family?
Should she tell her parents?
But sheâd made a bargain, and Vile Viscount Darien had done his part.
âYou look exhausted, dear,â her mother said, putting an arm around her. âCome along to bed.â
Thea went. She was too tired to make a rational decision now, and nothing would happen until later.
âSuch a night,â the duchess said as they reentered the house, âbut so wonderful. Everything straightened out, and this time Dare will win, so soon this horrible time will be over.â
âIt will leave him weak,â Thea warned.
âOf course, but heâll soon recover his strength. And then weâll have the wedding. Perhaps two?â Theaâs mother gave her a teasing look. âAvonfort, perhaps?â
âNo!â
It came out more sharply than she intended, but no wonder her mother shot her a look of surprise. Lord Avonfort was a Somerset neighbor whoâd been persistently attentive for over a year now. His home, Avonfort Abbey, was near Long Chart and his sisters were her friends. Thea supposed she would marry him, but she couldnât think of that right now. Besidesâshe might be betrothed to another!
âIf you donât care for him, there are plenty of others,â her mother said comfortably. âBut you are twenty, and I admit that Iâve neglected you these past years. Now I can give you all my attention.â
Thea escaped to her room.
Heaven help her. She, not Darien, was to be her motherâs next project.
Â
Darien stayed in Cave House on Wednesday. No challenge had awaited him when heâd returned last night, but heâd take no comfort from that. Lady Theodosia could well have waited until after the ball to complain of his actions.
If a challenge were to be issued, better it be in private, however, so he stayed in. He had a new problem to consider. In the night, someone had splashed blood on his doorstep. He might not have known about it but for his habit of riding in the early morning, before most fashionable people were about.
Heâd left the house as usual by the back, and walked to the mews area that served this terrace. When heâd arrived here a few weeks back, heâd found the Cave section let to others. As he had only one horse at the moment, heâd only reclaimed one box and not bothered to hire a groom.
None of the grooms working in the mews had been particularly welcoming, but one had agreed to care for Cerberus. Darien made sure to visit a couple of times a day to check on the horse and pay his mount some special attention, and he rode him every day. Apart from the pleasure of riding, it was a brief time with untainted affection.
The rides were the best part of his day. He liked riding and he liked morning. Morning presented each day afresh, yesterdayâs staleness and dissatisfactions washed away, all things possible.
This morning had been particularly lovely and nothing had happened to spoil it, so after his ride, Darien had strolled back to his house the long way, approaching it from the front.
And there, on the step, was a pool of drying blood.
Heâd looked around, but whoever had done this was gone.
Hanover Square was still quiet, most servants still abed. He went in quickly and found his domestic staff, the Prussocks, at the kitchen table enjoying tea, bread, and jam. Heâd found these three here as caretaking staff and not bothered to replace them yet. They did an adequate job for a man who had no visitors and never entertained, but they were an uncommunicative, unsmiling bunch.
âThereâs blood on the step,â he said. âHas someone been hurt?â
All threeâfather, mother, and slow-witted daughterâhad risen and were now staring at him.
âBlood, milord?â asked Mrs. Prussock. She often spoke for all.
âNever mind. But it needs to be washed off. Now.â
âEllie,â said Mrs. Prussock to her daughter. âOff to
Yasunari Kawabata, Edward G. Seidensticker