Page 67 of Who Wants to Marry a Duke
“Of course,” Gwyn said with a smile, and left the room. Reluctantly, Olivia turned her attention to her stepmother. “How did you even find me, Mama?”
Her stepmother pursed her lips. “Don’t remind me that you didn’t tell me the real reason you were going to Greycourt’s estate. And you certainly made no attempt to let me know you agreed to come here with”—she shot Thorn a chilling look—“with a man who nearly ruined you once before. And is obviously not trying to keep from ruining you again.”
Thorn was unusually silent on that score.
“Mama!” Olivia protested. “The duke has been nothing but kind and courteous. Besides, as you can see, his sister, Lady Gwyn, has been here the whole time as my chaperone. Everything is perfectly proper.”
Her stepmother snorted. “You never cared about things being proper before. But you don’t realize how quickly a woman can go from being a diamond of the first water to being the subject of ruinous gossip, and all with one heedless act.” She glared at Thorn. “I, however, know precisely how that can happen. I’ve seen it plenty of times in my years in society.”
“All I have done, Mama,” she lied, “is to practice my profession. Greycourt and his wife were very courteous hosts who gave me a chance to be a real chemist. To do something important instead of . . . of embroidering cushions and enduring courtships from men who had no interest in me beyond my modest fortune. The only reason we had to come here later on was—”
She caught herself too late, judging from how Mama was frowning.
“Waswhat?” her stepmother said.
“Something . . . er . . . happened to my laboratory there. Someone broke in and destroyed a few things—”
“You mean, by blowing the place up? I would call ‘destroyed a few things’ an understatement,” Mama said with a hint of hurt in her tone. “You, young lady, are still keeping things from me.”
Olivia surprised herself by saying, “And you, Mama, are doing the same. For one thing, you still haven’t explained how you learned I had left Carymont.”
When her stepmother hemmed and hawed, Thorn stepped in. “It’s important that we know, Lady Norley.”
“Very well.” Mama straightened her posture. “I received an anonymous letter at home, saying I should look to my daughter because she was no longer at Carymont. The letter didnotsay where you had gone, but I went to Carymont to find out. Then I came here straightaway.”
“Do you have the letter with you?” Thorn asked.
“I’m sure I do.” Her stepmother hunted around in her large reticule until she found it. “Here you go, Your Grace,” she said as she held it out to him. “Though I don’t know what more you can discover from it.”
He examined it, envelope and all. “Did it come through the regular mail?”
“No. It was left with the butler at our house in Surrey.”
“May I keep this?” he asked.
“Of course,” her stepmother said, though she was clearly bemused by the question.
Olivia watched a frown cross his brow. “What are you thinking?” she asked. “Who do you believe sent it?”
“The same lad who blew up the laboratory, most likely.” Thorn turned to Mama. “Did you spot anyone following you on your way here?”
“Followingme? Good heavens, no! Mind you, I wasn’t looking out the window to watch for anyone behind us, but I’m sure our coachman would have noticed someone following us and would have informed me.”
Olivia focused on Thorn. “So you think the fellow sent a letter in order to see where Mama went? In hopes of findingme?”
Thorn shrugged. “We’ve already established he’ll stop at nothing to keep you from determining if Grey’s father was poisoned.”
“Poisoned!” Mama exclaimed. “Oh, my.” She began rooting around in her reticule. “Where’s my smelling salts? I need my smelling salts.”
Olivia walked over, searched her reticule, and handed her the smelling salts.
“Thank you, my dear,” Mama said, and wafted them under her nose, probably more for effect than for any real need to stave off a fainting fit.
“I’ll have men posted on the road just in case,” Thorn said.
“No need,” her stepmother said as she continued to sniff the smelling salts. “Olivia and I are leaving right away. I shan’t allow her to stay here with you and be ruined for good.”
“Mama—” Olivia began.
