No Decent Gentleman (31 page)

"Vicar Dingle, what are you doing here?" Sabrina cried. She stepped back to allow the man entrance.

"I must speak privately with you," the vicar said. "Would that be possible?"

"Yes, of course." Leaving the wolfhound in the foyer, Sabrina led the vicar down the first-floor corridor to the enormous dining room. She closed the double doors behind them and sat at one end of the table. The vicar sat beside her.

"I apologize for not taking you to the drawing room," Sabrina said. "Aunt Tess and Lady DeFaye are there."

"The dining room will suit." Vicar Dingle glanced at her forest-green gown and said, "You've broken your mourning."

Sabrina narrowed her gaze on him. "Have you ridden from Abingdon to scold me?"

"No, Lord Briggs requested my presence in London," the vicar told her. "He feels that your aunt is incapable of controlling your baser tendencies."

"My what?" Sabrina exclaimed.

Vicar Dingle gestured that he wasn't finished. "Lord Briggs believes that your trust in the St. Aubyns is misplaced," the vicar said. "I agree with him. Your best course of action would be to marry the baron. He would make you an excellent husband."

So that was it, Sabrina thought. Edgar believed the vicar could change her mind about marrying him.

"I appreciate your concern for me," Sabrina said. "However, I am already married to the Marquess of Stonehurst. Unless you are promoting bigamy?"

"I had no idea," Vicar Dingle said, unable to keep the shock off his face. "I am sorry for intruding. Apparently, Briggs has no knowledge of this."

"My father and his uncle married us together when we were children," Sabrina told him. "That is the reason my father vetoed Edgar's proposal."

"Are you certain this marriage is legal?"

"Prince Adolphus confirmed it."

"Then it must be so," the vicar said. "I wish you and your husband all the best. Will you be living at Abingdon?"

"I'm uncertain," Sabrina said. "Vicar Dingle, would you please reconsider burying my father in hallowed ground?"

"Since the Church officially declared him a suicide, I cannot change their ruling," he replied. "I'm sorry I ever listened to Lord Briggs."

His remark puzzled her. "What do you mean?"

"I wanted to record your father's death as accidental," Vicar Dingle told her. "The baron insisted the earl committed suicide."

"I had no idea Edgar persuaded you to declare my father's death a suicide," Sabrina said, surprised. Apparently, Edgar carried a grudge against her father for refusing his marriage offer. Could Edgar actually have murdered her father? Why would he do such an evil thing? No man was so much in love that he'd murder to gain a wife.

The land
, Sabrina realized suddenly. Edgar had always wanted to join their estates. How could she ever prove his guilt?

"Lady Sabrina?"

She focused on the vicar. "Again, I thank you for your concern," she said. "You've only done what you think best."

Vicar Dingle smiled at her in obvious surprise, as if he'd been expecting an argument.

"I'll walk you to the door," Sabrina said.

Sabrina raced up the stairs to the third floor as soon as Vicar Dingle left. She knocked once on her sister's bedchamber door and then burst into the room without being invited. Courtney sat on the chaise in front of the hearth, and Sabrina hurried across to plop down beside her.

"I have several startling things to tell you," Sabrina said. "You must promise not to swoon, scream, weep, or tell another soul."

Courtney looked puzzled. "I promise."

"Prince Adolphus is our father," Sabrina said without preamble.

"What?" Courtney cried. "How do you know?"

Sabrina gave her a warning look. "You promised."

Courtney nodded and took several deep, calming breaths. "How do you know?" she whispered.

"Uncle Charles told me before I went to Stonehurst," Sabrina answered. "That is the reason Father married me off to Adam St. Aubyn, and that is the reason Adolphus has taken an interest in our social success."

"Why didn't they marry me off to anyone?" Courtney asked.

Sabrina shrugged. Her sister had a good point, but she could not explain that Adam was an exiled prince from an Eastern country. If there had been two princes, their father probably would have married her sister off to the other one.

"I'm glad they didn't marry me off," Courtney gushed. "Oh, Sister, I am so in love with Dudley Egremont. He has asked Uncle Charles for my hand in marriage. We were waiting for Adam and you to return to London before we made the announcement. Don't you think Dudley is the handsomest man you've ever seen?"

