"She's not yet got over finding that letter," Elizabeth said.
Claire elbowed her younger sister in the ribs.
"What?" Juliana looked between them. "What letter?"
"Now you've done it," Claire accused, her unusual amethyst eyes glaring into her sister's green ones. "Rachael's kept mum on the subject deliberately, you know."
Elizabeth's hands flew up to slap her own cheeks. "Oh, fiddlesticks!"
"What letter?" Juliana repeated.
Although the Painted Room was filled with the babel of conversation, Claire and Elizabeth's silence was noticeable. "Whatever it is," Corinna said for them, "Rachael wants it kept a secret."
"Surely she didn't mean from us," Juliana said. "We're her cousins."
"No, you aren't," Elizabeth said, then clapped a hand over her mouth.
"What?" Juliana and Corinna burst out together.
Claire glared at her sister again, then sighed. "When Rachael cleared out our parents' suite at Greystone for Noah, she found a letter that revealed she had a different father than ours. It seems our mother was married before and carrying Rachael when she was widowed. Then she married our father before giving birth."
Juliana looked astonished. "Who was her real father, then?"
"She doesn't know." Claire shook her head sadly. "The letter didn't say, and there's no one to ask. We have no living grandparents, and Mama's only sister died when we were young. Rachael went through all of our mother's belongings, searching for clues to who her first husband might have been, but she found nothing."
"Is she still looking?" Corinna asked, concerned.
"She cannot think of anywhere else to look," Elizabeth said. "Griffin even helped her go through everything again last year, in case she missed something."
Now Juliana looked intrigued. "Griffin knows about this?"
"He's the only one besides us," Claire said. "Please don't tell Rachael you know now, too. She'd be mortified."
"Why?" Corinna asked. "Her parentage is certainly no fault of hers. Does she think so little of us that she believes it would change our feelings towards her?"
"I fear she's not thinking at all these days." Claire crossed her arms over her violet satin bodice and leveled another glare at her sister. "Much like Elizabeth."
"I'm sorry," Elizabeth squeaked.
Claire sighed. "I don't think Rachael even realizes you're not her cousins. She's so upset at not knowing who her father is that she hasn't thought past that. Or maybe she's blocked the truth from her mind, because she can't stand the thought of losing all the family she knows."
"She still has you two," Corinna said. "And Noah."
"But that's all. Please just let her work it out for herself in her own good time. I don't think she could take hearing anything more now."
"We promise not to tell a soul." Corinna turned to Juliana. "Don't we?"
"Of course we do." Juliana reached to touch both her cousins' arms reassuringly. "I'm sorry to hear Rachael is so upset over this discovery, but I assure you that no one—including her—will hear about it from either of us. We love Rachael, and we don't find it upsetting at all."
To the contrary, Corinna suspected Juliana was personally thrilled to hear this news. Rachael's main objection to marrying Griffin had always been that he was a cousin. That obstacle was now gone. Rachael had confided in Griffin, and Griffin had tried to help her and kept her secret. Add all of that together, and it seemed another of Juliana's constant projects was well on its way to success.
And if Juliana actually managed to pull it off, she was going to be smug beyond belief.
FIVE
FEW PEOPLE were strolling in Green Park this Thursday evening. The undulating landscape was shadowed by the setting sun, and the gardens were very tranquil.
But Rachael wasn't.
Gripping the terrace's rail, she stared out over grassland and trees, telling herself it was time to let go of these feelings. She was never going to learn who had fathered her, and she had to come to grips with that. She'd allowed Griffin to help her as he'd wanted, and they'd found nothing—just as she'd expected. That had been months ago, months spent in a melancholy haze.
The man who had raised her had cared for her, so it shouldn't matter that they hadn't shared a blood bond, should it? And how long could she remain angry with her mother for withholding the facts? The woman was dead, for God's sake. The anger was pointless, and she had to get on with her life.
"Rachael."
Turning to see her brother step out on the terrace, she forced a smile. "Noah. You arrived so late I had no chance to chat with you before the wedding." His priorities never had been with family or the earldom. "Did you get the new racehorse settled in at Greystone?"
"Horses," he corrected. "I bought two. And they're both doing well, yes. I'm hoping for a good showing at Ascot. While I was home I asked for an inventory to be taken—"
"An inventory of what?" Since when did Noah care about anything at Greystone Castle?
"Of everything. While dining there alone, I noticed that old portrait of the first earl over the fireplace and got to thinking about what might have accumulated in the hundred and fifty years since he was granted the title and lands. The servants aren't finished yet—I expect it will take them weeks to catalog everything they find. But one thing they discovered was an old trunk in the attic with Mama's wedding dress and a few other items. Nothing important—"
"I want to see it."
"I knew you would," he said with a wry smile. "That's why I'm telling you they found it. I had it brought down and put in my room so you can go through it after the season."
"I want to see it now. Can we go to Greystone tomorrow?"
"I've just returned from Greystone, and the Jockey Club meets
