If she had to hazard a guess, she’d say the man kept a few significant secrets. Still, he was Frederick’s heir and their family. All the family they had, actually.
In nearly the exact moment she thought of her brother, he appeared. He stepped so silently into the room, she wouldn’t have noticed his arrival if she hadn’t turned toward the door before taking her seat. “Ah, Frederick,” she noted with a smile.
As her brother came forward, looking rather fine in his evening wear, Katherine performed the necessary introduction to the marquess, who gave a proper bow before offering his hand. “A pleasure to meet you, Your Grace.”
“And you as well, my lord,” Frederick replied earnestly as he shook the man’s hand before glancing aside at Katherine. “I feel we should apologize for not knowing of your father’s death or your inheritance of the title until only recently.”
“No need to apologize,” Warfield replied firmly. “Only a very rare few knew of my existence.”
Katherine was a bit surprised by the man’s ready admittance to the mystery surrounding his sudden appearance.
“Please,” Warfield added with a flicker of his gaze in Katherine’s direction, “accept my belated condolences on your father’s death.”
“Thank you,” Katherine replied, then hesitated. “We should offer—”
“Don’t bother,” Warfield interrupted darkly. “The world is a far better place without the prior marquess in it.”
After that intense declaration, they all took their seats—Mason beside her on the sofa, Warfield on the sofa across from them, and Frederick in a chair perpendicular to the marquess—and lapsed into a few moments of awkward silence.
But not for long.
With all that had transpired the night before, Katherine simply didn’t have the patience for it. With a heavy sigh, she met the marquess’s gaze boldly and directly.
“I know this all feels quite formal, but that’s not my intention. I requested you join us tonight so we could properly welcome you to the family, my lord, and to thank you for your assistance last night. But, in the spirit of full honesty, I admit I’m also hoping you might be able to shed light on some lingering questions about your involvement in our recent peril.”
Warfield’s blue eyes were a striking contrast to his black hair and slightly swarthy complexion as he met her steady stare. “I understand your curiosity and concern, my lady, but it is the nature of some questions to go unanswered.”
Before she could respond to the cryptic statement, Mason leaned forward to rest his forearms atop his knees. “Last night, you mentioned you’d been spying on the Blackwells to ensure they weren’t in danger. Why’d you suspect they might be?”
Warfield’s black brows furrowed over his gaze. “I wasn’t spying, Mr. Hale,” he noted, which earned a quick grunt of disbelief from Mason. “I simply observed them once or twice when my...other interests crossed paths with their location.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Mason questioned.
“And you’ve evaded the point of the question, my lord,” Katherine added in a firm tone. “I think we deserve some true answers.”
Warfield hesitated as his attention flickered briefly to Frederick, who sat calm and resolute, his intelligent eyes assessing as he listened to the conversation. “It’s not exactly a tale for children.”
Katherine met her brother’s gaze as she thought of everything he’d been through. Looking back to Warfield, she noted sternly and confidently, “My brother has been through a great deal over the last year. Even if he were not wise and mature beyond his years, I believe he’s earned the right to a full understanding of what was behind the actions committed against him.”
The marquess narrowed his gaze at her response, then glanced briefly to Mason before settling his attention on Frederick. There was an intense look in his eyes for a moment, then he glanced back to Katherine and Mason before releasing a sigh of resignation.
“I assume you already know the prior marquess died some months ago in Venice, but you’re likely not aware that I was also in Italy at that time. The day of his death, I’d gone to his villa, hoping to speak with him on a...personal matter.”
A chill swept up Katherine’s nape at the way Warfield’s voice darkened with the last words. She glanced to her brother. His keen focus was riveted on the marquess.
“While I was awaiting an audience, I happened to overhear the marquess with another visitor in the next room.” He looked pointedly at Katherine. “Lord Shelbourne. They were discussing your father’s work and his recent death in a fire.” His attention shifted to Frederick. “It was Warfield who first mentioned you. At the time, I had no context for the conversation, and I admit to being distracted by my own purpose in traveling to Venice.”
Katherine did not miss how her cousin never referred to the prior marquess as Father, using only his name or title.
“I suspect you’ll be getting to the point soon, Warfield,” Mason interjected.
The marquess returned the other man’s stare before turning back to Katherine. “When I was advised the next day that the marquess had been found deceased, I was less than prepared for the sudden alteration of my circumstances.” He glanced down for a moment, as though needing to shield his thoughts. When he looked up again, his eyes were unreadable. “I apologize, but I didn’t even think of you or your brother again until I’d obtained more context for the conversation I’d overheard. Once I understood more of what Shelbourne and Warfield had been involved in...I realized the two of you were potentially in danger.”
“What exactly were they involved in?” Katherine asked, though her body went cold and tense in preparation
