Page 35 of Lyon’s Obsession (The Lyon’s Den Connected World #91)
D uncan had chosen not to make the local authorities aware of what had occurred.
“No one seems to have known that Almano and this other man had occupied the house or how long they had been doing so. No one had noticed that the weeds covering the gate had been cut away, and I am not of the nature to expose Theodora to hundreds of questions, which would speak to her inferiority as a woman and not to the villainy of those who meant to harm me through her, not my sweet girl.”
Alexander had let a small carriage and hired a driver to return Duncan and Theodora to London. Meanwhile, he had also secured Almano to the gig and drove it back himself, paying the local innkeeper to care for Duncan’s two horses until a couple of his lordship’s men could be sent to retrieve them.
Marksman would have liked to have had a private conversation with Theodora, but Duncan had arrived at the wooded area, and Dora had permitted her father to take charge of her care.
“I did not know what Mr. Eisner meant to do with Lady Theodora,” Almano had said from his place behind Alexander’s seat on the gig’s bench.
Marksman had tied the man up with ropes around the count’s wrists and ankles.
It was unfortunate that he had not gagged the dastard also.
“It does not matter what you did or did not know; you will know a hangman’s rope for attacking a peer,” Alexander stated without looking at the man. If not, he would kill Almano himself. Either way, the “count” would not live to harm another.
“When Lady Theodora walked away with me, she made no protests nor did she attempt to resist,” the man argued.
“I could claim I thought she meant to offer herself to me. All of London knows how you cut ties with Lord Duncan’s daughter once you met Lord Honfleur’s niece.
I even viewed how you maneuvered all of us so you might walk with the chit in the park. ”
“You should consider your words carefully,” Alexander warned. “I could do away with you right now or cut out your tongue, and no one would care.”
“Lady Joseph would care,” the man insisted. “She is my cousin, you see.”
“And you think her husband, who is a Lord-in-waiting to King George, will tolerate his wife’s interference in your case?
” Alexander asked, though he privately added Lord Joseph to his list of those with whom he must speak privately regarding this matter.
“If I were Lord Joseph, I would put space between me and you.”
“Have you found Eisner’s body yet?” Almano questioned.
Alexander did not respond. When he had shot Theodora’s attacker, Alexander was concerned with her safety, and he had not moved quickly enough to retrieve the man’s body from the water, which had been swifter than Alexander had expected.
It would be necessary for him to hire men to search the banks along the river for the man who had meant to kill Theodora.
Alexander held no doubt that, with the clothing the man wore, the cape would snag on a tree limb or sharp rock and the body would be held in place, even when the water receded.
“We are aware of its location,” he lied. “We must simply fish him from the water with as little fanfare as possible.”
It was the middle of the night when Theodora restlessly rolled over in bed.
She had been awake for hours. She would like to walk the halls of Duncan Place—to be up and moving—to know freedom.
Mayhap she could claim a place in Alexander’s bed, though she knew he was asleep at Dutton Hall, not in his quarters under her father’s roof.
It would be good to hear his thoughts upon what had occurred today.
Alexander had held her as he had always done—in tenderness and affection.
Yet, after her father had arrived, he was the one who had given the orders, keeping her from sight as much as possible to lessen the scandal.
“ Shall Papa make Alexander marry me ?” she murmured so as not to wake Winston, who was asleep on a cot in the dressing room. “ If so, I will refuse, ” her mind announced. “ I do not wish him to propose because he is made to do so. I could not bear his resentment. It would crush my soul .
“ I should have fought Almano, or whatever his name might be, but, at that moment, I did not care whether I lived or died. Alexander has found his family, and he no longer has a need for me or mine. He is an earl now and can set his own rules. Nor will he even wish to consider himself as one of Duncan’s sons.
The others, with the exception of Thompson, who has a mother, only have my father and me as family, but Alexander will have someone with whom he shares a bloodline.
It has always been his dearest wish. My father explained that he had received confirmation of the death of Lady Madelyn Dutton, meaning Alexander’s focus will be on Lady Annalise for the next couple of years.
