Page 30 of His Wicked Charm

Lilah stared at him blankly. “Key? What key? I don’t understand.”

“Damn. I’d hoped it would be something you recognized.” Con leaned back with a sigh. “We think the ruffians yesterday were actually after Sabrina.”

“What? Why?”

“They seemed to be interested only in Kyria. I think they probably hadn’t expected the other women to fight them, and in the course of trying to subdue them, they threw them in the wagon, too. But Kyria is the only one they questioned. They asked her repeatedly about a key. Kyria had no idea what they were talking about. There was never a demand for a ransom, as one would expect from kidnappers. This key seems to be all they wanted.”

“It’s certainly peculiar, but what does that have to do with Sabrina?”

“Kyria was carrying Sabrina’s parasol. It’s very distinctive.”

“The white one with the painted blue scene and the Fabergé handle?”

He nodded. “I don’t know if it’s Fabergé, but the handle is carved out of some blue stone.”

“Lapis lazuli.”

“Kyria says Sabrina carries it often.”

“She loves it. Her mother gave it to her. But are you saying the men mistook Kyria for Sabrina because she was carrying Sabrina’s parasol? That’s a bit of a leap, isn’t it? Why would Sabrina know anything about this key?”

“I don’t know. That’s what I hoped you could tell me. Kyria’s interrogator insisted her father had given it to her. But our father never gave Kyria any key.”

“But that doesn’t mean they thought she was Sabrina.”

“Who then? The men were just hired help. No doubt they were told when and where to abduct her—my mother’s plan to attend that meeting with her daughters and daughters-in-law was well-known. But they would have to have been able to identify their target. So, a certain parasol, one that was easy to recognize...”

“Yes, I can see that. Did you ask the kidnappers why they picked Kyria?”

“No,” he said in disgusted tones. “Kyria told us about it after they’d already hauled the men off to jail. I’ll try to question them at the jail, but I have nothing else to use to threaten them, so I doubt they’ll be willing to talk.”

“Still...”

“Who has been in danger recently? Who is an heiress? Who is it that already has a set of enemies?”

“I know you suspect the Dearborns, but...”

“It is the Dearborns. Alex let them go before because he didn’t want any scandal attached to Sabrina. They might think they could get away with it again. They have a grudge against the Morelands, Sabrina and Alex in particular. And they’re still in great need of money to pay their debts.”

“But that’s a rather circular argument. You say Sabrina was the target because she has the Dearborns as enemies and that the Dearborns are the ones who orchestrated it because the victim was Sabrina.”

“Why are you always so bent on defending them?” Con scowled.

“I’m not. Don’t growl at me because you have a weak argument.”

“I’m not growling. I’m grinding my teeth.”

Lilah ignored his interjection. “The Dearborns acted in a villainous manner to Sabrina. I shall never forgive them for that. And it does seem likely they might be behind it.”

“Aha! You see? You think it was them, too. You just want to argue.”

“I think it’s important to approach it in a logical manner,” she corrected. “To think it through before you rush off to accuse the Dearborns.”

“I already accused the Dearborns.”

Lilah sighed. “Naturally. I do hope you didn’t blacken that poor footman’s eye this time.”

“No, I did not.” He adopted a dignified look. “I was quiet and restrained.”