front of a tall, narrow, half-timbered house in Drury Lane. Micheline dismounted quickly and handed Primrose's reins to the groom, then rushed over to pound on the door.
Jeremy himself opened it. Never had Micheline seem him looking so drawn and worried. Her heart, which had been pounding madly, seemed to stop for a long moment.
"Andrew—" she gasped, fearing the worst. "Is he all right?"
If Culpepper was surprised to see her, he didn't show it. Waving her into the entryway, he said, "Come in and sit down. Are you alone?"
"I came with a groom. We just arrived from Gloucestershire."
He spoke to a servant, ordering food and water for the groom and horses, then he took Micheline into a small parlor and poured goblets of wine for both of them.
"You've heard the news?"
A cold, sickening chill swept over her. "No. That is—I have news of my own, but you go first. I want to hear about my husband. Where is he?"
Jeremy ran a pudgy hand through his curly hair. "Sandhurst was arrested last night. He's imprisoned in the Tower."
"The—Tower?" She drew a harsh breath, remembering the pirates hanging in chains from the Tower walls, not to mention the countless stories she'd heard about the rat-infested dungeons with their instruments of torture. "Andrew—arrested?! On what charge?"
"It's not entirely clear to me. I went to Weston House this morning and Rupert told me the news. Apparently Sandhurst's been accused of attempted adultery with the queen, and there was something about treason as well. I gather someone overheard him making derogatory comments about King Henry."
"Adultery? Treason?" Micheline was livid. "This is madness! You probably think that I would believe the first charge, but—"
"Why do you say that?"
"Didn't Andrew tell you what passed between us the night he left Sandhurst Manor with you?"
"Your husband does not discuss such things with other people, not even me. I nearly went mad at Fontainebleau trying to get him to tell me what was going on between you two!" He flushed. "I wasn't prying, you understand, but my own life was affected."
"I must go to him at once," Micheline said suddenly, oblivious to what Jeremy had been saying. He'd opened his mouth to reply when she pounded her fist on the chair arm and exclaimed, "Rupert is behind all of this! I could kill him! When I think of the times I tried to persuade Andrew to be more generous in his treatment of that weasel, I am so angry at myself! He's been absolutely right all along, and it's I who've been wrong!"
Baffled, Jeremy gulped his wine and said, "I beg your pardon?"
Micheline spilled out the story of all that had transpired the night before at Sandhurst Manor, digressing briefly to add details about the threats she'd received since coming to England and the "accidents" while out riding and on the steps at Aylesbury Castle.
"I was such a fool! I thought Iris Dangerfield was behind it all! I took Rupert and Patience at face value, believing that act of theirs! Now I realize that those two would do anything to achieve their goal—and the first step involves killing Andrew, me, and our unborn child."
"And you believe that Rupert arranged Sandhurst's arrest?"
"Of course! He probably paid someone—or better yet, two or three people—to go to the king and denounce Andrew. He wouldn't make the accusations himself, but I've no doubt that he's somehow taken credit for all of this."
"It's not hard to imagine Rupert standing before King Henry and mourning what he had to do for the good of the country," agreed Jeremy.
"The charges are awfully serious, aren't they?" Micheline mused rhetorically.
"Life-threatening, I should think."
"Rupert made certain that Andrew would have no chance of reprieve. He's very smart! Rather than killing us both outright, he and Patience decided to take a more difficult route in dispatching Andrew. People might have been suspicious if we'd both died 'accidentally.' I'm sure, too, that he felt Andrew's disgrace would make him look better when he usurped his place as Marquess of Sandhurst!"
Jeremy poured another goblet of wine, noticing that Micheline had not touched hers. "I confess, my lady, that all this has set my head spinning."
"We haven't time to discuss it any further, either. I must go to Andrew immediately, and then we have to concentrate on finding a way to free him."
"I don't know if they'll allow him a visitor at this hour," Culpepper said doubtfully.
"You'll let me stay here, won't you? You understand that I cannot let Rupert see me? Good.