Page 50 of A Duke to Restore her Memory
“What is it, Mrs Sollock?” he asked, unable to keep the edge of impatience out of his voice. “Can it wait for the morning?”
“I am afraid it cannot, Your Grace,” she replied, biting her lip, wringing her hands together. She was looking very distressed now. “It is most urgent.” She took a deep, uneven breath. “Someone took Miss Georgina in a carriage, Your Grace. I saw it with my own eyes.”
Sebastian gasped. “What?”
“I happened to be looking out a window,” asserted the housekeeper, her voice unsteady, almost breaking. “I stopped because I noticed an unfamiliar carriage at the rear of the house. Her Ladyship, your sister, was there, along with Miss Georgina. A footman was holding a lantern aloft, so I could see quite clearly.”
“And?” demanded Sebastian, his heart lurching with distress. “What happened?”
The housekeeper hesitated, then said, “I watched the carriage door open. It was a gentleman. Her ladyship walked back into the house … and the gentleman grabbed Miss Georgina, pulling her into the carriage. The footman assisted him, pushing her from behind. And then they sped off into the night.”
Sebastian gasped with shock and horror. He couldn’t believe what the woman was telling him. How could it be true?
“You are telling me that Georgina has been abducted?” He stared at her hard. “And that my sister assisted this?”
Mutely, she nodded. He noticed that she had grown very pale. Mrs Sollock didn’t usually make up stories – she was known for being honest and forthright. If she said that a strange carriage had been here and a gentleman had abducted Georgina, he was inclined to believe her.
His heart skipped a beat. He needed to speak to Lydia. Right this minute.
“It is true,” said a small, calm voice behind him. “Mrs Sollock has not lied.”
He spun around. Lydia was standing there, still dressed in her evening attire, diamonds glittering in her ears. She looked composed and thoughtful. He turned back to the housekeeper.
“Thank you, Mrs Sollock,” he rapped. “You may leave us.”
The housekeeper bobbed a quick curtsey before turning on her heel and scurrying away. He turned back to Lydia, staring at his sister with hard eyes, his anger growing by the minute.
He didn’t know what was happening or had happened, but he knew that Lydia was involved in some way. She had just admitted it herself.
“What is going on?” he demanded, glaring at her. “What is Mrs Sollock talking about?”
Lydia raised her chin, taking a deep breath. “You are a fool who has been played like a harp, Sebastian,” she said in a sharp voice, her eyes glinting like steel. “That woman was pretending to have amnesia the whole time. And you fell for her act like a fish being hooked by a rod.”
Sebastian kept glaring at her. “I do not need to hear your opinion about Georgina,” he snapped, his cheeks flushing. “I am already very well aware of what you think about her. I repeat – what is going on? Did someone abduct her in a carriage or not?”
Lydia sighed heavily. “Her real name is Lady Christina Whitford,” she said in a withering voice. “She is the daughter of Viscount Draycott, who lives near Exmouth.” She took another deep breath. “And she is also the fiancée of Lord Powell – the gentleman who wishes to buy our mining business from beneath us, or at least to ruin it, so he can sweep in and pick up the pieces.”
Sebastian’s heart hit the ground, almost shattering into a million shards, like a broken mirror. His mind was spinning. He felt like he wanted to be sick.
How could she be betrothed to a man like Powell?
He took a deep, shaky breath, forcing himself to think properly. But his thoughts were fragmenting beneath the shock of it all.
His sister had discovered Georgina’s true identity … and her name wasn’t Georgina at all, of course. She was a noble lady, just as he had always suspected but could never prove – the daughter of a viscount, no less.
Lady Christina Whitford. The daughter of Viscount Draycott.
He felt beads of sweat trickle down the back of his neck. He had heard about Viscount Draycott, who lived near Exmouth, but he had never met the gentleman.
Exmouth was a long way away from Newquay Hall, although it was still located in Cornwall. Georgina – Lady Christina – had been riding very far out of her district that day. Very far indeed.
“How did you find out?” he said in an anguished whisper, turning to his sister. “How did you find out who she is?”
“I overheard Lord Powell talking about her at dinner,” she replied frostily. “He said he was searching for his missing fiancée. He mentioned the time frame … and I put two and two together, Sebastian.” She paused. “After dinner, I waylaid him, asking for details about the lady. He showed me a miniature portrait of her. The lady who has been staying in our guest chamber was the lady in the miniature.”
“But why would he be openly looking for her if he had planted her in our home?” He stared at his sister hard. “Why would he be showing a portrait of her to you?”
Lydia sighed, looking pained. “Because he does not need her here any longer, does he? The lady has played her part, supplying him with insider information – information she would have gleaned looking at our ledgers and milking you for information, as well.”
