“They wouldn’t,” he said, rising. “But there was one person in the household who might. Valaria’s maid.”
“Franny, or Fanny, isn’t it?”
Callum nodded and his stomach sank. “Valaria has been so defensive of the young woman. If it is true that it is her own close confidante and friend who is doing this…it’s yet another betrayal. Yet another heartbreak for her.”
Theo shook his head. “Yes. So what will you do?”
“I’m returning to her tonight,” he explained. Theo arched a brow in response and Callum rolled his eyes. “Don’t get all prim and proper on me now, you notorious rake. Yes, I’m going to call on the woman I love, the woman I will marry, to comfort her after what has to have been one of the worst days of her life.”
“And you’ll reveal these suspicions?” Theo asked.
Callum nodded. “I’ll get more information about the delivery of the letter. And question Fanny.”
“What about Franklin?”
“I’ll hold off on contacting him. If I can resolve this without raising further questions, then that’s what I’ll do.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I both hope I’m correct and that this terrible thing can be stopped before it truly starts, and pray I’m wrong so I won’t be the cause of yet another pain in Valaria’s life.”
Theo stood and clapped a hand on his shoulder. “My friend, if there’s one thing I know, it’s that you aren’t the cause of her pain. I watch you together, I see how protective you are—if you can overcome her barriers, you two could actually be happy.”
Callum arched a brow. “Are you getting soft in your advancing years?”
Theo snorted. “It seems I am. Unconscionable.” His expression gentled. “Can I help?”
“No, you’re helping just by refusing to say I told you so about Silas. And about the fact that I…that I always cared a great deal more for Valaria than perhaps I wanted to admit.”
“I take no pleasure in the former and a great deal in the latter,” Theo said as he pushed to his feet. “And now I’ll go so you can have a moment to prepare yourself for how you will broach this delicate subject with Valaria. If you need me, send word.”
“I will,” Callum said, smiling with distraction as his friend left the room. But once he was alone, he picked up the two letters and looked at the paper again, his stomach turning with the thoughts he had in his head.
And the ways the truth could cut as deeply as a lie.
CHAPTER 24
Valaria sat at her dressing table, watching as Fanny put the finishing touches on her hair. She had dressed tonight in black, of course, but her best black gown. One that didn’t make her feel too terribly maudlin.
“You look lovely, as always, Your Grace,” Fanny said softly. “Are you expecting your friends after supper?”
Valaria shifted. Fanny had made her feelings clear so many times that Valaria had hesitated to reveal the truth of what had happened earlier in the day. But her maid deserved to know. And to understand that Valaria had and would continue to protect her.
“I’m expecting Callum,” she replied.
Fanny had begun to replace the combs and brushes in Valaria’s dressing table, but now her hands faltered and some pins scattered across the top. She faced Valaria.
“He is coming back here tonight?” she asked slowly.
Valaria nodded. “Yes. And before he returns I must tell you that he…he knows the truth about what happened with Silas that night.”
Now all the color left her maid’s face and Fanny staggered away, crashing into the corner of the table in her haste. Valaria lunged to her feet and held out a hand to steady the maid, but Fanny jerked away.
“He knows?” she repeated, her breath harsh and hard in the quiet of the room. “What does he know? How?”
“I told him,” Valaria said. “I told him and I told the duchesses and the Duke of Lightmorrow."
Fanny was silent for what felt like an eternity, but then she shook her head. “How could you? Better yet, why would you?”
Valaria bent her head. “Something has happened. Someone has written me a letter claiming they know what happened that night. Determined to blackmail me about it.”
Fanny’s nostrils flared slightly. “And your response was to invite even more strangers into what happened? How foolish of you.”
Valaria caught her breath. Fanny must be frightened, indeed, to be so forward. And she had earned that reaction, so Valaria tempered her own. “I had no choice,” she said. “If someone else knows what happened, then finding allies was my only option. And I…I trust them all. I never expected to do so, but I do.”
“A lot of good that will do me, your trust in your powerful friends,” Fanny snapped, and slapped a hand down on the table. “You don’t exactly have a history of good judgment.”
Valaria turned her face from the barb, expertly placed and stinging, even though she did understand where it came from. “You and I are close, Fanny, and I will never be able to repay you for your help the night Silas died. But you are crossing a line.”
For a moment, Fanny was quiet, and then she bowed her head. The heat went out of her and was replaced by a pale horror. “I am sorry, Your Grace. I should not have been so bold, but you must understand what this means. They will come for me long before they come for you if there is punishment to be meted out.”
“No!” Valaria got up and moved toward her, catching her hands gently. “I didn’t tell anyone about your part. And I won’t. Not ever. If there is a consequence for my actions, then only I will pay it.”
Fanny’s expression softened. “You didn’t tell them?”
“I told you I would not betray you and I won’t. Never! If something does come of this, if Callum cannot protect me and I am ruined or arrested for what I did, then I swear to you I will also ensure that you are well taken care of. Part of bringing others into this situation was so that I could ask them for their assistance for not just me, but for you. I know they’ll make certain that you have a new position that will pay you and treat you well. I owe you that and so much more, my dearest friend.”
“Your Grace—” Fanny began, her eyes welling with tears.
But before they could continue the conversation, there was a light knock on the chamber door and Higgins voice came from the hall. “His Grace has arrived, Your Grace.”
“Thank you, I’ll join him straight away,” Valaria called out. She squeezed Fanny’s hands. “We’ll talk about this more later, I promise. I’ll go to him now.”
Fanny jerked out a nod and said nothing else as Valaria left the room. Her tangled emotions eased a little as she went to the stairs and down them to where Callum waited. No person had ever brought her peace and yet he did. And she supposed that was part of the love she felt for him. He was her comfort in a storm.
She only hoped that these storms wouldn’t wreck him, as they would likely wreck her, on rocky shores.
When Valaria entered the parlor, all thoughts briefly left Callum’s mind. All he could do was stare at her with her brown hair done up so that it accentuated the angles of her face, her blue-gray eyes warm as they fell on him. God, but she was beautiful, both inside and out.