“I’d like to meet her. Do you want to meet my brothers?” Frances wrinkled her nose, and Violet laughed. “I promise they’ll behave. Joshua is thirteen and George is six. How old are you?”
“Seven,” Frances said, puffing her chest out.
“Seven? I thought you were at least ten.” Frances beamed. Obviously, Violet knew what to say to charm children. “Come and meet my brothers before they eat all the cake.”
Genevieve watched as Violet led Frances across the room. The child was shy at first, but then the younger boy, a lad with blond hair and big brown eyes, said something that made her laugh, and she was soon eating cake and sipping what looked like lemon water.
Genevieve glanced at the men, who were still slapping each other on the back and laughing uproariously. Then she looked back at Katie. “Rory says you and the duke married recently.”
“We did. We eloped to Gretna Green.”
Genevieve blinked. “Really? How exciting! Was your father in pursuit?”
“He was. He caught us at the blacksmith’s, but Henry negotiated with him. Now he’s disowned me, but I’m Henry’s wife.”
Violet returned, leaving the children to talk amongst themselves. From what Genevieve could see, Frances was holding court, lecturing the boys on something or other. “King and I married just a few months ago too.”
“How did you meet?” Katie asked. The question was one Genevieve wondered as well, considering the obvious class difference between Violet and her husband—not that Genevieve was judging. She was a governess and not of the same class as Rory.
“He and his friends, including your husband, visited my tavern, began a brawl, and left my establishment in shambles.”
“Oh, no.” Katie put a hand to her heart.
“I went to ask for compensation the next morning and found King under siege from his creditors. His father had been found guilty of treason the night before, and I think everyone knew he would lose his title and lands. King was looking for a place to hide, and I agreed to hide him while he scraped together the funds to pay me for the damage he caused.”
“Has he paid you back yet?” Genevieve asked.
“I’m still waiting.”
The women laughed, and the sound echoed in the room. Genevieve noticed the men had grown quiet and were speaking in hushed tones. “What do you think of the reason we are here?” she asked. She glanced at Frances, who was still across the room. “The curse?”
“You sound like you don’t believe in it,” Violet said.
“Magic curses and witches? No, I don’t believe in that.”
“I imagine,” Katie said, “the woman they stole the whiskey from was angry. She probably wanted to scare them. I’d say a curse would do it.”
“And the fact that they all suffered losses at the age of thirty?” Violet asked.
“Horrible coincidence,” Genevieve said.
“In Carlisle’s case, he has always been a gambler. He was well on his way to ruin long before thirty.”
“And I don’t see how a curse can cause a carriage accident.” Genevieve looked at Violet. “It’s my understanding the Duke of Avebury was working with the French for years before he was caught and tried. It was just unfortunate timing that the guilty verdict came down on Lord Kingston’s birthday.”
“The fact that there is so much coincidence is what makes me believe,” Violet said. “The carriage accident that killed Lord Emory’s first wife happened on his birthday. The guilty verdict for Avebury happened on King’s birthday, and Carlisle lost the last of his property on his birthday.”
“Oh, come now, we still have that crumbling keep,” Katie said.
“I take it you do believe, then?” Genevieve asked Violet.
“Even if you can explain the timing of our husband’s misfortunes, how do you account for the counter-spell?” Violet asked.
Genevieve sighed. “Honestly, I can’t. But if what I know of it is correct, the gentleman will face a reckoning in the days to come.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“When was thelast time we were all together?” Rory asked Henry and King. The three men sprawled on the couches in Henry’s drawing room. The fire was low but still warm, and they were all full of a delicious, if raucous, dinner. Rory shouldn’t have been surprised that Genevieve made fast friends with the Duchess of Carlisle and Lady Kingston. King might have lost his title, but Rory still thought of him as the Marquess of Kingston. Genevieve seemed to possess that enviable quality of making friends easily and finding herself at home in every situation. He supposed it came from years of working as a governess and having to join a new household and quickly settle in.
