Page 34 of Code Name Duchess
“Victoria, it is of the utmost importance that you do not interfere. His Grace, the Duke of Cambarton, and I have been investigating Leo’s disappearance together, and we have some leads. We have engaged a private investigator, and we will find Leo. But you cannot involve yourself, it is dangerous.”
“How am I to interfere if I know nothing? What does this note mean? I have asked you twice now.” She waved the note in the air. The large silver turban, adorned with an array of colorful feathers, moved back-and-forth precariously on her head.
Winnifred clutched the little pearl necklace around her neck and ran her thumb over the pearls. She always found this soothing, and she certainly needed to be soothed now.
“Victoria, please. The note speaks for itself.” She took a breath and in a quiet tone, made a report of what they’d discovered by way of their uncle. She handed her sister the ransom notice and watched as Victoria’s entire body shook as she read it. Pugsley ceased his licking and climbed on her sister’s lap, providing her with the comfort she needed.
“Poor Uncle Ezekiel. He must feel entirely devastated to have caused such a terrible calamity to befall our family. I ought to send him a message or visit...”
This empathy shown to the man, who may well be the cause of their brother’s disappearance, was nothing but further proof to Winnie that she and Victoria could not be more different. While Winnie wanted nothing more than to never see Uncle Ezekiel again, Vicky’s first reaction was to seek him out. She shook her head, unwilling to discuss the matter of their uncle.
“In any case, I have another lead. I am going to speak to Seth’s cousin right now to see if he has any more information. After this, we will call on Mr. Markham again and from there, we will decide what to do.”
She would not admit it to anyone but speaking of herself and Seth as ‘we’ gave her a thrill. It felt... Right.
“Decide what to do? Of course we’re going to have to pay the ransom. How can you even say there is a choice to be made? It is clear. The money must be paid, and then my brother will be returned to us. It is simple. I wish to come with you when you speak to the cousin. And the investigator.”
“No,” she fired back empathically. “That is not a good idea. I already promised Seth I was not going to involve anybody else in….”
“Seth… Is he the one who truly matters? Or Leo?” Victoria glared at Winnie with such an intensity Winnie had to look away. “I venture to say that in reality, the reason you haven’t told me anything is that you did not want me to come between you and your adored Seth.”
“Victoria... I object to that assertation.”
“Object all you like. I know you’ve been moon-eyed over Seth for years. You even call him by his Christian name when you ought to call him by his title.”
“You do the same.”
Her sister pushed her turban up. “Not to his face. It is not proper. But you, you do not care. In your mind, you have been the Duchess of Cambarton for years, have you not?”
Anger boiled up in Winnie’s stomach. Under normal circumstances, she would not allow her sister to speak to her in such a way.
I must remind myself that my sister is an impulsive young woman, she certainly is younger than I am, and she does not have the refinement an accomplished lady such as herself should have. Her temper has always gotten away with her.
Even so, the words stung Winnifred. For they were not without truth. She always thought of him in a dreamy fashion and imagined what her life might be like at his side. Until recently, these had been nothing but dreams. Dreams that might now become a reality, unless the potential nightmare that hung above them like an anvil came to pass instead.
“It does not matter what I think of the Duke.”
“Oh, but it matters very much. You are excluding me from the search because of it. I venture to say that you are excluding me because you want to be alone with him. Let me tell you this, Winnifred, I will not stand idly by while my brother is missing and then trust third parties with his recovery.”
“Must you make a difficult situation even more difficult by being so petulant?”
“I am not petulant. I am angry because you have kept all of this from me. I demand to know what we are going to do.”
“I’ve kept all this from you because you are so insufferable. You would have made it much worse with your moods and endless chatter and silly ideas.”
Her sister froze as Winnie instantly regretted her harsh words. The pressure of time weighed heavily on her. She had to speak to Seth’s cousin and then travel to meet Mr. Markham. And they hadn’t even discussed what to do when the time for the ransom exchange came. Nonetheless, her words were cruel. True, but cruel.
“I am sorry,” she said quietly, but her sister simply stood, silent and wounded, her dog in her arms.
“Your words don’t matter. Your actions do. And your actions have caused me more pain than your words ever could.”
Winnie got up as the sisters stood before each other. A long while passed during which the yelps and barks of the little dog were the only sounds.
“I must go. Please, in the meantime, do nothing, Victoria. Please, I beg of you. I shall return this afternoon along with Seth and I promise you that we will talk to you. For now, I cannot waste more time. I must go.”
“Waste time? Speaking to your sister is wasting time to you? Well, if nothing else, at least I now know just where I stand in this family, and what the true state of our relationship is.”
The comment was like a dagger to Winnie’s heart. She wanted to speak to her sister further to smooth over this unfortunate situation, but there was no time.
