Page 102 of The Danger of Desire

“That losing so much might drive him to suicide?” she said bitterly.

“Suicide?” Warren laid a hand on her arm. “You don’t know for certain that Reynold killed himself.”

“I do. Because Reynold left a note for me, telling mewhyhe killed himself.”

Shock suffused Warren’s face. “You never told me that before.”

“You may not believe this, but I worry about scandal, too, sometimes. Especially when it might taint my nephew’s future. I didn’t even tell Brilliana. I figured she’d suffered enough.”

“Who the devil is Brilliana?” Hart asked.

“Reynold Trevor’s wife,” Warren said.

Hart dropped into a chair. “The man had a bloodywife, too? He didn’t mention her.”

“NowthatI know is a lie,” Delia said. “He always talked of her.”

“Not to me, he didn’t,” Hart muttered.

“What did the note say?” Warren asked her.

Delia crossed her arms over her chest. “What do you think it said? ‘I’ve lost everything, so there’s no more reason to live. Take care of Brilliana and Silas for me. I can’t bear it anymore. Forgive me.’ If that’s not proof of suicide, I don’t know what is.”

“It’s proof, all right,” Warren said in a hollow voice. “So you didn’t know until then that he’d lost everything.”

“Of course I knew. He told me the moment he returned from London. That’s how I found out he was cheated by a man with a tattoo.” She stabbed a finger toward Hart. “Your brother.Who claims that he took all my brother’s money over some nonsense having to do with... with...”

And just like that, the truth hit her.

Lord Margrave. Brilliana.Oh, Lord.

All this time, she’d assumed that Reynold’s reference to what he’d lost had been about the money, the estate. But what if he’d meant something else entirely?

Someoneelse entirely. His wife.

What if Reynold had decided that Brilliana couldn’t love him because she loved someone else? Could that be why he’d come to London, demanding to know where Lord Margrave was? If Brilliana really had been... romantically involved with the earl in the past, and if somehow Reynold had found out about it...

“No, no,no! It isn’t possible.” To believe that, she’d have to take Hart’s word over Reynold’s. But how could she?

She whirled on her husband. “I have to go to Stoke Towers. I have to talk to Brilliana.”

“Brilliana?” Warren exclaimed. “What can she possibly add to the discussion?” When Delia flushed under his scrutiny, his eyes narrowed. “Wait a minute. You think this has something to do with the odd way Niall and Brilliana behaved when they saw each other.”

Blast him for always reading her mind. Now he would be even more determined to believe his brother guiltless of everything. “Don’t be ridiculous. You heard the two of them—they were barely acquainted with each other.”

Warren snorted. “Right. You and I both know that was a lot of rubbish. Perhaps it’s time we sat them down and got the real truth. I agree—let’s talk to Brilliana. We’ll all go.”

“The devil we will!” She gestured to Hart. “I’m not going anywhere with that... thatmurderer. Nor with you, either, if you mean to blindly defend him.”

“Now see here,” Hart put in, “I realize you’re upset about your brother, but I had nothing to do with his suicide.”

She glared at him. “Nothing? Really? My brother was a brilliant card player. The only way he would have lost is if you cheated.”

Was that guilt she saw flash over his face? Or did she just want so badly to believe it that she was grasping at straws?

“I’m a damned good card player myself,” Hart said sullenly.

“It’s true,” Warren put in. “And Reynold was delving into matters he should have left alone.”