Gabriella, I'd turn my back on Carlotta's actions and let her be dead.' I paused, sighed. 'No, truth to tell, I do not know what I would do. I am sorry, in a way, that you found her.' That was not true either, because I was gladder than I'd ever been in my life to find Gabriella whole and well.

'There is another way,' Denis began softly, his eyes cool, 'that we have not discussed. One that would make you free with the least amount of fuss.'

A chill crept into my bones. He stared back at me, blue eyes impenetrable.

He could do it. He could order Carlotta murdered and never turn a hair. He had enough pull in London to hire someone to do it quietly and send Auberge home alone, the magistrates none the wiser.

I took a step closer to Denis. The footman bent a watchful eye on me, but I ignored him. 'If you harm a hair on Carlotta's head, I will kill you. I do not care how you'd try to stop me; I would do it.'

We shared a look. I saw him assess what I was capable of and make his decision. He did not decide out of fear; he simply decided. 'Very well.'

Damn the man. He could coolly stand and contemplate murdering a man's wife as a favor and think nothing of it. Another reason why I could never bring myself to work for James Denis.

I straightened up and set my walking stick on the floor. 'I would be the first man suspected, in any case.'

'Very likely,' Denis said, his mouth straight. 'Very well then, Captain. We will begin with the courts.'

I left Denis's house in a foul mood. I waved away the carriage that waited to take me back to Covent Garden and tramped on foot northward. I could not bring myself to go home and brood. I needed to walk, I needed to think, I needed to talk to someone who would understand.

Not surprisingly, my footsteps took me up South Audley Street, past the home of Lady Breckenridge, who was no doubt fast asleep-a lady of fashion did not rise before noon-and through Grosvenor Square to the Brandon house in Brook Street.

Chapter Six

My knock was answered by Brandon's very correct butler, Matthews. I knew that the man had once been a corporal in the Thirty-Fifth Light, joining to escape a shady past, and had gotten himself into trouble in the army more than once. When he'd been about to desert, Louisa had rescued him, promising him protection if he reformed his ways. He'd become her devoted servant, taking the post of footman upon their return to London. Domestic service seemed to be his forte, as evidenced by his rapid rise from footman to butler.

He peered at me down his once-broken nose, his hauteur genuine but conflicting with his thick body and criminal-class stare. 'Mrs. Brandon is not at home, sir.'

'At eleven in the morning?' I asked skeptically. 'Is she at Lady Aline's?'

'I beg your pardon, sir. I mean that she is not at home to you.'

I blinked. Louisa Brandon had never before instructed her servants to send me away. 'Is she all right?'

'Perfectly fine, sir.'

I closed my mouth with a snap and looked him up and down. 'Let me in, Matthews.'

His eyes widened. One eye had been damaged in a fight long ago and was perpetually half-bloodshot. 'And disobey the mistress? Never, sir.'

'Tell her that I forced my way past you, which I will do if you do not stand aside.'

Louisa would be furious with Matthews-and me-if he let me in, but at the same time, I was desperate and angry. Mathews had witnessed my famous temper on the Peninsula, and though he probably matched me in strength, he always watched me warily.

He deliberately took one step to the side. 'Very well, sir. I will tell madam that I held out manfully.'

'Good.' I strode past him. As Matthews shut the door and reached for my hat and gloves, I asked, 'Why does she not want to see me?'

'She does not want to speak to anyone in connection with the colonel's recent incarceration, sir. She is most sensitive about it.'

'And where is the colonel?'

'At his club. He, I believe, has decided to bluff it out.'

I could imagine. Brandon and I belonged to a fledgling club for cavalry officers in a tavern in St. James's. I pictured him sitting in the taproom with his newspapers, casting his chill blue gaze over anyone who tried to bring up the embarrassment of his brief stay in Newgate. Brandon had a fiery and compelling personality, and if he willed people not to talk about it, they would not.

I knew where Louisa would be at eleven in the morning. I trudged upstairs to her yellow sitting room, where she liked to take breakfast and go over her correspondence on mornings that her husband was out.

She sat on a low sofa, wearing her favorite yellow, a gown of soft muslin. She had not yet dressed her hair, and it hung down her back in a loose golden braid. I'd always thought her lovely, with her crooked nose, wide mouth, and light gray eyes. Those eyes flashed irritation, however, when she beheld me entering, unannounced.

'I believe I will have Matthews flogged,' she said.

'I bested him in a fair fight.' I sat down on a sofa next to hers, tossing my walking stick to the floor. 'Do you deny me your door now?'

Her eyes held challenge. 'Am I not allowed a few moments' solitude?'

'How long have we been friends, Louisa?'

'Above twenty years, I believe.'

'Exactly. And have we not shared hardship as well as good times? Have we not helped one another over the worst in our lives?' I leaned forward. 'Do not shut me out now, Louisa. I need you.'

'I found Black Nancy for you. Was that not enough?'

'Carlotta is in London,' I said abruptly. 'I've just come from a meeting with her.'

Louisa's irritation vanished in an instant. Her face lost color, and her gray eyes grew sharp and hard, like many-faceted diamonds. 'In London? Where?'

'I spoke with her at James Denis's, but she is staying in a boardinghouse in King Street, Covent Garden. Denis brought her here, to facilitate a divorce.'

'Oh.' Louisa's voice was as hard as her eyes. 'I would like to see her.'

'She has changed,' I said, trying to keep my voice neutral. 'I believe life in the French countryside agrees with her.'

Louisa's mouth flattened. 'She had no right to leave you. I saw what it did to you. She had no right to do that.'

Her vehemence startled me. Louisa had been very angry when Carlotta had deserted me, but I had no idea she still clung to the anger. 'I forgave her, Louisa. The leaving of me, I mean. I made her terribly unhappy.'

'Carlotta was a bloody fool. If she'd opened her eyes, she would have seen what a blessing she had in you, what a worthy man you are. But she was always selfish.' Louisa broke off and held up her hand. 'Do not worry, Gabriel, I will not beg you again to run off with me to Paris. When I asked you that, I was hurt and confused by Aloysius's betrayal. That must have been extremely awkward for you.'

Her cheeks were red now. She, after learning of her husband's infidelity, had asked me to take her on a wild liaison to France. I would have been more flattered had I not known she had more wanted to punish her husband than be with me. I had reasoned her out of such a rash action.

'You were much agitated,' I said. 'What happened that day is no reason to bar your door to me now.'

She softened. 'I do hope you did not hurt Matthews.'

'I battered him only metaphorically. I needed to see you.'

'About Carlotta.' Louisa frowned. 'I truly wish to tell her what I think. What of Gabriella? Where is she?'

'She is here with Carlotta.' I paused. 'I saw her. Louisa, she is so beautiful.'

Tears welled in my eyes again, and I saw matching tears in Louisa's. She moved to me and took my hand,

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