Chapter 25
S
imon watched James return a young woman to her parents after dancing a quadrille with her. He walked over to the footman and grabbed two brandies. After strolling to the corner where James stood eyeing the room, he handed his brother a brandy.
“Perfect timing,” James said and then sipped the heady liquid.
“Oh? Need some fortification after that strenuous dance.”
James laughed. “Hardly. That dance was the highlight of the night. I hate to tell Caroline but her parties are rather dull.”
“She may be our baby sister, but don’t ever tell her that or she’ll have your head.”
“I know that.”
“So who was the woman? I don’t recognize her.”
“A friend of Caroline’s from Miss Templeton’s Refinement School.”
“And?”
James turned and stared at Simon. “And what?”
“Marriage material?”
James stole a glance toward the woman’s position. “Far too early to tell yet. Miss Stone was rather quiet but spoke well of the country life. I don’t believe she would miss Society.”
“That would be an asset.” Something struck him. “Miss Stone?” Wasn’t that the same name Charlie had mentioned?
“Yes, Miss Anna Stone.”
“Miss Anna Stone.”
“That is what I said,” James replied and cocked a brown brow at him. “Why?”
What had Charlie said about her? Caroline knew he had an infatuation with Miss Stone. “James, did Caroline introduce you to Miss Stone?”
“Yes, why?”
“Why indeed?” Simon mused. Something seemed very odd here. Why would Caroline introduce her friend to James if she knew Charlie was interested? “I need to speak with Caroline.”
“Good luck with that,” James replied. “The only time I have seen her today was when she introduced me to Miss Stone.”
“I will find her.” Simon drained his brandy and went in search of his scheming little sister.
Scanning the room, he saw her on the other side of the room. He strode through the crush but his stride turned to an amble as the crowd paused him far too many times. By the time he reached the other side of the room, Caroline was gone. He swore softly under his breath but still drew the attention of a matron who frowned at him.
He searched again, only to find her dancing with her husband. At least now he had his target in sight and could move to the edge of the dance floor in wait. He tapped his foot in time with the music as the dancers moved across the floor. Finally, the music ended.
Caroline noticed him and smiled. She and Richard walked toward him. “There you are, Simon. Why aren’t you with Mia?”
“I need to speak with you in private, Caroline.”
“Can it wait? I need to make certain everything is ready for supper.”
“No, it cannot wait.” He took his sister’s elbow and escorted her out of the room. They walked into Richard’s study and Simon closed the door behind him.
“What is going on, Simon?”
“That’s what I am trying to determine. Why did you introduce Miss Stone to James?”
Caroline tilted her head and frowned. “Why not? I thought they would suit each other. They both prefer country life over Society and he needs someone who won’t miss London.”
“But what about Charlie?”
She shook her head slightly. “What about him? They would make a dreadful match. He loves town life. Plus he is far too wild for Anna.”
“But you knew he was infatuated with her!”
“What are you talking about, Simon? I knew no such thing.” Caroline dropped into a wingback chair and folded her arms over her chest.
Simon sat across from her and stared at her. His sister was a lot of things, but she wasn’t a liar. Unfortunately, their brother was. “Charlie told me that you had said if he could persuade me to come to the party, you would make sure Miss Stone was invited as well.”
Caroline sighed. “Simon, I haven’t seen or heard from Charlie in over three months. The last time I saw him, he begged me for money to pay off his gambling debts.”
“He told me his gambling debts were under control. That he was living quite nicely off his allowance.” Simon’s jaw clenched. Once again, Charlie had lied to him.
“Why would he lie to you about his money problems when he hadn’t before now?” Caroline asked quietly.
Simon thought back to Charlie’s stay at Hartsfield Park. He’d started talking about Caroline’s party from the start, before Simon had mentioned anything about the gold Mia had found.
The door to the study opened and James walked inside. “You two are very difficult to find.”
“Not now, James,” Simon said in a dismissive tone.
