is the most difficult for me to apprehend,” he admitted, his fingers tapping the crisp black linen of his trousers. “One moment he’s attempting to be as helpful as can be, and the next he’s refusing to even consider the possibility that the body belongs to Helmswick.”
“He seems very protective of his sister.”
Gage’s gaze slid sideways to meet mine. “Which leads me to wonder if perhaps he knows something, or at least suspects it.”
“Something about Lady Helmswick and Marsdale.”
He didn’t reply, but his silence spoke volumes.
I stared grimly down at the hump created by my feet beneath the coverlet. “Then I think we know which conversations we need to have tomorrow.”
“But don’t try questioning Marsdale alone.”
I turned to him in surprise.
His gaze was shuttered. “I don’t want to think it, but I’ve seen people do terrible things when they believe they’re cornered. In that way, we’re no different from animals. And Marsdale is no rabbit to cower in fear.”
I swallowed the lump that had formed in the back of my throat and nodded, praying it would never come to that. I didn’t want to be wrong about the inveterate rogue. Especially when it came to his inability to hurt me. But the fact of the matter was that someone had pushed me down the stairs. The more I thought about the incident, the more convinced I became that was true. Someone had evidently felt threatened by something I knew. Threatened enough to attempt to do me and my unborn child physical harm. If that was an indication of the type of person we were up against, then it would behoove me to take extreme caution with everyone, except Gage and Trevor.
* * *
* * *
Gage and I both knew from experience that it was better not to disturb Lord Marsdale before the sun had risen high in the sky, so we each began the following day devoted to different tasks. He set off for the stables to inquire about Helmswick’s carriage, while I went in search of the duchess and Lady Helmswick.
One glance out the window at the end of the corridor showed me a world smothered in white. Overcast skies blotted the sun, but the storm had abated, leaving almost a jarring stillness in its wake. Gage would be glad he had donned his riding boots and caped greatcoat, for shoveling a path from the castle to the stables would not have been a swift job, and might still be ongoing.
I smiled at the sight of the duchess’s grandchildren frolicking in the thick powder. The older children ran and shrieked, tossing snowballs or flopping onto their backs to create snow angels, while the youngest clung to their nursemaids, wary of this strange new landscape. I couldn’t help but wonder if this snow had also fallen at Blakelaw House, and whether my nieces and nephews would be enjoying the same antics. Wee Jamie would be too little yet for such capers, but his older brother and sisters would be pink-cheeked with delight.
The thought of them and their mother brought a pang to my heart. I wished Alana had come to me.
As if sensing my turmoil, my brother chose that moment to join me at the window. His hands clasped behind his back, he stood tall and straight, looking decidedly handsome in a frock coat of mink gray. It was not a shade I would have chosen for him, but it suited his complexion and contrasted nicely with his thick chestnut brown hair. I often wondered how it was that my brother, sister, and I had all managed to inherit slight variances of the same shade of hair and lapis-lazuli eyes when other families’ looks differed so greatly from one another.
“How is your shoulder?” he asked evenly.
“Much better, thank you.”
I expected him to protest my leaving my bedchamber, even with the sling looped under my arm, but he merely nodded. “Have you broken your fast?”
“Yes. Bree brought a tray to my chamber.”
He nodded again, but now I was suspicious. I turned to study his profile, wondering at the moderated tone of his voice and his restraint from bringing up the topics he had been so determined to pursue the past two days.
“Why are you being nice to me?” I demanded.
His gaze finally flicked toward mine, his eyes jewel bright in the refracted light from the snow shining through the window. “Aren’t I usually nice to you?”
“Not lately,” I stated flatly, refusing to be bammed.
His brow lowered in a fierce scowl, and