Kendra laughed and got to her feet. “I’ll be down shortly, but in the meantime, here is the list of potential witnesses and all the details of that night that I can remember.” She’d spent a long time developing that list and making fair copies. She handed two of the copies to Lucas and Simon, then followed Suzanne up the stairs.

The nursery was two stories above, softly lit with a single lamp. A maid was quietly knitting in a wooden rocking chair, but she rose at the entrance of the two women. “Mistress Madeline is ready for her supper, and I’m ready for my cup of tea!”

Suzanne chuckled and waved the girl out, then bent over the beautifully carved crib and lifted her tiny daughter out. Madeline smiled sleepily and gave a yawn. She had dark hair like both her parents, a pale pearlescent complexion, and she might develop green eyes like her mother. “She’s beautiful,” Kendra said softly.

“We like to think so,” Suzanne said with a smile. “I love knowing that this crib has been in Simon’s mother’s family for many years. Simon, his mother and aunt, and generations before were cradled here.”

Kendra brushed her fingertips over the dark polished wood, imagining all the sweet babies who had slept in its shelter. “How lovely to have such a family history for your child.”

“Yes, particularly since there is nothing left of my own family heirlooms.” Suzanne settled into the low rocking chair and unfastened the bodice of her gown. Her garments were cleverly designed to open so she could nurse her baby. “She’s only a month old. She was born a little early, but healthy, as you see.”

“What a miracle a baby is!” Kendra said as she sat in the other chair. “I can scarcely remember when Christopher was so small.”

“We’ll find him,” Suzanne said calmly as she drew her daughter to her breast. “His father will have a care for his heir if not for him as an individual.”

“I tell myself that.” Kendra drew a deep, calming breath. “Suzanne, why did you accept my story so quickly? I myself might have trouble believing such an outrageous tale from a strange woman.”

Suzanne leaned back in the chair and patted her daughter’s back. “Lucas brought you here and he is seldom wrong about people. Also . . .” She hesitated before continuing. “I was on a ship captured by Barbary pirates and was then enslaved in the harem of an extremely unpleasant Turkish official. I know a great deal about how men can abuse women. Women in dire straits need other women.”

Kendra guessed that Suzanne’s bare description of her captivity concealed an ocean of pain that her new friend had no desire to discuss. “I’m glad your experiences have made you kind, not angry, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You and your husband both.”