“He might be able to help,” Caroline implored. “Charlie is his brother too.”
“Very well, come in.”
Once James sat down in a chair near them, Simon explained their confusion with Charlie. James remained quiet for a long moment. Finally, he blew out a long-held breath and shook his head.
“What is it, James?” Simon asked.
“I’m not certain.” James stared intently at him as if gauging Simon’s anger.
“Tell me. I promise to keep my temper.”
“I told you that Charlie was gambling friends with Lambert. But I don’t understand why that would matter.”
Simon hadn’t told anyone about the treasure except Charlie. He clenched his jaw.
“What is it, Simon?” Caroline asked softly.
“Mia found some old pieces from the Middle Ages behind Mrs. Perkins’s cottage.”
“Did Charlie know about it?” James said, leaning forward in his seat.
“Not at first. But I told him and he helped us dig a few times.” And he had returned to Hartsfield only a few days after Mia had seen Lambert behind Mrs. Perkins’s house. Images of Mia’s battered face rose to the surface. If his brother was involved in that, Simon was going to kill him. Blood pumped through him as anger crashed to the surface. Had Charlie insisted he and Mia attend this party so he could steal from him? Or perhaps Charlie had thought to search for more gold and gems behind Mrs. Perkins’s garden while they were away. His hands tightened into fists.
“Simon,” Caroline said softly. “Breathe.”
“If he harmed her or had anything to do with this...” Simon couldn’t finish his sentence.
“We have no idea if Charlie is involved with this or not,” James said quietly. “You need to give him the benefit of the doubt.”
“Indeed? Because he has never lied to any of us before this,” Simon said sarcastically.
“Simon,” Caroline started slowly, “This would be out of character for Charlie. He has always been a rake and a gambler, but he would never do anything to put Mia at risk. They were friends.”
Simon shook his head. “I’m not as certain, Caro. A desperate man will do just about anything. I need to leave now.”
“You can’t leave now, in the middle of a ball!” Caroline exclaimed. “People will talk.”
“People always talk about me. This time, I don’t care,” Simon retorted.
“What about Mia?” Caroline asked.
“She can’t come with me. I need to be swift to catch him.” Simon rose and headed for the door.
“You had better speak with her before you leave,” James counseled.
“She will only insist on coming with me. I can’t let her do that for her own safety.”
Caroline choked. “Her safety? Or because you haven’t told her the truth?”
Simon stopped and glared back at his annoying sister who was almost always right. “Both.”
“What am I supposed to tell her?” Caroline asked.
“Tell her an emergency came up at Hartsfield Park and I had to return tonight.”
As he left the room, he heard James say, “She will never believe that.”
“No, she won’t,” Caroline replied.
Mia searched the ballroom for an hour but still couldn’t find Simon. Her fury had only calmed slightly. The idea that he married her strictly to increase his reputation infuriated her. How dare he! The man was no better than Davies or Paul Smyth. Simon used her just as they had. Perhaps not as badly as Davies but it made no difference. Simon had told her he was marrying her for her own protection.
She had done it again. Only this time, she had married the scoundrel. There was no getting out of this mess.
She leaned against the wall of the ballroom and held her aching stomach. She scanned the crowd for him. Why did she let men take advantage of her? She was strong. Or at least she was most of the time. So why did men use her?
If he had only told her about this before they married, then...
Then what?
She had just been beaten to within an inch of her life. Would she have accepted what he’d done? Most likely not.
But it changed nothing. He should have told her. Perhaps he might have convinced her that he was a changed man. Now, she would never be able to believe that.
As she pushed away from the wall, determination straightened her back. She was done with men. Once she told Simon how she really felt about what he did, she would return to the Midlands. Only this time, she would stand up to her mother and insist on taking over Tia’s responsibilities at Middleton’s estate until Tia returned.
If Tia returned.
And if she didn’t, Mia would continue working as a wise woman there. For the rest of her life. Without another man. Ever.
