your fellow countrymen to know success. Britain will not be a fit place for either of you to live.”
Alexander’s shoulders dropped in defeat. “How can I…? How can I not tell her she is my sister? From the first time I was in her presence, some ‘awareness’ existed between us. We both felt it. At first, I thought it was simply a male encountering a fetching female. Such happens often, does it not?”
“Aye, it does. No matter a man’s age or how much he adores his wife, men notice a handsome face on a woman,” Duncan confessed.
“Yet, it was different,” Alexander admitted. “I wanted to shield her from harm. From the moment I laid eyes on her, I named myself as her protector.”
“And you will not disappoint the lass. I promise you. Even so, I require your oath, Alexander: You will not act impetuously.”
“What if she is as deep in this plot as is Honfleur? What if I cannot save her in time?” Alexander asked.
Desolation crowded his heart with the possibilities of losing Annalise before he could claim her.
“I do not think I could tolerate viewing her being hanged along with Honfleur and the man’s daughter. ”
“We will not permit such to happen,” Duncan said in hard tones. “You have my word. We will steal Lady Annalise Dutton away before Honfleur sets his plan in motion.”