Page 114 of The Meaning of Love
His lips met hers, and she smiled under the gentle kiss, then set about suitably distracting them both.
The following morning, Melissa battled to contain her impatience as Mrs. Phelps painstakingly went through the menus for the upcoming week. It was a task they completed every Thursday, and there was little point trying to curtail the discussion.
But the instant the housekeeper signaled that her questions were at an end, Melissa rose. Leaving Mrs. Phelps gathering her notes, over her shoulder, Melissa called, “I must join his lordship,” and hurried from her private parlor and headed for the library.
She walked into the large room and found Julian, Felix, and Damian lounging in the armchairs before the fireplace and chatting about horses.
Julian smiled. “As ordered, we’ve waited for you.”
Pleased, she inclined her head gracefully and claimed her usual chair. “So where are we? What do we all think? Specifically, can we draw any conclusions regarding X?”
Julian accepted the challenge. “It’s clear X knows something damning about each of his four pawns—damning enough to ensure that even the threat of hanging or transportation isn’t enough to loosen their tongues.” He glanced at the others’ faces. “At this point, we have to accept that they won’t speak. They won’t give us his name.”
“Not because they don’t want to,” Melissa clarified, “but because they feel they can’t.”
Julian nodded. “Melissa pointed out that the four secrets must be different—a separate secret for each of them, given they apparently didn’t know each other prior to joining the staff here. The Phelpses, Hockey, and Edgerton—and the rest of the staff—have confirmed that.” He leaned back and narrowed his eyes. “So not only is X playing a very long game—one going back at least twenty months to when Mitchell arrived—but he’s also put a lot of effort into finding four complete but useful strangers with secrets he can exploit. That’s…not a small thing.” He glanced at his brothers. “How many people with those sorts of secrets do you know?”
“As far as I know,” Felix replied, “not a single one.”
“Me, either,” Damian said.
Julian tapped a finger on the arm of his chair. “That X knew of four…that says something about him, but I can’t at the moment see what.”
He fell silent for a few seconds, then shook off the distraction. “Let’s leave that for now, although I feel it’s a point to ponder. To go on, whatever X’s aim is, it isn’t directly connected to me marrying Melissa, because the attacks started before I’d even decided to go to London and look for a bride.”
“But”—Felix raised a finger—“your marriage might have made his game more urgent.” He looked at Melissa, then at Julian. “The attacks became more frequent, more deadly, and more included Melissa after your engagement was announced.”
“He wouldn’t have expected it,” Damian pointed out. “None of us did. He might have thought he had plenty of time to remove you, but then he had to bring forward his plans.”
Reluctantly, Julian conceded the point with a tip of his head. “Sadly, that fits, and the possibility remains that X’s ultimate goal has something to do with the succession.”
Melissa, along with Felix and Damian, nodded.
“Something we haven’t yet discussed,” Julian went on, “is that X has to be someone who knows the family well. Far better than any casual acquaintance. Let’s accept Richards’s word on the detail of X’s instructions and assume the same was the case for the others. X’s directions mean he knows this place and in some detail.”
“He couldn’t have known about me going to the fishpond,” Felix said, “but he plainly knows about the gardens and the paths and the shrubbery and how often we all go walking around, especially in summertime.”
Julian nodded. “He’s known enough to give orders contingent on us, for example, going to visit the outlying farms in the gig.”
“He knew about the boathouse and the punt,” Melissa added. “And most telling”—she met Julian’s eyes—“he knew about Ulysses.”
“Ah, yes!” Julian’s expression cleared. “How could he have known about the dog? Who knew about Ulysses?”
“Anyone who came to the wedding,” Felix replied, “but only them. No one knew Melissa’s grandmother was going to bring her the pup as a bridal gift from the Dowager Duchess of St. Ives. No one could possibly have predicted that.”
“No, indeed,” Melissa agreed. “And while none of the wedding guests saw Ulysses, the news of his existence was doing the rounds at the wedding breakfast.”
Damian had been frowning, almost absentmindedly. Now, he waved his hands. “Wait, wait, wait!” When the other three looked at him, he said, “Richards told us that Xtoldhim to use the puppy. When? After the wedding guests left, no one else has been here to stay. Did X come into the area and meet up with his pawns to give them their instructions?”
“Or,” Felix said, “did he come to the wedding prepared and simply seized on the new puppy as a likely useful bait?”
Julian narrowed his eyes. “Coming up here and staying anywhere local would have been a colossal risk. In order to speak with each of his pawns separately, he would have had to remain for a few days at least, and we’re all out and about, even Mama and Frederick and the Phelpses. If anyone had spotted him, they’d have noted him as an unexpected visitor to the area.”
“He didn’t write,” Melissa added. “Phelps collects and distributes the mail, and I asked, and he doesn’t recall any of the four receiving any letters over the weeks since the wedding.”
Julian looked at Felix. “I think your idea is the right one. He was here for the wedding and used the opportunity to prime his agents.”
Damian was nodding. “We know he has to be someone close to the family, and many relatives and close connections stayed overnight, both before and after the wedding.”
