“I am,” she said. “But I really didn’t want to marry that man.”

Alec smiled. “I can understand that.”

“But…you knew to come here?”

“I had a hunch.” He shrugged, as if his ability to find her across continents was perfectly normal.

She pressed against him once again as hot joy fanned out from her heart through every limb. “Mr. Wetherby must have been very angry,” she said after a moment.

Alec drew her away from him, his expression grave. “He’s been arrested. Those codes you were deciphering didn’t come from your uncle. Wetherby was selling sensitive information. Rafe wants to charge him with kidnapping in addition to conspiring with foreign agents. He will likely hang.”

A shudder rented through her as she recalled the man’s words: Being poor is a tedious business. I intend to avoid it at all costs

And now he would pay with his life.

“My God. Did my uncle know?”

“It doesn’t appear so. He has had a rather large number of lapses in judgment lately. Most likely he has been in decline for much longer than anyone realized.”

“Yes, I thought the same.” Lottie glanced down and ran a finger along the lapels of his jacket. “You saw him, then?”

“We talked for a long while.”

Lottie hesitated, but Alec needed to know the truth. “Did he tell you about your mother, and the work she did for him?”

“He did.”

Lottie pulled back and stared into his eyes. The coldness that had always accompanied any mention of his parents was entirely gone. Now he looked broken. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I learned everything from him yesterday. That must have been so upsetting for you.”

Alec dipped his chin, as if her words embarrassed him. “It was something of a comfort to know the truth behind why she left, but I’ve realized I let her absence dictate far too much for too long.”

“Alec, you didn’t—”

He held up a finger to her lips. “Please, just listen before you say anything. I know I don’t deserve such an indulgence, but I’ve had a long time to think on everything these last few days.

“It would be so easy to blame all my troubles on Sir Alfred, but I don’t want to spend the rest of my life feeling angry or bitter over the mistakes of others.” He paused as his eyes lingered on her face. “Or continue letting those mistakes dictate my life. Like I did five years ago.”

Lottie had to take a long breath before she could speak, and even then her voice still trembled. “What do you mean?”