"I do remember a memory of myself when I was young," Caroline said to Arielle and the friend who came with her. She frowned, at least as deep as the pain in her head would allow, and continued, "I believe I do have a brother. I am playing with him in my memory." She searched their faces. "That is the only one I can recall. I am not certain where I came from."

Arielle turned to the other woman. "We have only learned yesterday that she has lost her memory, but Doctor Kemp and I are hoping that it is only temporary and that they will start to come to her."

Caroline swallowed. "You told me yesterday that I have been attacked. Someone did this to me."

"Yes."

Her eyes traveled from Arielle to the woman named Sasha. Her bluish-gray eyes were assessing her with equal measure. She did not know this woman, but she was not comfortable with her.

Her gaze returned to Arielle who was giving her comfort with a mere smile. "I have a feeling that you know things about me."

Arielle nodded. "I do, but I do not think that this is the perfect time to talk to you about everything we know. For now, you need to recover. Your wound is deep and the injury you suffered in your head is serious."

Caroline nodded, reminded of the pain in her abdominal area and the persistent thudding in her head. She moistened her lips with her tongue and looked around, avoiding Sasha's intense gaze. She did not know these women, but they saved her.

Could she trust them?

"I think I need more rest," she mumbled, suddenly feeling tired.

"Of course," Arielle replied, turning to Sasha and Doctor Kemp. "Thank you, Doctor."

The doctor and the other women in blue cloaks bowed their heads as Sasha and Arielle left the room, their movements graceful. Caroline thought it was almost magical how they floated their way out the door.

⠒♣◆♣⠒

"What do you think, Sasha?" Arielle asked moments later in the carriage.

Sasha frowned. "She truly does not remember anything?"

"As she claims," said Arielle, a smile curling her lips. "Do you believe her?"

"Yes, I believe I do," she replied. "You do not?"

Arielle blinked. "Of course, I do. The woman has been struck in the head!"

"I have focused on the human mind during my time in the Library. On my many studies, I found that people who went through an intensely traumatic event may exhibit loss of memory."

Arielle slowly nodded. "It is interesting how the mind works."

"It protects us when we cannot," Sasha agreed.

"This is perfect."

The Maiden was looking out the window at the passing trees. "What is?" Sasha asked her.

"Her memory loss." Arielle faced her again. "We can use her."

"How, my lady?"

"We can use her to find Belcourt's rat, of course."

Sasha's heart stopped. "Rat?"

Arielle's light blue eyes held her for quite some time before blinking to say, "The Royal Circus is working with someone in Belcourt. It could be a flower or worse, one of the ladies. I am quite certain of it."

"Do we have any evidence that one of us is betraying Belcourt?"

"We do not have to have one," said Arielle. "Belcourt's history is enough to prove to us that a woman will do anything for power, greed, and love. How do you think they knew that Jade and Ruby were on a mission?"

"The Duke of Remington is a cousin to the king, perhaps they may have been watching him—"

"The duke is amongst hundreds of others who support the king. However, there are far more powerful men that are highly trusted by the royal family. The Duke of Remington may be influential in the House of Lords, but he is not the only one. Someone must have directed their attention on Caroline Comhar because they knew Belcourt was investigating her."

"Or perhaps Belcourt's rat is working for the princess," Sasha suggested.

Arielle nodded. "That is also a big possibility. The princess may have found out that Prince Albert has been asking for Belcourt's assistance."

"Or she may have found out about you." She saw the alarm cross Arielle's eyes. "It is possible that the princess may have found out about you and considers you a threat to her father and the entire royal family, herself included."

Arielle's eyes flickered with alarm and her lips tightened. "You may be right, Sasha."

"I do not mean to alarm you, my lady, but—"

"No, of course not," the Maiden interjected. "You spoke what I fear the most. I wanted to deny it, but now that someone else has said it, it is becoming real." She blinked a few times, her hands tightening on her skirt. "I cannot truly trust anyone, can I?"

"Your very existence is a threat to the royal family however you try to make them believe that you have no desire to be a part of them. For those who have not lived their lives in Belcourt, they find it hard to believe that one can be content in one place. People in power will always want to gain more with the constant fear of having less."

She watched Arielle's jaw tighten. "Perhaps it is time I ask for the crown prince's help."

Sasha smiled, remembering the times she spent with Albert when the man was her hidden flower. "He seems to be our constant... acquaintance. Is Belcourt working for the prince?"

