If Isabelle had not seen firsthand how distraught and shaken Marshall was by Naomi’s disappearance, she never would have believed it. He had pulled himself together and was now the unflappable leader his household needed him to be. Isabelle took her lead from him and tried to put on a brave face to mask her own dismay.
In Marshall’s study, Aunt Janine sat in a chair holding a saucer and teacup, which rattled in her trembling hands. A groom stood near the desk, gripping his cap in tight fists. Alexander sat slumped over on a sofa, clutching a bloodied wad of cloth to the back of his head.
Isabelle startled at the sight of her wounded brother. “Alex!”
He lifted his head and gave her a wan smile, his face devoid of color. “Hello, little sister,” he replied weakly.
She took the rag from his grasp to examine him. Behind his right ear, his light hair was stained red. She sucked air through her teeth at the sight of it, but gingerly parted the matted hair. A gash in his scalp bled freely.
She glanced at Marshall. “He needs a doctor.”
“Aunt Janine, please see about that,” he told the elderly lady. “Also, write to Grant and Mama; tell them to come at once. Mr. Turner, my investigator, as well.”
Aunt Janine looked like she’d aged twenty years since Isabelle had seen her earlier that morning. Her distant eyes blinked. Then she nodded and rose to carry out Marshall’s requests.
“Fairfax,” Marshall clipped, “what happened?”
Alex sat upright; he grimaced fiercely. “It’s hard to say for sure.”
Isabelle daubed at the blood seeping through his hair. Alex groaned. “Sorry,” Isabelle muttered.
“Please,” Marshall said, “whatever you can tell me.”
“Get him a drink,” Isabelle instructed a footman.
“We had our ride,” Alex began. “Lady Naomi showed me a hedge she likes to jump, and a stream she thinks is picturesque.” He smiled ruefully at Marshall as if to say, Women. You know how it is. “Lady Janine was stung by a bee — ”
“Good God!” Marshall threw his hands up. “The one thing I specifically told her to do was to stay away from bee hives.” He made a disgusted sound.
“In her defense,” Alexander said, “she was admiring a flower, and when she touched the bloom, a bee flew out and stung her hand.”
Marshall pressed his hands to his face.
“In any event, she rode back ahead of us to have the sting tended to. Lady Naomi and I were already coming back ourselves, but she wanted to show me — ” He sucked in his breath and groaned.
“Alex!” Isabelle crouched beside him and squeezed his hand. Fear clutched at her throat. Alexander was her only remaining family. If anything should happen to him …
He waved her away with an irritated gesture. “I can’t recollect where she wanted to go. We returned to the stable. I don’t remember anything after I handed the reins to a groom.”
“Weren’t no groom!” piped up the liveried stable hand hovering nearby. “Begging your pardon, Yer Grace.” He ducked his head. The servant was a tall, gawky man, with a thin face and protruding Adam’s apple.
“What do you mean?” Marshall asked.
“A few o’ the lads took sick after breakfast this morning,” the man said. “Cramps and — ” His protruding eyes cut to Isabelle. “Indisposition,” he finished carefully. “Musta been somethin’ bad in the eggs. Anyway, then this fellow shows up like a miracle, just when all the other lads were ailing and begging off work for the day. He wanted to know if there was an opening in the stable. Said his name was Jerry.”
“Gerald,” Marshall snarled.
The name meant nothing to Isabelle. “Who?”
“Thomas Gerald was a groom in my father’s employ,” Marshall quickly explained. “He was arrested and transported for poisoning a pregnant brood mare.”
Isabelle made a stricken sound. “God above! But why — ”
“Revenge.” Marshall said grimly.
“He seemed nice enough,” the groom continued, “and he had a good way with the horses. So the stable master told him he could work for the day, and then he had to beg off on account of his own indisposition. So it was just this new fellow and me minding the horses, and the Harper lad in the tack. When the ladies and Mr. Fairfax went to ride, was me and Jerry got the horses for them. When Lady Janine returned alone, Jerry helped me wipe the mare down — gave her a nice long feed, too. He said the mare was hitching her step a bit, and would I take her for an easy walk, since she knew me better. Like I said, this Jerry knew what he was about with the horses. So I said I would. And when I come back, there was Mr. Fairfax,” he said, nodding toward Alex, “laid out on the floor. But his horse, and Lady Naomi and her horse, weren’t nowhere to be seen.” He pursed his lips and moved his chin from side to side. “And that’s all I know about it, milord.”