The Lord Who Sneered and Other Tales by Heidi Ashworth Read Free Book Online

his three brothers and, I am sorry to say, my beloved son.”
    “Not Uncle John!” Anne cried before she thought better of it. “I beg your pardon, Grandmama, but Reed often spoke of how dissimilar John was from the rest of the Crenshaws.”
    “Yes, as different as Anthony is from his uncle, but he required a warning as much as the rest. He had a weak heart, but he refused to drink less, ride less, and he kept the most appalling hours. I was grief-stricken when he died, just as did the rest of them who deserved it far more.”
    Anne was overcome with a new fear. “Reed; you don’t mean that he…?”
    “Yes, as a warning of what was to come but not to anyone who knew to mention it until it was too late. Needless to say, a ghost that refuses to speak has little hope of comprehension. I onlyunderstood it after the accident, myself. I made inquiries,” the Dowager added in so low a voice, Anne nearly did not catch her words.
    “It would seem this ghost is not particularly discerning,” Theo pointed out. “To whom did he come the last time?”
    The Dowager looked at him in some surprise. “To you, if I am to trust my instincts.”
    “Yes, Grandmama, you are most correct, but, I believe Mr. Williams desires to know to whom the ghost appeared prior to tonight.”
    “It is of no consequence,” the Dowager said with a wave of her hand. “It clearly has no bearing on his message. If he can appear to that witless Lady Avery, he clearly has, as you say, Mr. Williams, no discernment. That he appears, is enough.”
    Anne had many more questions but her resolution dissolved when Theo drew her closer into the circle of his arm. She felt such comfort in his touch that she knew she need fear nothing as long as he was near.
    “Your Grace,” he stated, “I can see you are apprehensive about this ghost. How you must agonize that one of your family is in danger. I don’t believe there is any reason to fear Anne could possibly be the one for whom the ghost appeared, but I shall not quit this house until I am persuaded she is not.”
    Anne knew her emotions to be her downfall as she felt them quiver between her own fears and a giddy joy. “Oh, yes, Grandmama! I do believe I shall feel much safer were Mr. Williams present; at least until we learn what is meant by the ghost’s appearance,” she pleaded.
    “I do believe I shall, as well,” the Dowager said to Anne’s astonishment. “I shall give you, Mr. Williams, free reign to ask what you might of whom. If there is an ill fate awaiting my son the Duke, so be it, but if my Anthony is in danger, I shall move Heaven and Earth to put a stop to it!”
    It seemed there was nothing more to say and the three of them moved, as one, down the long gallery and back the way they had come. Not a word was exchanged, but Anne dared to put a hand torest against Theo’s where it encircled her shoulder. Periodically he gave it a squeeze as he looked down into her face with a light in his eyes that owed nothing to the candle he held.
    Once they had climbed the stairs and headed down the passage of private chambers, Anne began to feel apprehensive. Not only should she be required to spend the balance of the night alone in her room but Grandmama would likely make some humiliating remark designed to keep Theo at arm’s length. However, when they gained her door, she disappeared into her room with nary a word.
    Anne looked at Theo in astonishment who gazed back at her in such a way that it would surely have made the blood sing in her veins if she hadn’t been so stiff with fear. “I shall see you at breakfast, as usual,” she related. “Afterwards, we shall begin our quest for answers.”
    He gave no response until he had dropped his arm from her shoulder and stepped round to tower over her. “I am just down the hall. You need only scream, and I shall be at your door.”
    “Yes. Yes, I do know. Thank you. It is a comfort.”
    “You are trembling. Is it just with cold?”
    “Yes,” she