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "I have even more startling news for you."

"What could be more startling than being an unacknowledged princess?" Courtney asked.

"I have reason to believe that Edgar Briggs murdered Father," Sabrina said as she grabbed her sister's mouth, effectively muffling the scream. Leaning close, she whispered against her sister's ear, "If I take my hand away, will you promise not to scream?"

Courtney nodded.

Sabrina removed her hand slowly. Satisfied that her sister would not scream, she dropped her hand to her lap.

"How do you know?" Courtney asked. "What will we do about it?"

"Vicar Dingle just told me—"

"Vicar Dingle told you that Edgar murdered Father?"

"No, Edgar sent Vicar Dingle here to talk me into marriage," Sabrina explained. "The vicar told me that he had planned to call Father's death accidental, but Edgar persuaded him to name Father a suicide."

"That villain," Courtney exclaimed. "But why would Edgar want Father dead?"

"Edgar said it himself," Sabrina answered. "He wants the Savage land, but Father had refused his marriage offer. Edgar assumed he could then purchase the land at auction because a suicide's assets are forfeit to the Crown. He hadn't counted on the St. Aubyns. Of course, I cannot prove this in a court of law so we must find a way to get a confession out of him."

"What will the marquess do to get a confession out of Edgar?" Courtney asked.

"Since we are not in accord, my husband will remain ignorant of this. Sister, Henry Savage was our father. We must be the ones to restore his good name," Sabrina said. "By the way, how could you let the marquess steal my belongings?"

"How could I stop him?" her sister countered.

Sabrina nodded in understanding. "Are you willing to help me ferret the murderer out?"

"You know I will."

Sabrina cocked a copper brow at her sister. "Even if I must use you as the bait?"

"What do you have in mind?" Courtney asked.

"Let me think about it," Sabrina answered. "I need a way to entice Edgar, lead him to believe he still has a chance to gain our land. Do not mention this to Dudley Egremont."

Courtney made a gesture as if buttoning her lips together.

"Has Uncle Charles taken up residence here?" Sabrina asked, rising from the chaise.

"Yes, I believe he retired to his study," her sister told her.

"First I must speak with Uncle Charles," Sabrina said. "Then I am going to Park Lane. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

Courtney smiled, saying, "Good luck, Sister."

Sabrina hurried down the corridor to the stairs. Reaching the foyer, she saw Abdul, Tilly, and the two majordomos waiting for her. They looked at her expectantly, but she held up a hand.

"I must speak with His Grace," Sabrina told them without breaking stride. "Then I'll be leaving for Park Lane. Abdul, bring the coach around front again."

Sabrina knocked on the study door and opened it when she heard the duke call out to enter. Stepping inside, she closed the door behind her and beamed warmly at the duke, who was smiling as he rose from the chair behind his desk.

"Come in, child," Uncle Charles said. "Please, sit down."

Sabrina sat in the chair in front of his desk. The duke sat when she sat.

"So, is the married life agreeing with you?" he asked.

"I believe you already know the answer to that," Sabrina answered. "I haven't come here to speak to you about that. I need a favor from you."

Uncle Charles inclined his head. "Ask away, child."

"I must speak with Prince Adolphus as soon as possible," she told him. "Would you be willing to persuade the prince to meet with me here tomorrow morning?"

"Consider it done," he answered. "Shall we say eleven o'clock?"

Sabrina nodded. "Thank you, Uncle Charles." She started to rise from the chair, but the duke stopped her.

"Please, linger a few minutes," Uncle Charles said. "I want to speak to you about Adam."

Sabrina felt as if her heart were sinking to her stomach. She didn't have the strength for this conversation and then a confrontation with her husband. But what else could she do? The duke had just granted her a favor.

"What did you want to discuss?" she asked.

"You must reconcile with Adam. My nephew loves you very much."

Sabrina managed a faint smile. "I find that hard to believe."

"Oh, but he does," the duke assured her. "I doubt that Adam will tell you because, as you may have noticed, he is a proud man."

"I noticed that about my husband," Sabrina said dryly.

"Do you realize that you just referred to Adam as your husband?" Uncle Charles said, giving her a broad grin. "I want to explain a few things about his background."

"I am aware of his background," Sabrina told him.

