He looked deep into her eyes. "Do you understand what this man's existence means? If word of this got out, he could legally lay claim to everything that is mine. Take everything away from me. My home. My title. My birthright. My very existence. According to my father, the note contains proof that this other marriage took place-and that a son was born from the union. Do you not see that I must have that note, Alberta? I must. My very life depends upon it."

She licked her lips. "I understand. And given the circumstances you've described, I would gladly give it to you if I had it. But as I already told you, it is not in my possession. I swear it."

He studied her. It appeared that she was telling the truth. A roar of frustration boiled up inside him, and he clenched his jaw to keep it contained. Damn it, now he was going to have to find this bloody Edward Smythe person. And kill him, too. Would this nightmare never end?

"That man, Mr. Redfern," she said. "He caused the accidents on board the Seaward Lady. He was the person who abducted me and robbed the Bradford town house. All to get that note and ring… for you."

"It was the note that was most important, but I wanted my father's ring as well. As a physical reminder to never become the weak fool he was. Unfortunately, circumstances continually thwarted Redfern, who sadly did not prove as clever as I'd hoped. Certainly he was not as clever as your husband, whose intelligence and lack of morals I sadly underestimated." He made a tsking noise. "You just cannot trust anyone anymore."

"So that is how David had the ring. I was certain he'd stolen it. That was why I came to England -to return the ring to its rightful owner."

"He stole it from the Irish whore my father married. I hired David to find her and her son. Unfortunately, when he located her, the son did not live with her. Still, being the clever crook, David took it upon himself to relieve her of several pieces of jewelry, one of which was my father's coat-of-arms ring. David found the note hidden in the box's false bottom. He demanded an outrageous sum in exchange for the ring, the note, and his silence. I agreed to his terms, but he did not keep his end of the bargain. He escaped with the money and the ring." A muscle ticked in his jaw.

"After years of searching," he continued, "I finally learned David had escaped to America. I hired Redfern-whom I believed smart enough to do the job, but not clever enough to cross me as David had-and sent him to America to retrieve the ring. By the time Redfern found out where David lived, your husband was dead, and all his belongings gone. Redfern discovered that David had left a wife, but she'd moved away." He shook his head. "Such inconveniences. It took Redfern almost two years to find you, Alberta, and when he did, you were about to sail for England."

"So he sailed on the same ship," she whispered.

"Yes. And that brings us to where we are now, which, I'm sad to say, is quite an unhappy place." He released her, and she stumbled back several steps. Reaching into his jacket, he slipped out his pistol and pointed it at her chest.

Chapter 23

Michael dragged his hands down his haggard-looking face, and Robert curbed his impatience at the pause.

After blowing out a long breath, Michael continued, his eyes fierce. "That bastard returned to Ireland and told my mum his sad tale of woe about how his father would withhold all the money if he ever learned of their marriage. And that even though he loved her and their son, he loathed the thought of returning to a life of what was, to him, abject poverty." Disgust filled Michael's voice. "And how, now that his brother was dead, he had to assume his role as the heir, so that the estate that had been in his family for centuries did not fall into ruin."

"I hope your mother beat him with a skillet."

"I wish she had. No, Mum said she recognized that Nigel was no longer the carefree, happy young man she'd married. He was miserable living in Ireland, and she had no wish to cause him more misery, or to keep him from the life he so desperately wanted. She knew if she didn't let him go, he'd end up hating her, and, for reasons that I will never understand, she loved the bastard enough to let him go."

Robert raised his brows. "She couldn't possibly annul ih marriage. She had you."

"Exactly." He spread his hands in a gesture of disbelief "They simply agreed to live separately. Mum promised to move away and never mention their marriage-to prevent In father or anyone else from finding out about it-and Nigel vowed to financially provide for her and… me. With the help of the priest who married them, Mum used the money Nigel gave her to settle into a new life in another town. She took the last name Evers and claimed she was a widow. The only item she kept from her life with Nigel was a coat-of-arms ring he gave her, which she kept in a small ring box with a false bottom. In the false bottom she concealed a note written to her from the priest who married her and Nigel, which offered indisputable proof that the marriage took place and is still valid, a precaution she said she took to safeguard my future should the need ever arise. Just in case Nigel ever changed his mind and wished to acknowledge the union to his family, she told him about the note and where she'd hidden it.