No one has a need of me. Even Mrs. Dove-Lyon cannot find me a suitor . ”
Hearing Winston rise to check on her, Theodora pulled a few strands of hair across her cheek, turned on her side and clutched a pillow to her chest. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on her breathing to pretend to be asleep.
She had the rest of her life to be unlovable.
For now, she would pretend not to have a care in this world and that she could sleep soundly.
Though he still worried excessively about Theodora, Alexander meant to convince Annalise to leave Honfleur’s care, then, after Theodora recovered, he would speak his proposal to Duncan’s daughter, and they could all live together. Dora had always wanted a sister, had she not?
Alexander entered the now familiar kitchen to find his sister sitting at the rough-hewn table, holding a cup of tea. She looked up at him and smiled, which lightened his heart greatly. “I hope you possess an appetite.” He gestured to the basket he carried.
“I had some bread and cheese earlier,” she said in well-practiced tones, but a slight blush of obvious embarrassment touched her cheeks, meaning the larder was nearly empty.
Alexander was excessively glad to have thought to bring her a proper meal.
Under his breath, he swore to make Moreau pay for the abuse the man had inflicted upon Annalise.
“Hopefully, you will do me the favor of keeping me company while I enjoy my meal. I find I am quite famished,” he pronounced in pleasantness, although, as it always did, his desire to catch her to him and demand the right to protect her rushed forward.
“I be famished also,” a voice behind him announced.
Alexander stepped farther into the room. “I brought someone with me who wished to renew your acquaintance.” He motioned to the man carrying a second basket. “If you hold no objections, my dear, I would claim the pleasure of reintroducing you to a friend of whom you should be made aware.”
His sister’s smile widened. “Naturally.”
“Lady Annalise, may I present a friend willing to serve you as loyally as he has me. This is Mr. Lionel Carter.”
“Welcome, Mr. Carter,” she said as she stood.
Lionel, as he customarily responded with Alexander, presented Annalise the briefest of bows before setting the basket he carried upon the table. He turned to Alexander to say, “She turned out with a more comely face than yours.”
Alexander chuckled as he set his basket on a nearby table used for serving. “My sister very much favors our maternal grandmother.”
Annalise rushed to say, “Do I truly? I have always wished to view my features upon another.”
“I will gladly provide you a tour of the portrait gallery at Marksman Abbey when you are prepared to claim your place in our family so you may gaze upon the Dutton side of the family. I wish to have your portrait added to those already displayed. However, I do believe you favor our mother’s side of the family more than you do our father’s. ”
“I cannot say I am sorry to learn such. Like it or not, I hold a great hatred for our father,” she admitted.
“Such is understandable. I, too, took a long time to come to terms with my father’s decisions.
I did permit him some credit for pulling himself together so our line might claim the earldom.
In his dying days, he moved the heavens aside to make my transition easier. At least, we might thank him for that.”
“I will attempt to follow your lead,” she said softly.
“Do what is best for you,” he corrected.
“I will not judge you. Perhaps we might visit our maternal grandmother soon. Although the rest of the family readily turned away my initial advances to reestablish a connection to the maternal side, our grandmother did not. She lives quite simply on the Smithfield estate in the dower house. I have made it my business to keep her abreast of my search for our mother. When this madness is over, it will do me well to tell her of your homecoming. It has been too long since I last called upon her.”
“A grandmother,” his sister said reverently. “I never thought to claim a grandmother.”
“And two maternal uncles,” Alexander explained briefly, “along with their spouses and children.”
“A family carrying my blood in their veins. I never thought it possible.”
“How be Moreau explaining his relationship?” Lionel asked.
“He said he was my mother’s half-brother,” Annalise answered, “but now I suspect he meant to claim my mother as did Darwood Lisey.”
With a lift of his brows and a slight shake of his head, Alexander warned Lionel not to ask the question so apparent on his friend’s countenance.
“Hard to believe neither Uncle Jacobi or Caroline are my true relations,” Annalise murmured.
It bothered Alexander greatly how she must once more face hard truths.
She had again had her whole world turned upon its ear.
He had always known Robert Dutton was his father, and, although Alexander often cursed his father’s choices, he always knew his parentage; whereas, Annalise had had a number of “false” relations thrust upon her.