Caleb didn’t respond, but hurried off. He was desperate to find Caro, and he searched through the various parlors that were mostly empty. She was probably already in bed, and he knew where her bedchamber was located. Dare he risk seeking her out in it again? He couldn’t avoid it. This discussion couldn’t be delayed.
He went to the front foyer, and as he reached it, Blake was there too. He grabbed his brother’s arm and pulled him aside.
“You look as if you’ve seen a ghost,” Blake said. “What’s wrong?”
“You won’t believe what that fool, Gregory Grey, told me.”
“Yes, I will. He’s an ass, so it might have been any horrendous thing.”
“His fiancée, Caroline, is one of the Mystery Girls of the Caribbean.”
Blake blanched. “Could he have been lying?”
“I figured he was, so I asked his sister, Janet. She insisted it was true, but she begged me not to tell anyone. Apparently, it’s very upsetting to Caroline.”
“A shiver just worked its way down my spine,” Blake said. “What are the odds that we’d finally stumble on one of those girls? What are the odds that it would be here at Grey’s Corner? I don’t like this. Is Fate toying with us for some reason?”
He and Blake had incessantly debated whether to track down the Lost Girls. Especially when Libby Carstairs had begun performing in London. They’d wondered if they shouldn’t arrange an introduction to her.
But would she want to confer with them? Would she recall that it was Caleb’s father who’d rescued her? Would she be delighted to learn about their connection? Or would it have been an embarrassing encounter?
In the end, they hadn’t pursued a meeting, but now, Caroline Grey had been pushed into the middle of their lives. What were they to make of it?
“Have you spoken to her?” Blake asked.
“No. I just heard about it.”
“It’s so late; she’s likely in bed.”
“I’ll look for her for a few minutes,” Caleb said, “in case she’s still up. Would you go to the card room and keep Gregory occupied? I’ll be there shortly.”
“I won’t be able to concentrate. I’m too excited over what her comments might be.”
“We’ll corner her tomorrow and spend hours chatting. I’d like to pry out every detail.”
“If she recollects any.”
“I’m sure she does. Libby Carstairs has a successful career from telling stories about it. I’m betting Miss Grey has some interesting tales to tell too.”
Caleb walked off, needing to get away from Blake before his brother realized he could have accompanied Caleb on his hunt for Caro. This was a conversation Caleb intended to have with her in private.
He climbed the stairs and headed for the other wing of the manor where the smaller rooms and unimportant guests were lodged. He hadn’t asked Caro why she was lodged there. Why didn’t she have a bigger suite overlooking the park?
She ran the house and was in charge of the staff, so she had plenty of authority. The servants appeared to like her, and they exhibited the appropriate deference, so he hoped she had chosen the spot and not that her uncle was treating her poorly.
He knocked once, then slipped inside, not pausing to ponder what he’d do if she had a maid tending her. Luckily, she was alone. She’d dressed for bed, so she was wearing a nightgown and naught else. Her glorious black hair was down and brushed out, her arms and toes bare.
The nightgown was white, with purple flowers embroidered along the bodice. It should have appeared virginal and innocent, but it was sewn from a thin fabric that had grown thinner from much laundering. There were two narrow straps across her shoulders, so she was displaying lots of bosom.
He was viewing much more of her than was proper or that should ever have been allowed to a rogue such as himself.
“Mr. Ralston!” she scolded in a whisper. “This is becoming a very bad habit.”
“I had to talk to you about a significant topic.”
“It couldn’t wait until morning?”
“No, it definitely couldn’t wait.”
She grabbed a robe off the chair, and she yanked it on, tying the belt with an angry flourish. Her nerves had flared, and she clutched at the lapels, trying to pull them closer.
He stepped away from the door, and in three quick strides, he was standing next to her. He pressed her against the dresser, their bodies crushed together from chests to shins. She glared up at him like a grouchy governess, but she didn’t draw away.
Apparently, she was as thrilled by their proximity as he was. Their nearness generated such extreme sensations. Why ignore them?
“Your cousins, Janet and Gregory, shared the most shocking information about you, and I’m bowled over by it.”
“There is not a single piece of my personal history that I would describe as shocking, so I can’t imagine to what you refer.”
“You can’t? Really?”
“Yes, really, and you’re being obnoxious. I wish you’d sneak out before you get me in trouble.”
“I can’t leave yet. For you see, Miss Grey, I have discovered that you are a dreadful liar, and I must be apprised as to why you’ve kept this pesky secret from me.”
“I have no secrets, sir. What could I possibly have kept from you?”
“I have it on credible authority that you are one of the Mystery Girls of the Caribbean.”
She stared at him forever as she picked what her reply should be. She settled on, “I’m not supposed to talk about it, so I probably shouldn’t.”
He frowned. “Meaning what?”
“My uncle and Gregory don’t like me to remind people of what transpired. They insist it’s left me too peculiar, and they act as if the whole thing was my fault somehow.”
“You were four!”
“I know. Their attitude has always been very unfair, but I’ve accepted their position, and it happened twenty years ago. It’s ancient history, and I fail to comprehend why it would be of any interest to you at all.”
She pushed away from him and went to huddle by the bed. She was struggling to
