“Entirely tone-deaf.” Winnifred completed the sentence for him.
“Indeed. Well, at least we have a clue. I’m not sure what it means, but it shows a connection between Rose and Leo, beyond the obvious.”
“Perhaps I ought to go speak to my uncle. I already conversed with him once, when I first said I had to look for Leo. I have not talked to him in detail about it. Relations with him can be challenging at times.”
Seth nodded his head. “I know, Leo mentioned it. Your uncle sounds like he can be a little demanding. Yes, let us go and speak to him.”
Winnifred shook her head. “I do not think that is a good idea. He does not know you, so I don’t think he would be very inclined to be honest. My uncle is a peculiar fellow. It is better if I speak to him alone.”
Seth scrunched up his forehead and pursed his lips. It was evident that he disagreed with her plan. However, this was not up to him. Winnifred knew her uncle well enough. She did not want to tell Seth outright, but her uncle had a dislike of the nobility. At least those higher up in the peerage. He never tired of telling Winnifred how he felt the assorted Earls, Marquess, and Dukes looked down on anyone who was anything less than an Earl.
And she could not entirely disagree with him. The hierarchy within the peerage was very clearly defined. Viscounts and Batons were at the very bottom rungs. She experienced how her father was sometimes treated with less respect than someone higher up simply because he was tilted Baron, not Marquess or Duke. If it weren’t for his great wealth, she doubted that he would have been respected at all.
And given that her uncle was not even a Baron in his own right, but only the brother of one, and now the uncle of one, she knew that if she arrived at his doorstep with a Duke, he would not tell them anything. If there was anything to tell at all.
“I don’t know that that’s a good idea. If your uncle is somehow involved in all of this, then we should not risk you going alone.”
“I don’t think that my uncle is involved. I hope that Leo divulged some information to him that we can use to find him. But in any case, I do not believe a visit to my uncle would be in any way hazardous to me. He may be a peculiar character, but he is not a dangerous man. He’s silly above all else. I suppose that comes with being a younger brother. He never did make his way in life himself. He always relied on my father for support.”
Her eyes widened and she clapped one hand in front of her mouth, realizing what she had just said.
How foolish of me to say something like that. And just after Seth told me he used to be a younger brother. I hope I have not upset him further.
Seth stood, his lips pressed together, and it was evident he was grinding his teeth. However, when he spoke again, she was relieved that he agreed with her.
“It is the peril of the younger brother. If you are the second in line, the spare so to speak, you are expected to make your way in the world. You are always in the shadow of your older brother, the heir apparent. Having experienced both, I can sympathize with your uncle. It is difficult to find your path in life, especially when you have to watch your older sibling’s path be laid out so clearly in front of him.” He considered her statement for a moment longer before sighing.
“Well. I suppose you are right then. Winnifred, you go call on your uncle, I shall continue looking through my sister’s journals and books. I dread even opening her nightstand. I know how she is. There will be piles upon piles of books and papers contained within it. It will likely take me hours to sort through it.”
Winnifred got up and walked to the window. It was dark outside. The street lights had been lit, but there was still a gloom over the city. It was much too late to call on her uncle now. It would have to wait until morning. She looked over her shoulder at Seth, and suddenly their eyes met. He’d been watching her. She wasn’t quite sure if that made her feel happy or concerned. He was an incredibly challenging man to get to know.
“It is late. We should rest. I will call on my uncle in the morning.”
He gave her a nod. “Of course. You are right. I will have a maid show you to the guest chamber. Unless you wish to return home. I know you do not live far. I could have my carriage take you.”
Winnifred pondered it as she stepped from one foot to the other. Under normal circumstances, she would’ve been rather horrified at the mere suggestion of spending the night in his home. It was uncouth, yes, scandalous even. She could already imagine the headline in the scandal sheet should anybody find out about this.
The only reason she considered it now was because it was more practical. However, she still harbored the faint, if foolish, hope that Leo might still come home entirely under his own steam and she wanted to be there if that should happen. Besides she needed a change of clothing. The stench of St. Giles clung to her gown, and she craved a hot bath. She didn’t like the idea of bothering Mary as it was always a chore to carry up the hot water to her chamber, but she needed it rather badly.
“I shall go home. I will call on my uncle first thing in the morning and then return here. Or if you would like, instead, you can meet me at my home and we can examine my brother’s belongings together.”
“I shall come to your home. You are right, we ought to look at Leo’s things.”
Their plans firmed up, Winnifred left. As she stepped out of Seth’s home and into the street to wait for the carriage, she shuddered and turned up the collar of her cape.
Standing out here in the night, she could not ignore the peculiar feeling in her stomach as if everything was not right. In addition to her brother’s absence, of course. There was something else. Something sinister lingered in the air. As her carriage drove up she couldn’t help but feel as though she was being watched. The feeling remained with her all the way back to her own home, crept into her bones and would not leave. Not even after her so-desired bath. Something awful was going to happen—she just knew it.
Chapter 10
Seth paced back and forth in his chamber the following morning. It was barely after seven o’clock, but he had already been awake for three hours. After spending half of the night looking through Rose’s incredibly messy nightstand, he’d come up with no further hints as to what might have happened to her. The only clue remained the strange entry in her diary regarding her conversation with Leo.
It was an uncomfortable night, not just because he had to look through his sister’s personal belongings, but also because he continued to have that penetrating feeling as if David were watching him from the portrait about the fireplace. For the longest time after his brother’s death, he’d been haunted by the same feelings. As if his brother peered down at him from every painting in his parents’ manor in Derbyshire. He struggled with this for many years and wished for nothing more than permission to take down all the paintings showing his brother. Of course, their mother never would have allowed this. It wasn’t until the family moved to London, that he could escape his brother’s searing glare.
Nowhere in their London house was a painting of him, save for Rose’s room. And Seth liked it like that. It was almost as if without the constant reminder of his brother he could finally move on.
Although I never really have moved on. Have I? Ever since David died, I haven’t been able to make any close connection except with Leo. And even him I keep at a distance. Why else would it be that at my age I am still not married? And it is not for lack of eligible ladies wishing to enter into a courtship with me. But I could never allow myself to have such a close connection to anybody. And I would not want to be married without love. Thus, I am destined to be forever alone.
As he pondered this, the image of Winnifred, sitting beside him the previous night and holding his hand as he cried, came back into his mind.
