The secretary glanced at the actress, who was lingering in the parlor doorway. “I’ve come on a matter of some urgency, my lord. If I might have a word in private?”
Finding the attention on herself, Elise flushed prettily. “Of course, I shall leave you alone.” Obligingly, she backed out and shut the door.
“What is it?” Damien demanded impatiently.
“I fear I have grave news. Your sister has suffered an accident.”
Damien felt his heart clench. “Olivia?”
It was a reflexive question. He had only one sister, a girl some fifteen years his junior, who lived quietly at his country estate of Rosewood, the family seat of the Barons Sinclair. “What manner of accident?”
“I do not have all the particulars-the message your bailiff sent was written in apparent haste. But it seems Miss Sinclair fell down a flight of stairs. When she regained consciousness, she had lost all feeling in her lower limbs. The doctor was called, and while he could find no broken bones, he believes her spine to be damaged. The possibility exists that she may be permanently crippled.”
Damien stared, shock rendering him mute.
“I fear that is not all,” George added quietly.
“There’s more?” he said hoarsely.
“From the note, I gather the injury occurred during a-”
“A what, man? Tell me!”
“You will not care for this, my lord, but… it was an aborted elopement.”
“A what?” Damien shook his head. He could not credit that his shy, sheltered sister would attempt an elopement. Or that the strict governess he’d hired to look after Olivia would permit it. “That is impossible. There must be some mistake.”
“Perhaps so,” George said dubiously.
“Who was the man?”
“The man?”
“Her seducer. Whom did she think to wed?”
“The missive makes mention of Lord Rutherford, but it isn’t clear if he is the culprit.”
Damien knew of a Viscount Rutherford, a rather wild young man who had just come into the title.
“Here,” his secretary said, “you will wish to read Bellows’s letter for yourself.”
Damien took the proffered sheet of vellum and hastily perused the nearly illegible scribble in his bailiff’s hand. The tragic mishap had occurred in Alcester at the Four Lions, a busy coaching inn near the Sinclair family seat of Rosewood. The note described the extent of Olivia’s suspected injuries and went on to suggest how the accident came about. Bellows wrote:
It pains me to deliver such disastrous tidings, but I gather your sister planned an elopement. At
the last moment, however, the gentleman in question reneged. Miss Olivia fled in dismay, which precipitated her fall. Lord Rutherford summoned the doctor immediately, but the damage was done-to her person and, I fear, to her reputation as well.
I hope to hush up the sorry tale for as long as possible, but I know it cannot be forever. I beg you, my lord, send me your instructions and advise me how best to deal with this dire situation.
Your humble servant, Sidney Bellows.
Raggedly Damien ran a hand through his raven hair. He’d been the subject of more scandals than he could count, but he had kept his younger sister sheltered in the country, with the most decorous of governesses in charge of her upbringing. Now it seemed Olivia had created her own scandal. Worse, she had been gravely injured… perhaps crippled for life…
A fierce anger ripped through Damien, lodging in his chest. The letter did not specifically name her seducer, but whoever had harmed Olivia would feel his wrath. He would put a bullet through the bastard or, better yet, throttle the life out of him with his bare hands.
“I took the liberty,” his secretary murmured, “of having your traveling carriage readied. I assumed you would wish to go home at once.”
“Yes…” Damien said distractedly, still numb with shock.