shook her head and sat up, despite the spinning of her head.
“I hope you’re happy, damn you,” said Val, pushing Eversham out of the way to take Kate’s hand. “Kate, are you all right?”
“I don’t have a wife,” Eversham insisted from just behind the other man. “Katherine, you know this. You’ve followed the accounts of me in the paper for years. There has never been mention of a wife.”
She tried to concentrate. He was right. There had been no mention of a wife in any of the articles she’d read about him.
“Well, someone had better tell the woman who came here some two hours ago,” Valentine said grimly. “She seemed to know a great deal about you, Eversham.”
Eversham pressed a glass of brandy in her hand. “Drink this.”
She took it from him and looked up into his eyes. There was no trace of guilt there.
“He’s telling the truth, Val,” she told her friend. “I may not have known him personally for all this time, but I’ve known of him. If he were married, I’d have heard about it.”
Taking a sip of brandy, she sat back and closed her eyes. Once she’d regained her composure, she opened them to see two pairs of concerned male eyes staring at her.
“What? I’m fine. If you recall, I was hit quite hard on the head last night and foolishly got up before dawn so that I could outwit a stubborn detective I know.”
Eversham made a noncommittal sound.
Val’s gaze was speculative.
Ignoring everything they weren’t saying, she changed the subject. “So, if it wasn’t your wife, then who was this woman?”
“I didn’t see her.” Val lowered himself into the chair opposite her. “She only spoke with Austen and said you could find her at the vicarage in Lewiston when you returned. Though I daresay if she was lying about being your wife, she was also lying about that. I can’t imagine Reverend Tallant going along with such a scheme.”
“It has to be Emily Hale.” Eversham moved to stand before the fire.
Quickly, he and Kate filled Valentine in on what they’d learned from their visit to Delia Hale’s father in Crossmere.
“So, this Emily Hale is the daughter of Sebastian Philbrick and Delia Hale?” Valentine asked. “And there’s a son as well?”
“Bastian,” Kate confirmed. “We don’t know that they’re still together, but I would be surprised if they’d separated. They’ve been one another’s only comfort their whole lives.”
“And perhaps partners in crime as well.” Eversham paced. “I’m almost certain she’s not at the vicarage, but I’d better go check just to make sure.”
“Neither Emily nor Bastian can be fond of men of the cloth, considering what they suffered at their grandfather’s hands.” Kate frowned. “Do you think Reverend Tallant is in danger?”
“I don’t know that,” Eversham said, “but I’d rather be safe than sorry. I shouldn’t be gone long.”
Carefully, Kate got to her feet. When the men tried to take her arm, she shrugged them off. “I’m fine. I’ll go speak to Caro. She’s very likely burning you in effigy right now, Eversham, so I’d better make sure she doesn’t singe Valentine’s curtains.”
When they hesitated, she pushed past them and walked out into the hall.
“Go,” she said. “And be careful.”
Valentine walked on, leaving Eversham to speak with Kate in private.
“What?” She was startled by the look in his eyes.
“Was it really just the bump on your head that made you faint?”
Her heart beat faster. “I didn’t faint. I lost my balance. That’s all.”
He leaned down and kissed her quickly on the mouth. “We’ll finish this conversation later.”
He hesitated and Kate frowned. “What?”
“I’m trying to figure out how best to tell you not to leave the house in a way that will lead you to actually listen.”
She groaned in exasperation. “I’m not a simpleton, Eversham. If Emily Hale is the one who called here earlier, then she knows you’re looking for her.”
“What’s more,” he said with a frown, “she deliberately called here because she wanted to drive a wedge between us.”
This hadn’t occurred to her, but it made a kind of sense. But only if…her breath caught.
“You think she’s seen us together.” It wasn’t a question.
“One of them has.” Eversham nodded. “And the purpose of this little prank was to hurt you. Not me. That bothers me.”
“Jealous?” Her laugh rang hollow.
He ignored the jest. “I don’t like that they’ve singled you out for their mischief. To be honest, it unnerves me. So I want your promise that you won’t go out alone.”
The fear in his eyes made her gut