To Wed a Wild Lord by Sabrina Jeffries

must have stopped off somewhere near Woburn, since that’s where I lost him. Nor has he returned to his family.”
    “Which I find troubling,” Gabe said. “I suppose it’s possible he may just not want to be found. Perhaps he knows something. Perhaps he too saw the man, but recognized him.”
    “Did you not recognize the man yourself?” Annabel asked.
    “I didn’t see his face. I was hiding down in the stall, afraid of getting into trouble. All I heard was his voice. And that was no help in figuring out who he was. I was nursery age so I didn’t meet any of the guests.”
    “We’re not even sure he was a guest,” Jarret pointed out.
    “He had to have been,” Oliver said. “No one else would be so bold as to walk right in and steal a horse. Besides, Gabe said he knew our names and guessed Gabe’s identity. That was no horse thief.”
    “If we could find Benny, we could learn whether the horse was ever returned to the stable, and by whom,” Minerva said.
    “That’s why I haven’t broached this subject until now,” Gabe told them. “I knew we couldn’t move forward without speaking to him. I was hoping he would turn up and identify the man.”
    He rose to pace. “But it’s been too long. I’ve begun to worry about Benny. If he did see or know something, and he did approach the man . . .” He shook his head. “I have an uneasy feeling about his disappearance.”
    This time the silence that fell upon the room mirrored his unease. It seemed the more they delved into their parents’ deaths, the more nasty business they uncovered. Sometimes Gabe wondered if they were making a mistake even trying to get to the bottom of it. It had been nineteen years, after all. Nothing could bring Mother and Father back. And yet . . .
    If it had been murder, then his parents deserved justice. And their killer deserved to suffer the full wrath of those he’d orphaned. Because what good was thumbing one’s nose at Death when Death still got away with the worst crime of all?
    “Has it occurred to anyone else that the man might have been Major Rawdon?” Jarret said. “He and his wife left in a hurry the evening of Mother’s and Father’s deaths. We assumed it was because of the incident with Oliver, but it might have been something darker. If his wife was cheating on him with Father—”
    “She wasn’t,” Pinter put in.
    They all gaped at him.
    Oliver in particular scowled. “She had to be. Mother said, ‘You already have him .’ What else could she mean?”
    “I don’t doubt that your mother thought your father was cheating on her with Mrs. Rawdon, given his past actions,” Pinter remarked. “But that doesn’t mean he was. I tracked down your father’s valet a few days ago. He said he knew all your father’s secrets, and that wasn’t one.”
    That shocked them all. “He could be lying,” Jarret pointed out.
    “He could, but I don’t think he is. He’s no longer in service and came into some money from his mother, so he has nothing to lose by telling the truth.”
    “Oh God,” Oliver said hoarsely. “If that’s true, then why did the woman seduce me?”
    Pinter shrugged. “Because she could. Or perhaps she’d tried to seduce your father and failed, so she tried for you next. Or perhaps she just didn’t like your mother.”
    Oliver shuddered. “I can’t believe this.” He gazed at Pinter. “So if Mother did kill Father out of anger over Mrs. Rawdon, it might have been for nothing? Because she was jealous?”
    “I’m afraid so. I still wish to speak to the Rawdons, but the captain has been posted in India for some years. As soon as you mentioned their friendship with your parents, I sent a letter to him and his superiors with numerous questions, but it will be months before I receive a reply. And they may be reluctant to speak of your mother’s penchant for violence in a letter.”
    “Mother did not kill Father,” Minerva said stoutly. “Giles is almost sure of that. Or at least not