Feeling the tears welling, she blew Marianne a kiss and then raced down the stairs.

She had little trouble finding a hansom cab, but the traffic was horrendous, and it was several minutes after ten before she entered the courtroom where Dibble was on trial. The room was packed, no seats to be had. She didn’t know why people cared so much about seeing the proceedings for someone they didn’t know. Or maybe they did know him. Perhaps he had many friends.

Although based on his sneer as he stood in the dock, she doubted it. Then she realized he was glowering at Matthew who was striding toward the witness box. To see him again stole her breath. He exhibited such confidence and an almost regal bearing. She could tell he’d already managed to gain the respect of almost everyone in attendance. When he stepped up to claim his place, he looked over the courtroom, and she knew the moment he spied her standing at the back of the room because he went as still as death.

He didn’t look as though he’d slept well, and she wondered if he’d been worried about his testimony or if perhaps he was regretting how things had gone between them when they’d last seen each other. She offered him a hesitant smile and wished she had some way to communicate to him that she had complete faith in his ability to see her sire put away. And that she desperately missed him and needed to speak with him.

“If you will please state your name for the court?”

He jerked his gaze to the wigged and robed man standing before him who had made the announcement. “Matthew Sommersby.”

The man said something sotto voce. Matthew didn’t appear pleased. He glanced over at Fancy, cleared his voice. “Matthew Sommersby, Earl of Rosemont.”

The tiny cracks that had appeared in her heart when she discovered him gone deepened until her heart shattered.

He watched Fancy walk out of the room, and it took everything within him to remain in the witness box and give his testimony. She wasn’t supposed to be here. He never should have told her when the trial would occur. He’d done it to bring her peace of mind, to reassure her that it would happen, and justice would be served.

As soon as he was done, he strode out of the courtroom and into the hallway, searching for her. But she was nowhere to be found.

All for the best. What was there to say?

She’d made her choice. She’d chosen Beresford.

And he’d made his. He hadn’t told her who he was.

As he had every night since he’d returned to his residence, Matthew lounged in his library and sipped his scotch. And as he had every night since his return, he thought of Fancy.