The Vanishing at Loxby Manor by Abigail Wilson (grave mercy .TXT) 📕

any moment. Why had I dropped himthat note? Poor Mr. Lacy only wanted to keep his position, to set things right.

Mr. Lacy’s shoulders curved forward under the weight of his anxiety. “Mrs. Cavanagh has been to the stables daily, askingfor word about Miles. She’ll not allow me to stay on if she learns my nephew has not held up his end of the bargain. I cursethe day I ever stuck my neck out for that maddening boy.”

I touched his arm. “I’ll do my best to speak with Miles, and I understand your concern.”

“Thank you. I hoped you might.” He sounded so hopeful, but his momentary relief faded all too quickly as he balled his fingersinto a fist at his side. “I fear certain something terrible is planned for that race. The amount of money he’s been paid,well, it’s far too much for a simple groom’s work.”

The sabotage!

I took a step back. Could the Gormogons have employed Miles Lacy to carry out their plan?

“Did your nephew say anything else, anything specific I might go on?”

He rubbed his chin. “I’m afraid not. He simply wrote for me to trust him, that his staying in the area would eventually pay off. He seemed to imply he meant to compensate me for my troubles.”

A surge of wind shook the trees and howled its way beneath the stone arch. Mr. Lacy stared into the darkness around us asthe shadows seemed to edge in place. My focus fell to the piece of paper in his hand. If Miles Lacy was at Whitecaster Hall,then Seline most certainly did not run away with him.

“Mr. Lacy?”

“Yes.” His voice sounded gruff, his eyes like an owl’s in the dim light.

“Do you still think Miles had nothing to do with Seline’s disappearance?”

He shook his head, but I wasn’t to hear what he said as I heard a door in the distance. I jerked a glance behind me. “Thankyou for trusting me with this information, but I must go at once. We’ll speak again soon, and I promise you I’ll try to findMiles as soon as I can once I’ve arrived at Whitecaster Hall.”

I whirled away and walked off at a brisk pace, caught up in not only my fear of accidental discovery but the first definitiveproof of what I’d anticipated all along. Seline did not write that note the maid found in her room. Miles Lacy might verywell hold the key to determining what really happened to her. I had to talk to him. Of course there was one rather big question:should I do so without telling Piers?

Chapter 19

I’d heard Whitecaster Hall was magnificent, newly built and elaborately sculpted—a rectangular palace with symmetrical outcroppingsand pillars like the pantheon in Rome. However, as we were late leaving Loxby, there was no light with which to view WhitecasterHall in all its splendor.

That is, until we breached the front door. Nothing could have prepared me for what I found inside.

We were met by a brilliance of light like nothing I’d ever seen. It spilled down from every angle, arresting each guest asthey traversed the entryway door—hundreds upon hundreds of beeswax candles. The whispered awe of the ladies around me ranrampant as they moved to count every last candle. A woman wearing a particularly large ostrich feather in her hat turned toher companion and declared the spectacle a fine tribute to honor Lord Kendal’s affianced bride.

I found the sentiment a bit difficult to grasp. Who would spend such a ridiculous amount of money on a hallway?

Piers was no doubt thinking the same as his left eyebrow inched upward. He caught my incredulous stare and covered a laugh.

“Careful.” I took in our surroundings. “We don’t want to offend our host after we’ve just arrived.”

Straightening, Piers offered me his arm. “I swear nothing shall surprise me after what I’ve seen tonight.” A few steps forward and we’d created enough space between us and his mother and Avery for some semblance of privacy. He touched my gloved hand. “Are you ready?”

How to answer such a question? Ready for my tête-à-tête with Lord Kendal? Hardly. And worse, I now had the added stress ofseeking out Miles Lacy.

I looked up. “And what about you? I’m greatly concerned Lord Kendal may not be as receptive to your presence in his home asyou seem to think he will be.”

Piers shrugged. “It’s possible he’ll continue to cut me, but he’d never make a scene. Not when Honora is the guest of honor.”

“Have you seen her recently?”

He shot me a curious glance. “Certainly not. We did not part on the best of terms. Granted, she was always . . . How to describeit . . . Tactful with me.” He glared off into the shadows for a moment, then turned back to me. “Rest assured, she was nomore in love with me than I was with—”

He wasn’t to finish his sentence, as Lord Kendal and Honora Gervey appeared directly ahead, greeting the guests as they passedinto the ballroom. I could feel the muscles tighten in Piers’s arm.

I took a deep breath. This would not be easy for either of us, but we had each other.

Honora was the first to spot us through the crowds. With her raven-black hair and snow-white cheeks, no one could have missedthe flush that crept across her face. She touched Kendal’s arm to gain his attention and whispered into his ear. His eyessnapped forward, and he stared at us a long second before the insidious workings of a smile crossed his face.

A few charged steps and we were before them.

Kendal spoke first, but he made certain we understood he was directing the conversation to me and me alone. “Miss Halliwell,if I’m not mistaken, it’s been some time.”

I lowered my chin. “I’ve just returned from Ceylon where I spent the last five years.”

“Five years!” His eyes brightened. “How can it possibly have been so long?” He slid a glare at Piers, then came back to me.“It was good of you to accompany Mrs. Cavanagh tonight as Seline could not. I do hope you enjoy the evening.”

Avery was behind us now,