Secrets of Sloane House(94)

Reid had thought he was far beyond being shocked. Obviously he was wrong. He stared at Douglass while his insides twisted. How had he ever become this man’s friend?

At last, Mr. Sloane stood up. His face was a mask of disdain, but whether it was for Reid bringing the tragedies out in the open or for his son’s admittance without remorse that he’d violated at least two women, Reid wasn’t sure.

“Mrs. Armstrong, Reid,” he intoned. “Rest assured this, uh, situation will soon be resolved. However, it would be best done in the privacy of our home, at the discretion of this family.”

They’d been dismissed.

Reid wanted to leave. He ached to leave. But he had promised Rosalind that he’d see her quest through. And that meant he could never leave the house without bringing up her sister.

“What about Miranda Perry?” he asked baldly.

“Miranda?” Douglass raised his brows. “What concern is she of yours?”

“Miranda was my sister,” Rosalind blurted. “I mean, she is my sister.”

“Your sister?” Olympia Sloane said. She looked genuinely confused, reminding Reid once again that many of the employees of the great house weren’t really seen as people by the Sloane family. Instead, they were warm bodies assigned to do a job to make the family’s lives easier. “I’m sorry, did we know you were related?”

“Not at all. I came to Sloane House to search for her. Secretly.”

“I don’t understand. Are you really stating that you only entered our employ to discover information about your sister?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“That was a bit extreme, don’t you agree?” Douglass sat back down, resting one foot atop his knee. “Any number of things could have happened to the girl.” He waved a hand. “Most likely, she fell in love with a peddler or something.”

“No,” Rosalind retorted. “That is not what happened.”

“What do you think did?” Veronica eyed her with a wary expression.



“I’m not sure. I . . . I’m still trying to figure that out.” Unable to merely sit and answer questions, Rosalind stood up. “But . . . I think someone in this house had something to do with her disappearance.”

“Such as?” Veronica asked.

Oh, but this was hard! Facing the whole family together was far more difficult than she ever would have imagined it to be. But she had Reid and his mother there. And she was stronger too. Far stronger than she’d been just a few weeks ago.

She also felt the reassurance of the Lord deep inside her. He had sent her on this mission, and he was pushing her forward. She knew it with every fiber of her being. That gave her all the strength she needed.

“I’ve heard from several people that Douglass paid a lot of attention to her. Some of the staff said Miranda had been warned to keep quiet, but I think Douglass and Veronica were angry with her because she was going to talk. She was going to go to the police or even go to some of the other servants in other homes.”

Looking around the room, she added, “There was talk, you see. I think she was in danger.”

“Are you trying to say I did away with her?” Douglass looked completely incredulous. “I certainly did not do any such thing.”

“What kind of talk?” Mr. Sloane blustered.

Veronica slumped against the cushion of the sofa like a petulant child. “Oh, Father. Have you really been so oblivious to anything but work? Douglass’s reputation for violence and poor treatment of women stopped being whispered speculation over a year ago. Now it is regarded as common knowledge. No one decent calls on either of us anymore.”

Her father shook his head. “What your brother did shouldn’t have mattered. You have the Sloane name.”

“A name means whatever people want it to mean,” Veronica pointed out. “At the moment? It means many bad things.” She glared at Reid. “But you were my hope. I thought you, at least, would see me for who I am. Not that I was tainted by my brother’s reputation.”

“I wasn’t in love with you. I had already given my heart to someone else.”

Rosalind saw the softening in Reid’s gaze. Knowing that he was most likely speaking of Eloisa hurt. She’d seen how concerned he’d been about her, how much he wanted to help her. A combination of jealousy and despair spiraled inside of her as she realized that Reid Armstrong could never be hers.

She pushed aside the pain as Mr. Sloane’s booming voice broke the sudden silence. “Did you violate Miranda, Douglass?”

He squirmed. “I didn’t violate her . . .”