“Perhaps it had something to do with his love of the land,” Vivi suggested.

Ella shook her head. “Perhaps, but it simply seems too random. There has to be a reason he chose this book.”

The two girls continued their hypothesizing as Alex turned the book over and over in her hands, reviewing the last few days in her mind, trying to remember everything she could about the book and where they had found it. Ella was right. This was not random. Yes, it had been luck that they had found it…but it was no accident that caused the earl to choose that book to carry his final words. What was special about a book that could be found everywhere?

Ella’s voice echoed in her mind, There isn’t a house in the county that doesn’t have a copy. As the words turned over in her brain, she remembered Gavin saying the same thing—Every household in the county must own a copy.

“That’s it!” Alex exclaimed, her voice filled with astonishment. She looked up at her friends, both of whom were wide-eyed. “The earl didn’t choose the book because it was so close to his heart. He chose it because every house has a copy! It’s not the volume in London that has the information. There must be a second copy at Sewell Hall!”

The words came in a flood of anxiety. The book held the information that would damn Montgrave and Lucian Sewell and save Blackmoor. She had to get to it—and to Blackmoor—before anyone else did. With the men set to arrive that evening, before dinner, she had only a few hours to do so. She stood from the table, so quickly that she toppled her teacup, leaving Vivi to right it for her. “I have to find Blackmoor. Now.”

Ella stood. “We will help you.”

Alex shook her head. “No. This, I have to do alone. I don’t know what will be in that book but, whatever it is, it is bound to upset him. He has to face that without an audience.” She clasped Ella’s hands, looking from her to Vivi. “Help me by keeping my mother off the scent? Again?”

“Because we were so excellent at doing so the last time,” Ella pointed out wryly.

Alex smiled quickly, already moving toward the steps that led down into the gardens. “Thank you! I shall be back soon—with Blackmoor in tow.”

They watched her go, rushing through the garden and down the long, sandy path, which led through a field of bright yellow cowslips that separated the Stafford and Sewell lands. “She’ll be ruined if she’s not careful,” Ella said.

“Nonsense. He’d wed her in a heartbeat if he thought she’d have him,” Vivi replied.

“Quite.”

A half an hour later, Will, who had been waylaid on his walk back from waking his brothers, rejoined them. He picked up his newspaper and bowed low to the girls, saying, “I’m afraid I must take my official leave. It seems a carriage has broken an axle on the main road and it falls to me to play rescuer.”

“We shall miss your company, my lord,” Vivi offered with a smile.

“And I yours,” he returned. “My brothers will be down shortly, however, to entertain you until they are required to entertain the early guests.”

“Are there guests here already?” Ella asked, curious.

“Indeed. The Baron Montgrave has arrived, but he has plans to visit Sewell Hall this afternoon, he says.”

Vivi’s sharp intake of breath was followed by Ella’s quick response, “Why the hall?”

Will, who was pulling on his calfskin gloves and clearly distracted by the task he was about to undertake, shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. “I do not know. I imagine because Sewell has arrived early as well.”

Both girls shot up from their seats at his words, the concern in their expressions shocking Will from his preoccupation. He asked sharply, “What is it?”

“I think we had better speak to your father,” Vivi said, fear in her voice.

twenty-three

Alex pushed open the door to Sewell Hall and rushed inside, breathing heavily and wishing she hadn’t worn her corset stays quite so tight this morning.

“Vanity be damned,” she huffed to herself. “Loveliness will do me no good with Blackmoor if I drop dead from lack of air before he sees me.” She had been so eager to get to the hall, to find the book and Blackmoor, that she had run the entire way—something she hadn’t done since she had spent her childhood rushing about the heath, traipsing after the boys she so revered.

The hall was quiet and dark. Blackmoor had clearly not alerted his staff that he was coming this morning, so they were nowhere to be seen. She preferred the house this way, for it would give her a chance to find the book and find him without having to explain her visit or to risk being caught by anyone.

She had thought to find Blackmoor immediately but altered her plan once she arrived at the house, heading instead for the library to find the book. Somewhere in the dark recesses of her mind, she was reluctant to leave the volume unfound any longer than absolutely necessary. She paused just inside the front door, listening for any movement or conversation. Hearing nothing, she moved quietly across the central foyer of the hall, entered the library, and began her search.

The Sewell Hall library was designed for readers. Warm and cozy despite its high ceilings, the bookshelves inside the enormous room were filled to the brim with enough leather-bound volumes to make the space feel intimate. For generations, the Earls of Blackmoor had prided themselves on their literary appreciation. Alex could vividly remember Gavin’s father holding her on his lap when she was knee-high and telling her tales from Shakespeare and Homer and Greek and Roman mythology.