An hour later, Freddie, freshly washed and dressed formally for supper, entered the dining room to find Thea already there. He saw no sign of Robert and suspected he would be along soon. Robert would never miss an opportunity to see Thea. She wore her hair down as usual, but her formal attire set off her perfect jewels for eyes.
“Thea,” he said, striding in to give her a kiss on the cheek, grinning broadly. “You look fantastic. How was the journey?”
“Tiring,” she admitted. “But you are back to your usual self. I am glad. I worried about you.”
He sat at his place at the table, observing Mr. Carter standing against the wall, his green eyes staring blankly ahead. “Yes, I have recovered fully. Tell me, do we have our culprit?”
“No, Freddie,” she replied, her expression both disappointed and happy. “The Duke was shocked when I told him, and it was not feigned. He treated me well, with honor, and admitted he should not have convinced his son that the Willowdale family are all devils.”
“Could he have done it?”
“No. In fact, I invited him to come to the party. You can meet him yourself.”
Freddie nodded, at last, sitting back in his chair. “I trust your instincts, Thea. They were always good when it came to people.”
“Believe me, whoever is trying to kill you, it is not the Duke of Bradford.”
“I say, what?”
Freddie saw Thea’s head spin around at Robert’s entrance, her happy expression changing instantly to one of animosity and disgust. He glanced away, wishing he knew why Thea hated him so. He felt Robert was right, he was the best choice of a husband for her. Wealthy, handsome, a gentleman, and already deeply in love with her.
Why can she not see it?
Thea turned back around, her light brown eyes boring holes in Freddie’s skin. Yet, she would never insult a guest so by verbally protesting his presence, and took a drink of her wine as though washing a bad taste from her mouth.
Robert stumbled to his chair and sat down hard. “Did I hear you say the Duke is not behind all this?” he asked.
“That is right,” Robert answered. “Thea spoke with him. He is innocent of trying to kill me.”
“Bah,” Robert snorted as a footman refilled his tumbler with whiskey, “he cannot be trusted, Freddie. Why I will wager he charmed our little Miss Miller here, convinced her of his innocence and yet still plots your demise, eh?”
Freddie tried not to scowl at the supper table, much less at a guest, even if the guest was his best friend. “I think Thea has a fairly decent ability to judge a person’s character.”
“Nonsense. She is a woman, sheltered and pampered all her life. What can she know?”
“Excuse me,” Thea snapped, her eyes blazing as she gazed at Robert. “I am in the room.”
“Thea,” Freddie said, lowering his eyes and shaking his head a fraction. “Let us not quarrel. Robert has had a bit too much to drink.”
“And proud of it,” Robert laughed. “Miss Miller, you look simply ravishing tonight, perhaps you will join me for a stroll after supper?” he quickly gestured toward Freddie. “Chaperoned by your brother, of course.”
“No. Thank you, but no.”
Robert gazed at her, his mouth open. Then he turned his petulant gaze toward Freddie. “How am I to win her heart if she will not even permit me to try?”
“My heart is not a plaything, Baron,” Thea said coldly, “not something to be ‘won’ as though it is a contest. It is mine to give freely to whom I will.”
“It is also apparently blinding you as to my charms, Miss Miller,” Robert said, his grin now sly. “Perhaps if you looked closer in my eyes, you will see what is deep in my heart.”
“I have no wish to look there, Baron,” Thea replied, lifting her wine glass as the footmen served supper. “I have little doubt as to what I would see. Now, may I request a change of subject?”
As the topic, guided by Thea, turned to the weather, the state of affairs in London, crops, and livestock, Freddie glanced at the walls.He is in there, listening to my every word.The dining room lay in the central part of the house in order for servants to come and go more quickly than the conventional hallways. As meal times were structured so strictly, he knew the interloper would arrive at mealtimes in order to hear him telling Thea his plans for fishing, hunting, or whatever they may be.
He turned his attention back to the table to find the conversation had collapsed as Robert had pushed his half-eaten plate away, and stared, blinking owlishly, down at it. His glance toward Thea informed him she was furious and refusing to look at Robert’s drunken state. Inwardly, he acknowledged she had a right to be angry, that his friend’s behavior at the supper table had become less than stellar.
“So,” he said lightly. “Tell me more about the Duke of Bradford’s castle.”
Thea smiled, though it appeared strained. “A lovely place, Freddie. So ancient, so magnificent. We are invited back there, you know. Perhaps when this mess is finally over and past us, we might return for a visit.”
