“I have no intention of fainting,” Lady Hester said, looking as if she would do so at any moment.

“The doctor said absolutely no unnecessary exertion, but, of course, you know better,” Miss Grant said under her breath. Lady Hester turned a little in her seat, away from the remark. A surprising discord—I had only ever seen them show a united front.

Julia touched my arm. “It is no great change to the plan, my dear,” she said softly, reading my expression. “We are still on schedule and your ruse seems to have worked perfectly.”

My sister, as ever, was right. Nothing had changed. Only one extra person within the carriage. And yet, as I studied Lady Hester—the prominent bones of her pale face testimony to the maltreatment she had suffered at the asylum—I knew that if she asked her brother to flee to another country, he would do so. How could he not?

9

I carefully let down the carriage window, cushioning the usual clatter with the pads of my fingers. The intrusion of cold air brought a grunt of protest from Miss Grant, who cradled Lady Hester against her shoulder.

“We are almost there,” I said, forestalling her complaint.

“Thank goodness.” She glanced down at Lady Hester’s drawn, sleeping face. “I hope we do not have long to wait.” As we had all suspected, the journey—with all the infelicities of the road—had been hard upon Hester’s fragile state.

If I recalled correctly, we were coming up to the sweep of road—currently bordered by russet hazels—where our coach had been stopped by two highwaymen, one of whom I had accidentally shot. My future love. The beginning of it all.

A stand of trees came into view, its pattern of trunks and branches reaching into my memory. Ah, this was it. Just as I raised my hand to rap on the cabin wall, I heard John Driver call to the horses and our momentum slowed. He must have recognized the place too. After all, he had faced the same highwaymen and shot at Evan’s erstwhile partner.

“We are here,” I announced.

Miss Grant gently shook Lady Hester’s shoulder.

“Are you sure this is it?” Julia asked, evaluating the unkempt autumn woodlands on either side.

“I am certain.” I lifted my fob watch upon its chain and checked the time. Nearly noon, the appointed hour of our meeting.

Was Evan here yet? Colonel Drysan had given me a possible clue to the truth about the duel: the Exalted Brethren of Rack and Ruin. Could that scrap of information offer some hope of finding who wished Evan dead and a way to clear his name and save his sister?