“Legend has it—” Miss Grey began.
Susan frowned and interrupted. “What do you mean, legend? Didn’t he die last year? Wouldn’t that mean youknowwhat happened to him?”
“They were both reclusive,” Miss Devonshire explained. “Nobody saw Lady Beaune. She was always cloistered inside Moonseed Manor. I almost didn’t think she was real, until the day she—”
The redhead glared at her friend. “May Itellthe story?”
“Please,” Susan intervened before the ladies came to fisticuffs. “From the beginning.”
“Legend has it,” Miss Grey repeated, stepping forward as if to edge Miss Devonshire from Susan’s view, “Lady Beaune’s beauty and riches made her the fairest catch for miles, despite being a deaf-mute who—”
“She wasn’t a deaf-mute yet, Harriet.”
“Dinah, I swear, if you don’t let me—”
“Then tell it right!”
“Somebodytell me,” Susan begged. “Please.”
“He married her for money,” Miss Devonshire blurted, casting a wary glance at Miss Grey, who simply crossed her arms and hexed them both from narrowed eyes.
“Who did?”
“Lord Jean-Louis Beaune. He was in love with the Moonseed fortune and she was the sole heiress. Nobody knows what he was lord of—if he even was. But he was handsome and titled and penniless, and she was beautiful and rich and title-less, and they married within a fortnight.”
“Andthenshe became deaf-mute,” Miss Grey muttered.
“Yes.” Miss Devonshire nodded, as if this made perfect sense. “Exactly so.”
Susan fought the urge to shake them both. “This unfortunate change occurred...”
“On the wedding night.” Miss Devonshire shivered delicately. “She was never seen again... alive. But Lord Beaune had the signed wedding contract, and with it came the land and the money.”
“As far as I’m concerned, the contract could have been nullified,” said Miss Grey. “Think about it. Would you consummate marriage with a deaf-mute?”
“I’d consummate marriage with anIrishmanif he were rich enough to whisk me out of here,” Miss Devonshire said, and tittered half-hysterically.
Susan considered throttling her.
“So,” she said slowly, “this all took place...”
“Thirty years ago.”
“Thirty—” Susan choked. “This woman became spontaneously deaf-mute the night her money-grubbing fiancé gained control of her funds and properties. She subsequently went missing for thirty years, and... nobody thought anything of it?”
“It was terribly romantic,” Miss Grey agreed absently.
“And tragic,” Miss Devonshire added. “What with the daughter and all.”
Susan blinked. “But you said they might not have consummated—”
“On theweddingnight,” Miss Grey corrected. “That’s when her family could’ve annulled the marriage, had they known what had happened. Obviously the two consummated at some point. No doubt frequent... consummation. Men do want their heirs.”
Susan stared at her, horrified. “And nobody thought her new husband might be a villain?”
“He was titled,” Miss Devonshire said with a careless wave, as if titles excused everything. “Besides, why would he have kept her alive for thirty years if he wished her dead?”
“Although... he did kill her eventually,” Miss Grey mused.
