Page 51 of Finding Hope
“I agree, it does not quite make sense, but what other leads do we have to go on?”
“None. We cannot even say definitively that the writing is female.”
“How else could we trap her? Do you suggest I wander around the estate alone?” Max asked.
Westwood chuckled.
“I wonder if it wouldn’t be better to use me as the bait,” Hope said quietly. “Otherwise you will never know for sure, unless she confesses.”
“No. Absolutely not,” Max said. “She has already proved she’s willing to kill.”
Hope shuddered beside him. “Why would someone want to kill me?”
“We do not know for certain that they meant to kill,” Lady Westwood said softly, doubtless trying to make her feel better.
“That is true,” Max agreed. “They may not have been a very good shot or even familiar with that type of gun. And I moved when I heard the shot.”
She worried her lower lip with her teeth. Anything he said would hardly reassure her. He had been hurt himself; he understood how she felt. “The bullet could also have been intended for me,” he pointed out.
“Except no one is writing you threatening notes.”
She had him there.
“With your permission, I would like to enlist my sister’s help. She will be able to have the other ladies’ help in addressing invitations to the ball. That way it would not appear we were singling anyone out.”
“And if someone else wrote the note, it might reveal that,” Westwood agreed.
“That certainly sounds better to me than putting a target on either of us,” Hope agreed.
“I will speak with Diana. Even if the invitations are done, she could say there were a few more to do.”
“And I think it time we retire. I will stay with Hope tonight, then we can make arrangements to switch chambers in the morning,” Lady Westwood said.
“We will escort you upstairs,” Max said. “I think it is for the best.”
Max reached for Hope’s arm as Westwood had naturally taken his wife’s, but Hope shrank back from him.
“I think it for the best if we keep our distance from one another, considering the situation.”
Max felt as though he’d had a punch to the stomach.
“She’s right, Rotham,” Westwood said. “We will see her safely to her chambers.”
As they turned to leave, he reached for the air then let his arm drop. Perhaps they were right, but just as he had decided she was the one, she pushed him away.
CHAPTER 13
The next morning, most of the matrons were not yet down for the day so only the younger ladies were present at breakfast. It was a warm summer morning; the birds were singing and the air was fresh with the scent of the nearby rose garden. Hope woke to find Faith’s maid in the room with her, but not Faith.
Hope could not bring herself to feel anything more than melancholy over the events of the previous day. She had received plenty of sympathy as a result of the accidental shooting, as they all thought it, and so thankfully no one knew her low spirits were due to what she felt was a permanent removal from Lord Rotham. It was too dangerous even to be his friend any longer.
Her energies needed to turn towards helping catch whoever wished her harm. As she went downstairs, there was excitement in the air, as some of their favourite soldiers were expected to arrive that day. Even her sisters were blooming with anticipation and more excitable than usual.
When she saw Lady Diana strolling across the terrace towards them with obvious intent, she was very glad of it.
“Good morning, ladies! If you are finished with your repast, I wish you might give me your assistance for just a few minutes Afew more invitations need to be sent out directly, and if all of you help me, it will be done in a trice!” she said to the two tables full of young ladies, in a way that made it difficult to refuse. Hope needed to learn how to do that.
There was nothing suspicious whatsoever about the request, and each of them—Lady Matilda included—copied out a few invitations to be delivered immediately.
