Notorious Deception by Adrienne Basso Read Free Book Online Page A

Caroline, but was not so close so that the first thing Caroline would see upon awakening was Diana’s curious face.
    Just a few minutes passed before Caroline began moaning. Concerned, Diana moved closer to the bed, trying to decipher what the other woman was saying. She placed a firm hand on Caroline’s brow to determine if there was any sign of fever. At Diana’s touch, Caroline immediately fell silent, and then she called out clearly, “Alyssa, is that you?”
    Caroline did not open her eyes when she spoke, and Diana assumed she was still under the influence of the medication. When Caroline continued to call for Alyssa, Diana decided it would be best to placate her rather than allowing her to be further agitated.
    â€œI am here, Caroline,” Diana responded in a very low voice.
    Caroline instantly relaxed. “Read to me,” she pleaded. “Read to me from Byron’s book.”
    Diana’s eye speculatively swept about the room, coming to rest on the mahogany night table near the bed, where a slim book lay. She picked up the well-worn volume and read the title on the spine: Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage . Diana opened the book and was impressed to read the personalized inscription and signature of the author, Lord Byron. Hoping to calm Caroline enough so she could sleep, Diana pulled her chair closer to the bed and spent the remainder of the afternoon reading to and watching over Caroline.
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    Derek arrived at his club on St. James Street at four o’clock, two hours later than he had told Tristan to meet him. He strolled purposefully through the rooms searching for his friend, giving only the briefest nod of acknowledgment to those acquaintances he passed on his way. He finally located Tristan comfortably settled in a quiet corner, hidden behind a copy of The Examiner .
    â€œBecoming a reformist, Tris?” Derek remarked, reading the headline of the weekly paper.
    A few seconds elapsed before Tristan lowered his paper. “Well, Derek,” Tristan said in a dry voice, “I’ve been waiting for you for so long it was either read what the Hunt brothers have to say or join the young dandies lounging in the bow window up front. They are busy eyeing the women as they walk by and passing rude remarks about the men. You should be glad I chose the paper.”
    Derek smiled down at his friend before sitting in the chair next to him. “No, you should be glad you chose the paper. Liberals they may be, but the Hunts make a damn sight more sense than the fools sitting up at the windows.”
    â€œPerhaps,” Tristan said with a grin, demonstrating that he was not really angry. “I was beginning to wonder about you, Derek. It isn’t like you to be so late.”
    â€œSorry,” Derek said and signaled for a waiter to bring refreshments. “I’ve spent the most frustrating day. I swear I’ve been all over London this afternoon on the most complex document trail you can imagine.”
    â€œI wish I had been with you,” Tristan remarked, tossing his newspaper aside. “Were you able to learn anything to substantiate the lovely Diana’s most unusual story?”
    â€œNot precisely. I have, however, made a rather bizarre connection between my cousin and the lady,” Derek admitted. “I spent the better part of last night and this morning searching through every scrap of paper in the house, hoping Giles left some clues behind.”
    â€œAnd,” Tristan said, “what have you discovered?”
    â€œNot very much, I’m afraid. I found a letter dated September of last year from a solicitor who requested a meeting in his office with Giles. The solicitor’s name was not familiar to me; he was not the same man who handled Giles’s estate. I decided to pay this man, one Mr. Jonathan Marlow, a visit, but when I arrived at the address I was told he no longer kept an office at that location,”
    â€œHas he