“Then what was it that made you break things off?” Kate asked. “If, that is, it’s not too personal.”
Since her friend had confided some of her most painful secrets from her relationship with her abusive first husband, Caro could hardly refuse to reveal her own, mild by comparison, reason for her broken betrothal. But finding the words wasn’t easy.
“Because we were eager to see one another, while still keeping our understanding private, we tried to attend the same society entertainments,” Caro began, realizing this was the first time she’d told the tale to anyone aloud. “Naturally, I was pleased when Cynthia invited my family to the first ball she hosted as Lord Wrackham’s bride.”
“And?”
“And I foolishly went searching for Val and stumbled upon him having a conversation with his brother,” Caro admitted, remembering the way the glow of the fire in the antechamber had ensconced the Thorn brothers as they shared a drink. She could still recall the glint of the lamplight on the cut crystal of their glasses. “It was not a pleasant one.”
“Oh no.” Kate raised a hand in horror.
“Piers was so proud that Cynthia had managed to pull off such a crush, given they’d only been married little more than a month. And then he said she’d made only one misstep, but he chalked it up to her softheartedness.” Caro remembered each of those awful words. “‘Once she learns what is what, she’ll realize that people like the Hardcastles are not our kind of people. Especially that daughter. She’s trying so hard to be an original she’s on the verge of making a spectacle of herself.’”
“What did Val say?” Kate asked, her lips pressed tightly together.
“He said nothing,” Caro said, unable to keep the hurt from her voice. “He changed the subject. He had a chance to defend me and my family from his brother’s snobbery and chose not to do so. I’d had a lifetime of my mother trying to mold me into a perfectly behaved social paragon, and suddenly I could see the future stretching out before me where I would be found wanting by my husband’s family while he sat by and let them criticize me. It was too much. I broke off our betrothal that very night.”
“Did he have anything to say for himself?”
Caro smiled sadly. “He tried to explain—he knew the moment he saw my face that I’d overheard—but my mind was made up. He said he was trying to honor our decision to keep the betrothal just between us, but how could I believe him? Surely in such a moment, the impulse to defend me should have outweighed secrecy. Besides, I’d already seen how I’d be treated by the Thorn family if I dared to marry him. I said something about realizing we came from two different worlds and rushed back into the ballroom before we could argue more. Then I asked my parents if we could leave early, which Papa, at least, was happy to do.”
“I’m so sorry, Caroline,” Kate said to her. “Both for what Piers said and Val’s failure to defend you.”
Caro hesitated, then continued. “I’m not one to nurse regrets after I’ve made a decision, but I sometimes wonder if I was harder on him than he deserved.”
“You’ve had second thoughts?” Kate raised her brows.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Caro said. “Especially not since he’s inherited. Even if he didn’t openly agree with his brother, the fact that he didn’t argue signaled tacit approval. Now that he’s to be the next Duke of Thornfield, he probably thanks fate for his lucky escape. I know I do.”
“I understand now why the two of you have been at such loggerheads,” Kate said, just as the carriage began to slow. “And why you resisted having him come with us to the Lyceum. It must be painful for both of you to be around each other.”
“That wasn’t because of me,” Caro said, correcting her. “For all of his faults, he’s a handsome devil and I doubt we’d get a word of sense out of any of the actresses if we’d brought him along.”
Kate laughed, as Caro had intended. While their conversation had been uncomfortable, she felt better for having finally told Kate the truth. But after such a heavy topic, she badly needed a change of subject.
“Good point,” Kate agreed as the carriage drew to a stop. “Now, let’s go see what we can learn about Effie’s mysterious watcher.”
“We should also find out what we can about Effie’s relationship with Frank,” Caro said, steeling herself against a tendency to think the best of her friend’s betrothed. “I can’t help but think that in most cases, when a woman is harmed, the culprit is either the husband…or the lover.”
Kate paused before taking the step the coachman had just let down. “Do you really think Frank might be to blame? He was injured. And I don’t believe he was feigning illness.”
“We can’t rule it out,” Caro said. “Even though we both know how enamored Effie is of him. He could easily have instructed the men to strike him so as to make his innocence seem more plausible.”
“Another reason for us to come here without Val,” Kate said as she waited for Caro to reach the pavement.
“I hope we don’t learn anything to implicate his cousin,” Caro said, “because if you think Val and I are at odds now, I fear you will see outright war between us if I accuse his cousin of kidnapping.”
Chapter Four
Despite Frank’s protestations that as soon as he’d had a bit of rest he’d be ready to go out and search for Effie, it was clear to Val that his cousin’s injuries had left him more ill than he was willing to admit. The physician proclaimed Frank also had several bruised ribs and a sprained wrist.
“Your cousin is lucky to have escaped with only minor injuries, my lord,” Dr. Woolford told Val in the hallway outside of the guest room where Frank had been persuaded to lie down. “If they’d not been in such a hurry, I feel sure the ruffians who attacked him could easily have broken his bones or worse. As it is, he has suffered no more than many young men who do a bit of sparring.”
Rounding the corner toward the stairs, Val placed a hand on the physician’s arm. “Woolford, I hope I can count on your discretion about this. I would like to keep my cousin’s name out of the papers for as long as possible.”
The two men knew one another from Jim Hyde’s boxing club, where Val was a frequent observer and Woolford acted as house physician. He counted the man as a friend from his time spent writing Hyde’s biography. Woolford was a competent physician, but the primary reason Val had asked for his assistance was the doctor would not disclose that he’d been urgently called upon to treat a member of the Thorn family.
“Of course, my lord,” Woolford assured him. “No one will learn of this from me.”
The doctor made to leave, but Val stopped him again. “I have a delicate question. And again, I’d ask that you please exercise discretion in the matter.”
When Woolford nodded, Val continued. “Do you think it’s possible that my cousin could have caused his own injuries?”
To his credit, the doctor didn’t bat an eye at the question. Either he’d heard far worse in his career or he had learned over the years to keep a strong control over his reactions. “I don’t think so, no. There were very clear finger marks on his upper arms where one of the men grabbed hold of him. Is it possible he gripped himself into that position?” The wiry man’s lips twisted so that his thick salt-and-pepper moustache bristled comically. “It’s possible, but most men would stop before causing any kind of bruising.”