being her all along—the dowager duchess. But without confronting him, we’ll never know for certain.”
“You didn’t tell me that!” Callie said.
“Well, to be fair, we were rather preoccupied with other matters,” Winn replied. “I’ve asked Highcliff to procure a special license and he has agreed. The sooner we are married, the sooner the stakes for taking your life will be raised dramatically. We can’t afford to wait.”
“He’s right, Callie,” Effie said. “I know that isn’t why you’ve agreed to marry. But taking a hastier route to the altar is for the best under the current circumstances.”
“Right,” Highcliff said. “Let’s go speak to Averston and then I’ll set about procuring another special license. I no longer have any favors to call in with the archbishop. They’ve all been spent. Hopefully, he’s simply feeling magnanimous.”
“We need someone here guarding the house,” Winn replied.
“Ettinger has been keeping an eye on Effie. He followed her here,” Highcliff admitted.
Effie let out a startled sound. “You’ve had someone watching me? Spying on me?”
Highcliff whirled on her then, marching toward her in such an obvious fury that Winn was on the verge of intervening. But the other man halted just a foot from Miss Darrow. Still, when Highcliff spoke, his words were harsh and his tone clipped. “I had someone protecting you. And any time I feel that you are in danger, I will have someone protecting you. Do not try me, Euphemia. Do not try me. Do not. Not today.”
“I think it’s excellent that someone is watching the house,” Callie spoke up. “After all, the safety of the children must be our first priority! Don’t you agree, Effie?”
And with that, Effie was painted into a corner. “Certainly. I am in full agreement with that, Callie. You’re quite right. It’s a good idea… no matter the source.”
Highcliff smirked. “No worries, Effie, darling. My ego will survive the beating. As for Ettinger, he’ll be watching everything outside along with his trusted men. There are others still stationed near the school. Everyone should be right as rain.”
“Then we should go before it gets any later,” Callie stated.
“We?” Winn and Highcliff demanded in unison.
“I’m going with you,” Callie stated.
“That’s impossible,” Winn replied, the denial automatic. “It cannot and will not happen.”
“Why? Clearly secrecy is not an option. If it is his grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Averston, and not Averston, perhaps my presence will provide enough of a shock that he will be caught off guard and may answer questions more honestly.”
“She isn’t wrong, Montgomery,” Highcliff interjected. “It might make a difference.”
“Well, I’m hardly staying here alone,” Effie said.
“You’re not alone,” Highcliff snapped. “Ettinger will keep you and the children company inside the house.”
“Need I remind you, Lord Highcliff, that I am not someone to be ordered about by you or by any other man!” Miss Darrow’s words and tone were cool, but her eyes were snapping with temper.
“Actually, Effie, it would make me feel so much better if you stayed with the children. I don’t want them to be afraid,” Callie said.
Effie’s lips pressed into a firm line. “Very well. I shall wait here with them. But all three of you will return to this house when the task is done.”
Highcliff sketched a bow that could only be called mocking. “As you command, Miss Darrow.”
Effie’s glare was positively glacial. “I’m going up to monitor the children. I shall see you when you return.”
Highcliff let out a world-weary sigh and scrubbed a hand over his face. “I’m going to collect Ettinger and set him to guard duty.”
Winn was now alone with Callie. The two of them looked at one another. “What has gotten into them?” Callie asked.
Winn had his theories, but they were hardly appropriate to discuss at that time. Sexual tension. Thwarted desires. He would bet money that both were on edge not because of what had happened but because of something that had almost occurred. “Get your pelisse,” he instructed her. “It’s chilly outside. As for Highcliff and Miss Darrow, let’s just leave them to work things out themselves. We certainly did.”
Callie’s eyes widened. “You don’t think… really? They are in love? They act like they cannot abide one another.”
“I don’t know that I would call it love. I think perhaps they are attracted to one another and fighting it bitterly enough that they are now fighting one another just as bitterly. But leave it be, Calliope. That is not a situation we can fix and any meddling might only make it worse.”
“I won’t meddle,” she agreed. “Does