“Well,” Alex drawled, his arms spread across the doorway to block any exit. “This is a pleasant intrusion. I must try to recall what I had done to deserve such a delightful surprise.”
“We’re not here to exercise your ego or your manhood,” May-Jewel snapped. His flushed face and the glassy look in his eyes, disgusted her, for he had been drinking again.
Alex responded with mock surprise. “You’re not? I’m deeply disappointed.” He glared at them. Lowering his arms, he stepped toward them. “What are you two doing in my quarters?”
Even though he swayed as he moved toward them, May-Jewel thought his movements were menacing, and she backed away from him.
But Katherine held her ground and blurted, “Looking for that letter you received from Neal Jameson a few hours ago. The one about your position in the Craig shipping lines.”
Unexpectedly, Alex exploded in laughter. “I find your insinuations amusing. That’s not at all what it was about.”
“Well,” May-Jewel insisted, holding her hand out to him, “let us see the letter then!”
Alex eased his laughter. “Of course,” he replied. Moving toward the window, he pulled a small valise from behind the curtain. Withdrawing from it a folded paper, he asked, “Is this what you ‘spies’ were looking for?”
The women moved sheepishly toward him. But he didn’t hand them the letter. He waved it about in front of them.
“It’s not from Neal Jameson. It’s from another law firm, and it pertains to a business venture that has reached an unsatisfactory conclusion, the purchase of a vessel. Or, in this case, the non-purchase of a vessel. Since you’ve not taken over the running of the business yet, I didn’t think to concern you. And,” Alex snapped, “it most certainly has nothing to do with my partnership in the Craig Shipping business. You have invaded my privacy, now leave.”
Katherine wanted to read the letter in the worse way. She wanted to challenge him, but couldn’t think of a legitimate reason to enforce her will.
“I suppose we owe you an apology,” May-Jewel mumbled, fully ashamed of her actions.
“Do you now?” he replied sarcastically, as he returned the letter to the valise. “Don’t you know that apologies aren’t accepted in this house?” He glared at her.
Katherine drew his attention by gently pulling her sister behind her. “We were under the impression that the letter contained some information about your partnership, and we wanted to know what it was.”
“And just how did you come by that impression?”
She wasn’t sure how to answer. Then admitted, “Charles. He seemed as sure about it as if he had read the letter.”
Alex’s eyebrows rose. “Which of course he hadn’t.”
Katherine and May-Jewel suddenly looked at one another and then back to Alex. His appearance darkened as he suddenly towered over them. At that moment, the sisters both felt threatened. And drunk or not, the alert glint in his eyes warned Katherine to be very careful of what she said next.
“No,” Katherine uttered quickly, “how could he have seen it?”
“Of course, he hadn’t seen it,” May-Jewel echoed. “How could he? Perhaps we misunderstood his simple words.”
“How could he have indeed,” Alex whispered as he turned to replace the valise in its former spot behind the curtain.
While Alex’s back was turned, the women hurriedly slipped out of his room and hastened down the hall.
But before they could enter Katherine’s room, Garth intercepted their flight.
He took Katherine’s elbow gently to stay her. “Please, I must speak with you.”
“And I with you,” she replied, angrily pulling her arm free.
“I’ll be walking in the garden, if you need me,” May-Jewel announced, as she retraced her steps to the stairs.
Garth started by saying, “To clear up any misconceptions, the Selina that I knew was an odd little woman in India, my father’s secretary whom, I was later informed, he was supposed to have married. She’s the only Selina I know. But she was very peculiar and might have been the one who encouraged my father in swearing out the complaint against me. If she’s the woman you’ve been seeing, I can’t imagine how or why she’s here.” He paused. “Unless…”
Katherine looked upon his frowning face. “Unless what?”
“Unless,” he exclaimed, “she’s here for the emeralds!”
“The emeralds? Sir Robert surely must have sold them after Lady Edythe’s death.”
“As I remember, he claimed he couldn’t find them. They just seemed to disappear. He must have told Selina about them.” He suddenly took her by the hand and guided her into her room.
“What are you doing?”
“I want you and May-Jewel to go into your rooms and lock your doors. If Selina is here, she’s not to be trusted. I’m going to find her.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“No, you wouldn’t be safe. If it’s her, I must warn you that she had the reputation of being slightly insane. I warned father about her, but he wouldn’t listen. She’ll go to any length to get what she wants.” Having given that warning, he hurried away.
* * *
Garth, unable to find any sign of Selina, sought out Charles in his quarters.
“Aye, Sir Robert’s foreign wife ‘twere here. That be what I wanted ta tell ye when ye first arrived. I found her near death by the roadside, her lifeless bairn in her arms. I brung her here an’ went ta fetch her some tea. But when I returned, she were gone. I searched but found no trace. I be waitin’ for her ta coom back. I have her papers.”
“A baby?”
“Aye, a boy child.”
Garth stood rigid. A baby! That’s why she came here. Thinking me dead, with a son of her own and no other male heir, she would have all rights to Wistmere.
Charles retrieved the papers and held them out to him. Quickly reading the documents, Garth then put them in his pocket. His
