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.Depending on what Trenton had learned at the Greentree Tavern, that could be sooner rather than later.“I’ve got to finish my work,” she said.“If you will excuse me.” Setting the porcelain birds back on their shelf with a clink, she skirted past the marquess and darted through the door.* * *That night Alexandra found a small gift lying on her pillow.She worked later than the other maids, so they were usually asleep by the time she climbed to the attic.Tonight was no different.She glanced around the room, wishing she could ask one of them where the package had come from, then contented herself with opening it.Soon the answer was obvious.A pair of diamond ear-bobs sparkled in the mellow light of her candle, simple yet elegant, and obviously expensive.A note fluttered to the ground from the open box.She retrieved it, then bent toward the light so she could read the sloppy writing of Lord Clifton’s left hand.Dear Alexandra,Please accept these as a token of my esteem.There are many good things in life, besides marriage.Fondest wishes,JakeStunned, Alexandra sat numbly on her cot, staring at the teardrop earrings.Her refusal of Clifton was producing the opposite effect to what she had hoped.Instead of keeping him at bay, it created a challenge, causing him to pursue her, evidently without compunction.Abbey stirred, prompting Alexandra to replace the lid.The marquess could give her many things, anything money could buy, but she wanted only one, and that was to know what had happened to Nathaniel.Rising, she decided to return Lord Clifton’s gift immediately.She didn’t want her fellow maids to learn of his interest, nor did she want him to think a pair of earrings could change her mind.She quickly descended the back stairs and used the servants’ door to enter the second floor.The marquess’s bedroom was just down the hall.If he was at home and the door was closed, she’d leave the small box on the ground, where he’d nearly step on it come morning.If he happened to be away, she’d put the earrings on his bed so he couldn’t miss them when he returned.Before she’d gone halfway down the hall, however, she heard voices coming from the library.Someone was still up.Who? The duke? Lord Clifton? Lady Anne?Alexandra paused to listen.“Why would you buy such a costly gift for a maid?”Recognizing Lady Anne’s voice, Alexandra crept closer.“She probably would have been just as happy with a shawl or other trinket.She’s lucky a man of your status has decided to take an interest in her.”“Not this maid.Alexandra is different.”The marquess’s sister laughed.“Are you sure Nathaniel didn’t do something to that head of yours as well as your hand? I just took your bishop.”Alexandra heard the clink of crystal.“Pour me one, too,” Clifton said.There was a moment of silence, and Alexandra pictured the two of them puzzling over a chessboard.“Nathaniel’s getting his just due for what he’s done to me,” the marquess said.“Holding Father at knifepoint is scarcely getting one’s just due.”“That wasn’t Nathaniel.It was one of his men.Nathaniel is languishing in prison.He’ll never get out.”“He’s at Newgate?”Alexandra could barely hear the surprise in Lady Anne’s voice above the beating of her own heart.Nathaniel is alive, it thumped.Nathaniel is alive! She closed her eyes in relief and strained to hear Clifton’s next words.“No, he’s in the hulks at Woolwich.Not a pleasant place, I assure you.It’s your move.”In the hulks? Alexandra’s eyes flew open.That place was a living hell.Did Trenton already know? Was that why she hadn’t heard from him?Or had Greystone captured Trenton as well? Her heart raced at this last thought.She didn’t want to be alone in her efforts to help them both.“Do you ever wonder if Nathaniel is telling the truth?” Lady Anne surprised Alexandra with the sudden sincerity in her voice.“I mean, if he is our older brother, then he has been sorely wronged.”“I am the one who has been sorely wronged.Nathaniel’s nothing but a liar and a thief,” the marquess retorted.“Besides, Father has chosen between us.Otherwise, Nathaniel would inherit everything, and you and I would find ourselves dependent upon that scoundrel’s charity.Is that what you want?”“Of course not.I was just—”“Don’t.”“But I was only asking.”“It doesn’t matter.Some things are better left alone.”Alexandra didn’t hear Lady Anne’s response.The sound of footsteps came from the hall below, and she fled, seized by a mixture of emotions.Relief that Nathaniel was alive surged through her, along with a certain satisfaction in knowing, at long last, his situation.But the hulks.She covered her mouth, remembering the bits and pieces she had heard about the prison barges.At least he was in London—and still alive.Her mind returned to that one small ray of hope as she made her way to the attic.Only when she reached her bed did she realize that she’d forgotten to return Lord Clifton’s earrings
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