“The wild?” Phineas asked with a laugh. Then he shook his head and marched across the room to seat himself next to Grandma Edie. A moment later, the two of them stuck their heads together, deep in conversation.
Louisa smiled after her husband in a way that made Leonora ache all of a sudden, but she quickly pushed that longing away and refocused her attention. “So, Sir Lancelot is no longer with us?”
Louisa shrugged. “For now. Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me if that creature were to find its way back here.”
“Although, you must admit, Sir Lancelot always seemed rather reluctant to remain with us, wouldn’t you say?” Leonora inquired, remembering how often she had seen her youngest sister chase after the rabbit.
Louisa nodded in agreement, and Leonora turned her attention to the parrot still sitting upon the arm rest of the settee. “And where did he come from?” She chuckled. “Leave it to Harry to find a talking parrot in the middle of London.”
“Honestly, I can’t even tell you,” Louisa replied with a shake of her head. “We had just left Hyde Park and were strolling down the street when Phineas and I were…momentarily distracted,” there was a glimmer in her eye that made it quite clear that they had been distracted by each other, “and when we turned back, Harry had that bird sitting on her arm.” Again, she shook her head, then sighed and turned more serious eyes to Leonora. “Are you all right? Christina told me what happened.”
Caught off guard, Leonora stared at her sister, momentarily at a loss for words. “What do you mean?”
Louisa’s brows arced upward. “I’m speaking of the notebook. Have you spoken to Lord Pemberton? Christina said you ran off after it arrived.”
In that moment, footsteps could be heard descending the stairs in the hall. Leonora looked over her shoulder and spotted Christina heading their way. Her sister stepped inside and then closed the door behind her as her eyes turned to sweep over the people in the room. Then she moved closer to Leonora and Louisa and said, “As far as I can tell, all the people currently in this room are aware of what happened, am I not right?” Her blue eyes lingered upon Leonora, a bit of a challenge in them.
With a deep sigh, Leonora nodded, knowing that Christina was right. She ought to speak to her family. After all, many already knew by now. Louisa and Phineas had been there that night, the night of the masquerade, and Grandma Edie always seemed to know everything anyway. “Does Grandma Edie know about the notebook?”
Christina nodded. “I told her when she asked about it.” A bit of an amused smile came to her face. “Again, she seemed to guess half of what I could tell her.”
Together, the three sisters moved further into the room and sat down near Phineas and Grandma Edie. As though she had been elected spokesperson of this conversation, Christina looked at all of them in turn and then said, “We all know why we’re here?”
Everyone nodded.
That easy smile had disappeared from Phineas’ face as he turned to look at Leonora. “What did Pemberton say? Does he have any idea who it could be?”
Leonora gritted her teeth, still feeling uncomfortable speaking about this in front of everyone. “He believes it could be Lord Sedgwick.”
“Lord Sedgwick?” Phineas asked, a bit of a growl in his voice. “Why does he think so?”
Leonora felt her hands ball into fists at finding herself confronted with recounting what had happened that day. However, before she could say a single word, she felt Christina’s hand grasp hers, a soft smile upon her sister’s face. “He came to call the other day,” Christina explained with a sidelong glance at Leonora. “It would seem he wanted a kiss, which Leonora was unwilling to grant.”
Outrage appeared on Phineas face as he looked at his wife, who looked equally shocked. “What did he do?” Louisa asked, her hand settling on Leonora’s other one. “Are you all right?”
“Grandma sent me to intercept him,” Christina stated with a grin. She turned to look at their grandmother, who gave a quick nod, her eyes strangely serious. “I wasn’t aware of all this at the time, but he seemed most insistent and rather annoyed when I interrupted them. So, I suppose, it is possible that it was him. Perhaps,” she turned to look at Leonora, “he has fancied you for a while and…found himself displeased when you did not reciprocate.”
“It makes sense.” Phineas nodded. “It is possible; though, it does not necessarily mean that it was he at the masquerade.”
Leonora nodded. “I know.”
“There is no other suspect, or is there?” Christina asked, looking at Leonora.
“Drake says he has been investigating the names of those—”
“Drake?” Christina asked with a grin, exchanging a meaningful glance with Grandma Edie.
Ignoring her sister, Leonora hastened on. “There is nothing that would suggest it could have been any of the names his investigator was able to unearth.” She shrugged. “We simply don’t know.”
Phineas rose to his feet. “I’ll go and speak to him again.” He squeezed his wife’s hand. “I’ll be back later. Will you have supper here?”
Rising to her feet, Louisa nodded. Then they embraced one another, a lingering gaze passing between them before Phineas departed.
As the door closed behind him, a heavy silence fell over the room. All their faces bespoke the uncertainty that lingered in the air, each one lost in their own thoughts.
Squawk. “Pretty bird. Pretty bird.” Squawk.
Everyone flinched at the sound of the bird’s comment as they all seemed to have forgotten its presence. However, it broke the tension in the room, painting smiles on all their faces.
“I like that bird,” Grandma Edie exclaimed with a chuckle. “I wonder if it’s capable of learning any more words.”
Christina rolled her eyes. “I’m certain we’ll find out. Harry will no doubt try to teach it.”
As they all rose to ready themselves for supper, Louisa held out a hand to hold Leonora back as the others left the drawing room. “We need to tell Mother and Father.”
Leonora nodded.
“When?” Louisa pressed.
“Give me a day or two,” Leonora replied, suddenly feeling exhausted. “It’s been a…a trying day. There’s…there’s a lot on my mind.”
A mischievous grin came to Louisa’s eyes. “Drake?”
Leonora felt heat rush to her cheeks as she recalled the way she had lain in his arms earlier that day. “I don’t know what you mean,” she huffed out, then spun on her heel and all but fled her sister’s presence.
Louisa’s disbelieving chuckle drifted out into the hall, following her up the stairs.
Chapter Thirty
The One She Wants
The next day at Lord Hutchinson’s ball, Drake found his nerves drawn as tight as a bowstring. After the revelations of the day before, he could not help but look at each and every lord and wonder if it had been him. Had it indeed been Sedgwick who had sent the notebook? Who had attacked Leonora at the masquerade almost a year ago? How were they ever going to find out?