"Of course not, Sasha. Belcourt is independent. We serve no one, but we are loyal to what is right and we help those who are in need."

Sasha let the silence reign for a little while, weighing matters in her head. "Whoever did this to Caroline Comhar is still out there. It matters not where this person's loyalty lies, what matters is how desperate they will be to keep Caroline Comhar quiet."

"Do go on, Sasha, I believe you are going the route I like," Arielle encouraged with a proud smile.

"If we use Caroline as you wish—"

"To save her, of course," interrupted Arielle.

"Yes, of course, to save her," Sasha concurred and continued, "If we do use her to find the Belcourt rat and ultimately the one behind her disappearance, we might as well display her in the open."

Arielle blinked. "Display her?"

"Make her one of us."

Arielle smiled. "A Belle?"

Sasha nodded. "And a bait. She will have her villa, live outside Belcourt where her enemy may feel most confident."

Arielle frowned. "Are you saying, Sasha, that you believe the Belcourt rat is a Belle?"

"Belles are the most accessible ladies of Belcourt. And if we look at Belcourt's history, the Belles are always the wicked ones, yes?"

Arielle's frown disappeared, replaced by a smile. "I always knew I can rely on your brilliance, Sasha."

"I am not brilliant, my lady. I can simply think like a rat."

The woman's sweet laughter filled the carriage. "Be in the minds of your enemies."

"A simple chess strategy."

"This is perfect, just perfect." She reached out to hold Sasha's hand. "Now, we must come up with a plan. What do we tell Caroline?"

Sasha blinked. "If what you told me is true, and I do not say I do not believe it, we should tell her the truth."

She waited and carefully focused on Arielle's face. If the woman said no, there was a high chance that she had been lying about everything.

Then, the woman nodded. "The truth is always the simplest solution, is it not?"

Sasha slowly nodded.

Once Caroline remembered everything and it turned out that Arielle's version of the events was not true, then it may be possible that Arielle was being lied to.

⠒♣◆♣⠒

Jameson Durham, Duke of Whitton, was not the easiest man in the world.

Trent had always known this fact his entire life and he had long given up hope that the man would ever learn to be a little compassionate.

"Remington may change his mind after this," his father said to him as he cut his meat. Trent shared a look with his brother, Jamie who merely shrugged. The duchess, on the other hand, loudly sighed and pointedly stared at her husband. "Dear, Trent could not have anticipated what happened."

"No, he is right, Mother," Trent retorted. "I should have at least ensured that Caroline was not left alone in Remington."

"They have guards," his twelve-year-old brother pointed out. "Even Camila had been left alone in Remington for weeks. Nothing happened to her."

"Do be quiet, Jamie," the duke said, giving Jamie a sharp look before he turned to Trent. "Do remember how I nearly begged Blackwood so you can gain entrance in the Circus. I fear that you are giving the Circus more trouble than good at how you are handling Caroline's disappearance."

"You did not beg him, Your Grace," he said through his teeth. "I am a member of the Circus because I am a gentleman of Belcourt."

"Which you did because you thought it would please me! When will you do the right things for yourself?" the duke replied with a sarcastic laugh.

Trent could only scoff. Caroline had always said that he was doing the things he did because he wanted to please his father and he had always told her she was wrong.

But moments later as he was getting ready to leave his father's estate, he wondered if Caroline was right.

"Do not pay attention to what he says, son," her mother's voice spoke from behind him. He turned and walked toward her to give her a kiss farewell.

"I do not. But I salute you for having such courage to have lived this long with the man."

Barbara Durham rolled her amber eyes. "Well, he is rich," she said with a sigh.

He laughed, wrapping his arms around her. "You have made my life in this estate very much tolerable."

"Do not say that! You make your father sound like an angel!"

He shook with laughter and as it died down, he still did not let go of her. A part of him wanted to just let go and be vulnerable in his mother's arms. Just like years ago when he was a child.

His mother sighed and he felt her hands run up and down his back. "You should stop pleasing him, Trent. It is time you do what you want. If the Circus is not—"

"I want to be in the Circus," he said, voice strained as he unwrapped his arms from his mother and stepped away. "I truly do."

Her eyes studied him and she nodded. "Then if you want to be free of Belcourt—"

"My connection to Belcourt is why I am a member of the Circus."

"No, son. You are a member of the Circus because you are loyal to their cause. There are other ways you can serve. Unless, of course, you enjoy being a gentleman of Belcourt."

