He decided to speak to Lord Havershire, to find out what could be done. And he also intended to confront Lady Anne, to discover why she had turned against her friend. While neither the earl, nor Regina, could visit London, there was nothing to prevent him from doing so.
Dalton left the room and saw one of the housemaids tidying up the parlour. ‘Have you seen Lord Havershire?’
The girl’s face turned confused. ‘He left, my lord.’
‘What do you mean, he left?’ Dalton’s mood tightened, for the earl ought to be here. Had he turned coward and run? He crossed to the window and saw Mr Sidney’s coach departing but no one else.
‘He went with the man who came calling,’ the maid answered. ‘He didna pack any clothes, but he just...went away.’
‘Did you hear him say anything? Did he speak to anyone?’
‘He only said that he had to leave, to help his daughter.’ Then a moment later, she added, ‘He did go to see Lady Camford before he left. And he seemed sad after he said goodbye.’
Havershire was clearly planning something, but what? A coldness caught Dalton as he mulled it over. If Havershire returned to London, everything could unravel. The earl was already unstable after he’d tried to kill Miss Goodson. God help him if the man was going after Lady Anne.
Or there was another possibility. Dalton knew what he would do, if he were in the man’s place. The earl was dying of consumption, and everyone knew it. If Havershire went willingly to the authorities and confessed to murder, Regina would never face charges. But more than that, the earl could risk losing everything.
Dalton bit back a foul curse. Why had Mr Sidney agreed to take the earl with him? After everything they had discussed, why take the risk?
‘Tell MacLachor to pack my belongings for London. I’m leaving immediately.’ Havershire would need someone to intervene and pull him back to reality.
Dalton’s mind was spinning with all that needed to be done, but as he focused his thoughts, he recognised that he ought to seek help from his father. As a peer, Lord Brevershire held a great deal of influence.
He won’t want to help you, his brain warned. When had his father ever noticed him or even treated him like a son? John blamed him for Brandon’s death. He had always been disappointed or indifferent to Dalton’s efforts to please him.
But if it was necessary to humble himself before the earl, to save Regina and her family, he would do it without question.
Regina had never felt so alone in all her life. Over the past week, she could hardly bear it, worrying about Dalton and her father. Papa hadn’t said much about why he was leaving, but he’d confessed that he missed Arabella and wanted to see her.
She suspected he was planning more than that, from what he’d promised Dalton. Her fears had only doubled as she questioned what her father would do. But how could she argue with him, if he wanted to see Mother again?
She was so grateful that Dalton had gone after him. If anyone could keep Ned out of trouble, it was him. Even so, she could not relinquish her apprehensions. At night, she had slept in Dalton’s bed, wishing he were still there. Although she didn’t regret revealing the truth to him, it had changed their relationship. And she didn’t know if it could be rebuilt after she had kept secrets from him for so long.
Regina tried not to think of the emptiness stretching out between them. Dalton had tried to give her a good life, a good marriage. For a time, she had hoped she could abandon the past and reach for the future she wanted. It had almost seemed possible, until now.
You’re feeling sorry for yourself, her inner voice chided. Stop moping about like a wallflower.
The worst had happened, and he now knew everything. She could either bemoan her fate, or she could take steps to improve her circumstances. It was time to cast off the chains of the past and stand up for what she wanted.
Or who she wanted. And in this case, it was most definitely Dalton St George.
She realised now, that it had been a mistake to offer him his freedom. What kind of a coward was she, suggesting that she take her father and go? At the time, she’d been caught up in her fog of misery, feeling as if she had entangled Dalton in a trap.
His words haunted her now.
I’ve said that I love you, but that means nothing.
That wasn’t true at all. He meant everything to her. And it was her fear and panic clouding her judgement, making it impossible to find the right words. She’d been terrified that Mr Sidney had come to arrest her for murder.
But he’d only come to warn her. She’d been given a second chance at life, as long as she remained in Scotland. Perhaps it was time to stop being a victim and start taking command of herself and her life. Then she could find a way to rebuild her marriage.
Regina decided to pay a call on his grandfather to learn more about him. The older man had become dear to her, and what better way to brighten her day than to climb aboard a sailing vessel bound to imaginary India? She smiled at the thought.
MacLachor was kind enough to bring Arthur and the leather lead so she could take him on a walk with her. The puppy was thrilled to be out in the sunshine, and she had to hold him back to keep him from running.
‘Will you be wanting me to accompany you to meet the Earl of Cairnross, my lady?’ the footman asked.
‘No, thank you. I will simply walk to his house and perhaps I might
