"It might not be one of the nuns," Duke said. "Could be Father Antonio."
"The convent could do with some further repair work, and the three of you are bored here. Why not offer to help Sister Bernadette tomorrow and discreetly ask questions."
"Finally, something to do," Willie said.
A fist pounded on the front door, the thumps echoing through the house.
"Someone ain't happy," Cyclops said.
We met Bristow in the entrance hall just as he was about to open the door. Willie put a hand on his arm to caution him. She showed him the gun she held at her back.
His eyes widened and he let the door handle go as if it stung. Duke rolled his eyes and opened it.
Lord Rycroft barged in, brandishing a walking stick with a silver head. "Where is he? Where is my nephew?"
Lady Rycroft followed her husband. Her eyes bore signs of crying and she held a handkerchief to her nose.
"Matthew!" Lord Rycroft shouted up the staircase. "Matthew, come down here at once!"
"Keep your voices down," Willie snapped. "He needs his rest and your bellowing ain't helping."
"Should I fetch him, Miss?" Bristow asked me.
"I don't think there'll be a need," I said. "He'll hear. Madam, what's happened?" I asked Lady Rycroft, even though I dreaded the answer.
Neither Lord nor Lady Rycroft answered me. She stood by her husband and stared tearfully up the staircase where both Matt and Miss Glass now stood. He escorted his aunt down the stairs as if he didn't have a care in the world. She glowered at her brother and sister-in-law.
"Such a racket, Richard," Miss Glass scolded. "The servants will have heard everything. Do lower your voice."
"I don't bloody well care what your servants think!" Lord Rycroft marched off toward the drawing room without waiting to be invited. "Come. We have a serious matter to discuss. A matter for which you must make amends, Matthew."
I watched them go, feeling sick to my stomach.
"Anyone want to take a wager what that's about?" Willie asked as Matt shut the door, excluding us.
"Ain't no point in wagering," Cyclops said. "We know what it's about."
"Payne," Duke said heavily. "He must have told Lord Cox."
"So much for Matt's advertisement." Willie headed across the hall to the library. "I need a strong drink."
As did I. It did nothing to comfort me, however, and I brooded in silence until I heard the Rycrofts leaving only a few minutes later. Matt then joined us. He looked like a man driven to the end of his rope, and Matt's rope was very long.
"You look like dung what's been in the sun a week," Willie said.
"As eloquent as always." Matt cast her a limp smile but his gaze flicked to me. It didn't linger. "As you've probably guessed, Payne has informed Lord Cox of Patience's indiscretion. My advertisement was too late."
"That ain't your fault," Cyclops said.
"I should have done it days ago."
"No, Matt," Willie said.
"Hold your breath," I told them. "He's going to blame himself, no matter how much we protest. How is Patience?"
"Devastated, apparently," he said. "Aunt Beatrice and the girls were going to leave for Rycroft tomorrow to begin wedding preparations there. Patience hasn't stopped crying since she received the letter from Lord Cox calling off the wedding."
Poor Patience. I felt for her. I knew what it was like the first few days after receiving such news. It was like waking aboard a storm-ravaged ship. You did not know where you were, the surface beneath your feet was unstable, and there was no end to the turmoil in sight.
"So what did Lord Rycroft ask you to do?" I said.
Matt sat and rested his elbows on his knees. He dragged his hand through his hair. The silence thinned until Willie could no longer stand it.
"Well?" she barked.
"Lord Cox must be convinced that Patience is still a worthy and valuable bride," he said. "He needs to be made aware of just how virtuous she is, and how deeply she regrets her mistake. If he's a reasonable fellow, he'll reconsider."
"And who is going to convince him?" I asked. "You?"
He frowned. "My uncle doesn't have a delicate touch. I think I'm the better choice."
"Lord Cox lives in Yorkshire! You can't travel for days to reach him then spend days returning. We're in the middle of an important investigation that will save your life."
He said nothing, and that only riled me more.
"Don't you dare even consider leaving London now unless it's to find Phineas Millroy."
"You can investigate very well without me, India. The others will help, but you don't really need it. You're competent and excellent at solving knotty puzzles. You'll be fine."
"Don't try to sweet talk me," I said. "You are not leaving, and that's final."
"Agreed," Duke said. "You're staying here, Matt."
"Aye," both Willie and Cyclops added.
Matt turned an icy glare onto each of them in turn, but saved the extra iciness for me. "I have to speak to him now. My uncle will only make things worse if he blunders in, and time is of the essence. Lord Cox must be convinced to change his mind before anyone finds out. It'll be too late to sweep it under the carpet if we delay. I have to strike now or not at all."
Cyclops, Duke and Willie all crossed their arms over their chests at the same time. They weren't capitulating. Matt lowered his head and raked his hair again.
"What did Lord Rycroft want from you?" I asked, a little gentler. "I doubt it was to suggest you speak with Lord Cox on his behalf."
A muscle in Matt's cheek pulsed. "You know why," he said quietly. "He has the same idiotic notion as Aunt Letitia. That's why I have to speak to Lord Cox myself and do it immediately."
His uncle wanted him to marry Patience. Indeed, he had probably put enormous pressure on Matt to agree to the scheme. The fact that Lord and Lady Rycroft had left quite soon after arriving meant Matt had placated them with an offer they considered reasonable.
I swallowed hard but the lump in my throat remained. "You can't leave now," I said lamely. "Not only is it a crucial time in our search for Phineas Millroy but you can't travel such a long distance alone. Someone needs to be with you if you fall unconscious."
"The alternative is not an option either." Head still bowed, he regarded me through thick lashes. He looked so forlorn that my heart lurched in response.
"Let them solve their own damned problems," Duke spat. "It ain't nothing to do with you."
"Aye," Cyclops said. "You don't have to marry her, Matt. There must be another way."
"Money," Willie said without much conviction. "Either give some to Patience and her sisters, or to Lord Cox to make him marry her."
"Lord Cox is rich and doesn't need my money, and money is hardly compensation enough for my cousins. It's not fair that they have to give up marriage because of my mistake."