He frowned. "Where did you get that idea?"

She blinked. "Well, Caroline is not like the Belles and—"

"Caroline is different," he interjected strongly.

Her eyes softened. "Of course, she is, darling. And I know that you love her." When he did not say anything, she grinned. "The one thing that made me decide not to end your betrothal when she made that horrible mistake years ago is your obvious devotion to her."

He scoffed. "Thank you, Mother, for always wanting the best for me."

The duchess sighed and cupped his face. "Always, darling."

He was meaning to leave but then stopped. His mother's brows were raised with curiosity when he turned to face her again. "I never thought of it as a mistake."

She blinked in confusion. "What dear?"

"Caroline and what happened to her years ago." She smiled at him. "A child is never a mistake, is it?"

Her eyes filled with tears and a drop fell on the floor as she shook her head. "No, son. It should not be deemed as one."

He nodded and left.

⠒♣◆♣⠒

To his surprise, West Blackwood was already waiting for him when he arrived in his villa in Coulway.

"I hope that we have made progress, Your Grace," he said in greeting.

"We have, yes."

He stopped in his tracks, surprised that it was true.

West must have read it in his face for he said, "Fear not, she is alive and safe somewhere."

"Where?"

West waved his hand at the chaise. "Sit, Chalbarth. We have much to discuss."

"Do not expect me to sit and calmly discuss this, Eaton. Where is she?"

"Why?"

"So I can go to her and tear to pieces whoever did this!"

"And that is exactly why you have to sit down," West wryly said, crossing one leg over the other.

He pushed the sides of his coat and placed his hands on his hips. "Do you realize how I feel at the moment, Eaton?"

The duke's light blue eyes darkened as it bore into him. "I know exactly how it feels to be in fear with every bloody breath you take, Chalbarth. I am the last person you should lecture on how to deal with the knowledge that the woman you will die for is out there possibly dying." Trent's jaw tightened. "Now, sit," West ordered.

Shaking his head, he walked to the chaise. "Forgive me, Your Grace," he droned, "Now, please, can you tell me where she is?"

"Belcourt."

It took all of Trent's will not to jump to his feet and take his horse to Belcourt. He, at the very least, had some sense left in him. "Bloody tarnation, Eaton, how did it—"

"Darcy did not give all details." West reached into his breast pocket and handed him a note.

With shaking hands, Trent opened it.

My Lord,

Caroline Comhar is safe in Belcourt.

Found by a woodsman in the forest wounded and delivered to Belcourt. Kindly confirm the information.

She is currently in recovery. Remington should continue to pretend that he is still looking for his daughter and do nothing.

Chalbarth should await further orders until I deem it safe for him to approach her inside Belcourt.

Caroline has lost her memory and it is yet to be confirmed if she is telling the truth. I have plans for her, but it might take time.

Confirmation of more details regarding the incident of her disappearance is underway and shall be relayed to the Circus upon completion.

Let me reiterate that Chalbarth and Remington should remain calm and await further orders.

Yours,

-Darcy

"I know you have questions," West began before Trent even could. "But we cannot provide them while Darcy is still investigating the matter."

"Just answer one thing for me, Eaton," he stated as he stood to feed the note into the fire. "Does my Belle have anything to do with this?"

West's eyes were on the fire. "That is the note Darcy sent me, Chalbarth. What you read is the same one I did." He stood and fixed his coat. "Restrain yourself. Now is not the perfect time to do something rash."

"I am not daft to dare do anything and provoke Belcourt, Eaton, trust me. My bloody fiancée is in there."

West stood motionless in his spot and firmly held his gaze. "And so is Darcy."

Trent felt the threat in those words and he nodded. "I shall await more instructions. Nothing else."

"Good." The duke paused at the door. "Chalbarth, next time I hand you anything that is from Darcy, please do not burn it. It was not yours to start with."

Trent nodded. "Forgive me, Your Grace. Not going to happen again."

⠒♣◆♣⠒

Three days later, Caroline felt strong enough to try sitting on the side of the bed.

Doctor Kemp had encouraged it as the woman believed it would help in her recovery.

She was still in pain.

And confusion was fogging her brain as well.

She looked to her right. The window from across the room cast moonlight on the bottom part of the door, but what caught her attention was the light footsteps she heard outside.

A shadow had stopped on the other side.

Her heart began to beat faster as the handle turned.