Before she could do any of those things, she had to find him. Could he be in their room already? There was only one way to find out. She slipped out of the ballroom and raced up the stairs. She intentionally flung open the door so he would realize she was furious, but the room was empty.
Returning back downstairs, she stopped two footmen and asked if they had seen the earl. Neither had seen him. She walked the long corridor, checking each open room as she passed. It was as if he’d just disappeared. Her anger started to ease into worry.
As she passed a closed the door, it opened and James stopped in the threshold. “Have you seen Simon?”
James glanced back into the room.
“Oh, he’s in there?” Mia pushed past him and into the study. She looked around as Caroline rose from a wingback chair. “Where the bloody hell is Simon?”
James closed the door quickly. “Mia, sit down.”
Mia stared at both of them. “What is going on here? Where is Simon?”
“Sit,” James commanded.
Mia had never heard James raise his voice to anyone. Slowly, she sat in the closest chair. “Caroline, you must tell me.”
Caroline implored her brother with her eyes. James shook his head slightly.
“What is going on?” Mia shouted.
“Shh,” Caroline reprimanded. “Ladies don’t shout.”
Mia felt as if she were about to explode. “Then tell me what is going on. And where is Simon?”
“There was an emergency at Hartsfield Park. Simon felt he needed to make speed so he left on horseback.” James finished his very practiced speech and sat down.
“Now,” Mia said, turning to Caroline. “Would you please tell me the truth?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I will. Charlie was gambling friends with Lambert. Simon is afraid Charlie might have had something to do with your beating so he left for Hartsfield Park.”
Mia’s mind spun. “Charlie and I were friends growing up. He would never do such a thing. And why would Simon return to Hartsfield Park? Charlie had already left.”
“Charlie spun a fine tale in order to get Simon to this party,” James picked up the story. “There must be some reason Charlie wanted Simon away from the estate. Charlie might be having monetary difficulties.”
“I don’t understand. Simon is the one with money problems. There is nothing left that Charlie could take—”
“Except personal items that belong in the family,” Caroline interrupted softly. “Simon would never let Charlie sell off those things.”
Of course he wouldn’t, Mia thought. Otherwise, he might have done that months ago to get out of his financial situation. “But he might dig for treasure.”
Slowly, she remembered her reason for her anger at Simon. “Oh no! He’s going to be furious if Charlie had something to do with his money problems.”
“I don’t think that is the biggest issue.” James’s fingers tapped against the arm of the chair.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“If he believes Charlie hired Lambert—”
Mia jumped out of her seat. “Oh my God! He’ll kill Charlie. I have to stop him.”
James leapt out of his chair and grabbed her arm to stop her. “No.”
“I have to go to him.” She struggled against James’s greater strength. Slowly, she gave up the fight. “I love him,” she whispered.
“I know. We will go together but not until morning. It’s far too dangerous to ride at night.”
“He will be halfway there before we even leave.” She blinked back tears but she didn’t know if they were for herself, Simon, or Charlie. “Please, James. I must go now. We need to stop him.”
James’s grip around her arm tightened for a moment. “This is against my better judgment but you’re right, we will leave tonight.”
“Wonderful, how am I supposed to explain where my family went?” Caroline complained.
“I’m quite certain you will figure out something,” James said. “Go get your riding habit on and I’ll meet you back here in thirty minutes.”
Mia bit her lip.
“What?” James asked in an exasperated tone.
“I don’t have a riding habit yet. Simon said we would have one made after our return.”
“Borrow one of Caroline’s. You’re not that much smaller.”
Caroline rose. “Come along, Mia. I shall get you my habit and then I will have to get back to my party before all the other guests leave. I wish I could go with you both. He tends to listen to me more than James or Charlie.”
“He will listen to me. Thank you, Caroline.” Mia hugged her new sister-in-law.
They both raced up the stairs when no one was watching and into Caroline’s room. She opened her linen press and pulled out a burgundy riding habit.