When Seventeen wouldn’t answer, Blythe caught his hand in hers and held it firmly. Asking him direct questions about his identity wasn’t going to provide the answers they needed quickly. They’d have to ask those questions in a different way. They had to gain his trust. “When did you first ride a pony?”
“I was five.”
“I had to wait until I was older,” she confided. “Was the pony your own?”
Seventeen shook his head. “No. I had to share.”
“With whom?”
Seventeen’s eyes closed. “With . . .” his mouth snapped shut.
Blythe stared hard at the man before her. Leopold Randall had once confided that he’d had to wait to ride a mount until his younger brother, Oliver, was five before their father purchased them a mount. But if this man was Oliver Randall, why wouldn’t he just come out and say so? Had he been treated as badly as Tobias?
“I had to share my mount with my sister,” Blythe continued, hoping that her chatter would slip under his guard and put him at ease. “My elder brother had his own and used to tease us that we rode poorly. Was yours any better? Was he bossy and cross all the time? What was the beast’s name?”
“Noble,” Seventeen said immediately.
Tobias fell back onto the floor, staring at Seventeen. “When we met, you said freedom was denied you. Why?”
Seventeen looked at the floor. “Innocent lives depend on my silence.”
Blythe settled to her knees. “Circumstances have changed somewhat these last weeks. My sister is the current Duchess of Romsey, a widow. Her son, a child, is four. Young Edwin is a healthy, robust child. Very recently a Mr. Leopold Randall came to visit the estate and made himself known.”
She searched Seventeen’s face for signs of response, but he kept his face still and unemotional. “Leopold lives at Romsey and already manages the estate for the duchess and her young son. The boy bears two very deep dimples. Just as his father does.”
Seventeen’s eyes widened. “No, that cannot be possible.”
“Believe me; I was just as surprised by the discovery as you appear to be.”
Tobias shifted closer. “What are the chances that the Duke of Romsey was responsible for sending you to a mad house and warned you members of your family depended on your silence?”
Seventeen blinked. “Absolute.”
Twenty Seven
Tobias rocked back in shock. “I didn’t recognize you?”
“It matters little.” Oliver glanced at Blythe. “You’re not Mrs. Randall,” he accused. “Tis dangerous to say you are.”
“There is no danger now.” Blythe quickly assured him. “But I took the name for appearances sake while staying here. I am Lady Venables of Walden Hall. Blythe to my family and friends. It is wonderful to meet you, Oliver Randall.”
“Venables and the Duke of Romsey were acquaintances,” Oliver said suddenly. “But he poses no threat to us.”
“Oliver,” Tobias began. “We’ve come to bring you home.”
Oliver Randall smiled sadly. “I feared as much when you burst through my window. At first, I thought I was dead. However, your angel has convinced me otherwise. It will be good to see mother and father again.”
Tobias swallowed as a lump formed in his throat. “They’re dead. The duke murdered them.”
Oliver bowed his head and remained silent for a long while as he absorbed the news. “So, he got what he wanted in the end. I blame myself.”
Tobias carefully captured his brother’s thin hand in his. “Why would it be your fault? I’ve never understood any of it.”
“The duke wanted to guarantee our silence. I uncovered an irregularity in the construction of the abbey in the course of my studies and went to our father about it. When I returned to school, Father must have continued to pursue the matter. The duke was very angry when we met. He stripped me of my name and referred to me only by my birth date after that.”
Tobias forced his emotions down. “But there was no need for the extremes of what he did.”
Oliver sighed heavily. “That depends on your perspective. There was every need in his mind. We could have embroiled the duchy in scandal. He couldn’t bear to have his secrets exposed, but he couldn’t destroy us all. He needed us should his son fail to produce an heir, which explains why the young duke has dimples. Dimples run on our side of the family.”