“You’ve done everything you could.” Wren paused, not wanting to ask him any leading questions. “I was wondering, Lord Lowry … Henry is not very lucid, so I haven’t been able to speak with him much. Could you tell me, who is he exactly?”

Lowry looked puzzled. “He’s my valet.”

Wren pursed her lips to hold in an impatient sigh. “Do you know his full name?”

“Why, of course. It’s … Oh dear.” Lowry grimaced. “I’m embarrassed to admit I don’t know his surname. He only introduced himself to me as Henry.”

The unsubtle ruse almost made her laugh. Hal, after all, was a nickname for Henry. But the earnestness on Lowry’s face destabilized her, filled her with a self-doubt dark and swirling. There was no trace of deception. No caginess at her line of questioning.

So he really has no idea who Hal is.

It still didn’t explain why Hal was here in the first place. And it certainly didn’t explain why Lowry was so determined to save “Henry” if he truly believed him to be nothing but a valet. That needled at her, like reopening an old wound. To powerful people, soldiers and servants were expendable. She knew that well enough by experience.

“May I ask you a personal question?”

Lowry’s eyebrows shot up. “Of course.”

“You’ve gone through a great deal of trouble to bring me here. To some, I imagine it would seem to be more trouble than a servant is worth. Why?”

“To some, she says. A mysterious entity, that some. Have you been listening to rumors about me, Ms. Southerland?”

“Nothing like that.” She frowned. “Just … a curious mind.”

Lowry ran a hand through his hair. He looked preoccupied, distant, as he turned his gaze to the frost scoring the windows. “It’s a fair question. I suppose I can’t help but feel this is all my fault.”

“Unless you’re a pathogen, this is in no way your fault.”

“Some would certainly argue the case,” he said with a wry lilt, “but I digress. I know it’s unreasonable, but I feel responsible for Henry in particular. I normally leave matters of household management to my staff, but I hired him myself. He appeared on my doorstep a few weeks ago, completely unannounced and looking for work.”

Wren perked up at that. Why would Hal leave Vesria to come here? And if he truly only showed up a few weeks ago, how could he have ingratiated himself enough with Lowry to become his favorite?

“He had no references and hardly any belongings,” Lowry said. “On any other day, I’d have turned him out, but there was the small matter of the estate being … understaffed. His arrival seemed a blessing, really.”

“He just appeared? Did he say where he came from?”