"Unfortunately, the ring, along with the box and its secret contents, were stolen from her several years ago. You can imagine her surprise when I turned up on her doorstep bearing the note." Michael's gaze hardened. "But that was nothing compared to her shock when I informed her that not only had Nigel inherited his father's title but he'd married another woman and fathered another son."

The full impact of Michael's story hit Robert like a blow to the head. He stared up at Michael in complete shock. "Good God, Michael. Geoffrey Hadmore is not really the earl of Shelbourne. You are."

Michael's lips flattened into a thin line. "So it would bloody well seem." Reaching into his jacket pocket, he withdrew two yellowed documents and handed them to Robert. "Before leaving Ireland, my mum brought me to the church where she and Nigel were married and I was baptized. These are the official certificates of proof of the marriage and my baptismal record."

Robert stared at the documents, his mind whirling. "Hadmore must not know you could lay claim to his title. If he did-"

"Robert. I've had time to digest this, thinking about it all on my way here. I don't think he knows I am the man who could claim his title, but I'm positive he knows such a threat exists."

Michael's words sunk in, tightening Robert's gut with dread. He rose, then handed the papers back to Michael. "Jesus. All those 'accidents' that have befallen Allie… Hadmore must know the proof was in the note. And that Allie had the note. He's responsible."

"I agree."

He started across the room at a near run. "We must tell her. Warn her."

Michael caught up and grabbed his arm. "She's safe, Robert. She's in the nursery with your sister-in-law. The butler told me so."

Relief raced through him. "Thank God. But she must be told. Immediately." He quit the room, Michael following. They'd just entered the foyer, intending to climb the stairs to the nursery, when Caroline burst into the entryway from the opposite direction. Robert stared at her disheveled hair and gown, her panicked expression, and his heart nearly stuttered to a halt.

"Robert, thank God," she said, her chest heaving, her voice breathless. "You must come quickly. Miles and Austin, too. We need bandages… There's been a terrible accident."

He grabbed her by the upper arms, his heart pounding with dread. "Is it Allie?"

She shook her head, and he squeezed his eyes closed in relief. "But a man's been hurt. I don't know how badly. We found him lying, unconscious, on the path leading toward the ruins."

His eyes snapped open. "We?"

"Allie and I. She's with him now-"

"Allie is alone in the woods with this man?" He barely resisted the urge to shake her, as icy fear gripped him. "Who is he?"

She pulled out of his grasp and glared at him. "I don't know who he is. But no, she is not alone with him. Lord Shelbourne is with her."

Robert actually felt the blood drain from his face. His eyes met Michael's over Caroline's head. " Austin is in his study Caroline. Get him." He nudged her toward the corridor, and she needed no further urging, taking off at a very uncountesslike run.

Robert's hands curled into fists. "You know both Austin and Miles. Wait for them, then tell them about Hadmore. They know the way toward the ruins. Make certain you're armed. There's not a moment to lose."

He left the foyer at a dead run, thankful his knife was already secured in his boot, for there was no time to retrieve his pistol from his bedchamber. Exiting the house through the rear, he did the only two things he could-run as fast as possible, and pray for all he was worth.

Ten minutes later, heart pounding, sweat trickling down his back, knife in hand, he rounded the corner in the path and came upon the man lying on the ground. Robert didn't recognize him, but one close look was enough to determine that he was dead. And very much alone.

Damn it! Where was she? If that bastard Shelbourne hurt her-

He viciously thrust the thought aside, and forced himself to remain calm, think clearly. He scanned the area, focusing on the soft ground. The imprint of horse hooves was clearly visible, leading farther into the forest. Without further hesitation, he raced forward.