I lifted my hand to halt the flow of his words. “No, Gage. I have heard your objections, and I appreciate your concern, but nothing you say is going to keep me from visiting with William Dalmay. I will, of course, take appropriate precautions, for my own sake as well as Will’s, but I’m not going to avoid him like he’s got some deadly disease.”
Gage clenched his hands into fists. “You don’t understand what you’re doing. William Dalmay spent nine years in that asylum. Who knows what he’s endured or how it’s changed him? I don’t know that you can comprehend what vile things he may have been forced to do in order to survive.” His voice lowered. “A man does not last long in such a place without having to do things that would make grown men tremble.”
I wrapped my arms around my waist and turned to stare at the fire crackling in the hearth, unwilling to let myself contemplate what he meant. What could Gage really know of the matter? He was just trying to scare me. He was accustomed to persuading people around to his way of thinking, and if his weapons of choice, wit and charm, wouldn’t work, apparently he wasn’t above using fear and intimidation.
He acted as if he knew what he was talking about, but how could he? Even if Michael had related more of the details of Will’s confinement to him than the rest of us, surely Gage couldn’t know enough to speculate on what Will did or didn’t do while locked away.
Unless there was more to the matter than he was letting on.
“Why are you here?” I demanded, glancing up at him out of the corner of my eye. “At Dalmay House.” He opened his mouth to speak, but I interrupted him. “And let’s try the truth this time.”
His eyebrows snapped together. “I never lied. Michael Dalmay invited me to visit, and I accepted. End of story.”
“I see,” I murmured, feigning interest in the lamp painted with delicate flowers positioned on one of the side tables. “When did Michael extend this courtesy?”
“About a fortnight ago, when I was wrapping up my investigation in Edinburgh. As I told you earlier.”
“What fortuitous timing. You might have left Edinburgh without him ever knowing you were there.”
Gage’s hesitation was slight, but telling. “I wrote to him, of course, when I arrived in Edinburgh, on the off chance that he might venture into town.”
I locked eyes with him, trying to understand why he was lying to me. Or, if not lying, why he wasn’t telling me the complete truth. I faced him head-on. “Did he confide in you about his brother?”
“Upon my arrival? Yes. Michael is very worried about him.”
“Did he ask for your help?”
Gage tilted his head quizzically. “Why would he ask for my help?”
I studied his face, wishing I knew the right questions to ask. Something was definitely suspicious about Gage’s presence here. His explanation was certainly feasible, and under ordinary circumstances I wouldn’t have questioned it. But Gage had shown an inordinate amount of interest in the comments made about William Dalmay since the moment I’d first mentioned him during our encounter on the stairs. I suppose, given the situation, that would seem understandable, but I knew better. Gage did not get that gleam in his eyes unless he was contemplating something serious.
I just wished I knew what it was. If Michael hadn’t asked him to look into the matter, then why was he giving such sharp attention to it?
“Kiera, I wish you would listen to me,” he began again, taking advantage of my silence to hark back to his familiar refrain.
I shook my head fiercely and crossed the room toward the door.
“You’re being foolishly obstinate. What about this missing girl?” he asked, crossing the room in just a few angry strides.
“What about her?” I snapped, surprised by the question.
“Aren’t you the least concerned that Will is involved somehow?”
“No.”
“No? How can you be so certain?”
“Because I know Will. He would never have harmed that woman,” I replied, sick unto death of repeating myself. “Besides, Michael told us it would have been impossible for him to be involved. Why would he lie?”
“Why, indeed?” Gage muttered under his breath.
I felt a moment’s alarm at his exasperated words. Had he noticed Michael’s odd behavior in his brother’s parlor as well? I had wondered for a moment if Michael had been lying to us, but then dismissed his strained expression as concern for his brother. But if Gage had questioned it, too . . .
I shook my head, irritated with myself for allowing him to plant seeds of doubt in my head. “I believe it’s time for you to go,” I declared, placing my hand on the doorknob.
His angry gaze returned to mine. “Don’t think this is over. I will speak to Cromarty and Dalmay about what we’ve discussed.”
“Don’t you dare,” I hissed, worried about being overheard by someone in the corridor. “Philip has enough to worry about with Alana’s health. I don’t need you adding to his concerns.”
“It would be you, with your foolish disregard for your own safety, who is adding to his concerns, not me.”