"You know only the facts," Uncle Charles insisted. "You know nothing of his emotional upheaval and suffering."

"My husband suffered?" Sabrina echoed in surprise, leaning forward in the chair, alert and interested.

"Because he'd been overshadowed by his older brother, the heir apparent, Adam arrived in England a shy ten-year-old. He was badly frightened, too. His mother had sent him into exile—for his own good, of course—to a strange land with strange customs. He was old enough to know the reason he'd been sent away, but too immature to appreciate his mother's sacrifice. I'm positive he always felt abandoned by her. Not only that, he was forced to hide his true identity." Uncle Charles stopped talking and stared into Sabrina's eyes, now filled with unshed tears. "Until he met Jamie Armstrong, Adam didn't fit in at Eton. The other boys considered him a despicable Frenchman at a time when Napoleon was doing his worst. One young man— Cedric Appleby, the Earl of Stockton—was especially cruel to Adam. He even persuaded his chums to ambush and assault him."

"Oh, Lord," Sabrina whispered, her heart breaking at the thought of what her husband had endured. She suddenly felt sick to her stomach, but needed to know the rest of the story. "What happened?" she asked.

"Those ten cowards caught him alone and nearly killed him with their beating," Uncle Charles said, his own complexion a shade paler than when she had walked into the study. "Ten against one, I still can't believe it. Jamie Armstrong found him near the rugby field. From that day on, Jamie never let Adam walk the grounds of Eton alone."

"What happened to the other boys?" Sabrina asked.

"Appleby was thrown out of school, and his accomplices were suspended for a time," Uncle Charles answered. He smiled at her then and added, "Later on, Adam exacted his own special brand of revenge."

"Which is?"

"Three years ago Adam seized the opportunity to ruin Appleby financially by making several business deals," the duke said. "Unfortunately, my nephew's hardened exterior hides a sensitive heart. When he heard that Appleby had children he couldn't support, Adam made another several business deals to ensure that Appleby recovered his money."

Sabrina felt the hot tears brimming over her eyes and rolling down her cheeks. A lump of raw emotion caught in her throat.

Her husband appeared to be an arrogant, autocratic aristocrat. But he was actually kindhearted.

Adam had rung her father's death knell.

She had repaid that kindness by abandoning him.

And yet she couldn't move past those lies. Understanding the reason behind them, though, did ease her troubled spirit.

"Thank you for telling me that," Sabrina said, rising from the chair.

"Please don't tell Adam we had this talk," Uncle Charles said. "I promise Adolphus will be here in the morning."

Fifteen minutes later Sabrina alighted from the coach in front of her husband's Park Lane town house. Adam would not appreciate her pity or sympathy for him, and so she vowed never to show him in any way that she knew how miserable his childhood had been. Steeling herself, she marched up the front stairs like an invading general. Behind her followed the foot soldiers—Winston, Tilly, and Abdul.

Sabrina lifted the door knocker and slammed it down hard. Almost instantly, the door opened an inch, slammed shut, and then opened an inch again. The door seemed to be struggling with itself. And Sabrina heard two voices raised in argument.

"I'll get it."

"No, I will."

"I am His Lordship's majordomo."

At that, someone yanked the door open. Sabrina recognized Higgins and Razi.

"Good afternoon, my lady," Higgins greeted her. "We've been expecting you."

Razi bowed from the waist. "Welcome, my pr— lady."

Sabrina walked into the foyer and ordered, "Tilly and Winston, sit down." She looked at Higgins and asked, "Where is His Lordship?"

"I believe he is in his study," the majordomo answered. "I will be happy to announce you."

"No, I will," Razi snapped at the man.

"I prefer announcing myself," Sabrina told them, and marched down the long corridor. She hesitated a moment outside the last door on the right, but then burst into the room without knocking.

Adam shot to his feet. With him was Jamie Armstrong, who also stood at her abrupt entrance.

Harnessing her fury the way nature gathers its forces, Sabrina fixed her gaze on her husband and asked, "By what right do you steal my property?"

"Princess, we have company," Adam said, ignoring her anger with an infuriating smile, fanning the flames.

"I want my belongings returned to me," Sabrina demanded, ignoring their guest. "I am taking up residence with my aunt."