Page 24 of A Bride for the Beastly Duke
He gave a resigned sigh, shoulders dropping. “I have been looking into it, and all I can say is that I am sure my brother was murdered. Now, I am left to pick up the pieces of his life and find his killer.” He looked up and met her eyes, his own dark with bleak hopelessness. “But I do not know where to begin.”
Ava made a sound of sympathy, completely at a loss for anything to say. Edward took a deep breath. “Please, come and show me where you found the note.”
“Oh… of course.” Ava hastened toward the door, glad to have something she could do to help.
Edward followed Ava down to the basement, berating himself for being a fool. For one thing, he had forgotten to wear his mask, and for another, his eyes could not help following the sway of Ava’s hips. He was finding himself forgetting the gravity of their mission from moment to moment, too caught up in the gentle swish of her hair, hanging in shimmering locks down her back. The gentle curve between her waist and hip literally called to him to place his palm there and savor her voluptuousness. He tried to look away, but his eyes were inexplicably drawn to her frame as she walked oblivious in front of him.
Why can we not live as husband and wife? We are married after all.
His mind ruthlessly showed him a memory of her face as she waited for him to kiss her. Eyes closed, hands stiff, probably refraining from clenching through sheer willpower.
She could never want you.
The words cut, even though he knew she was too polite ever to say them. She had said she wanted a family, and he wondered if she would be willing to endure him for the sake of that. The very thought repulsed him. Even though he had had more than one opportunity to do so—indeed, his fellow officers often considered it a spoil of war—he had never forced himself on a woman.
And I never will.
They reached the bottom of the stairs, and she led him to a box, bending down to point at a book. “This is where I found it. Between this book and this mirror.”
Edward recognized the mirror immediately, and from its contents, he could conjecture where the box came from. Jonathan’s batman had brought it one day, asking to see Edward, so he could deliver it into his care, but Edward had been too full of grief and rage. He had asked Notley to collect the box and put it somewhere Edward would not come across it.
He bent down, running his hands along the simple frame of the mirror. Likely Jonathan had sat in front of it as his batman shaved him every morning, his handsome visage serious and unsmiling.
He picked up the book and looked at the title.
A History of the Cotswolds.
He quirked an eyebrow in surprise, never having known his brother was interested in historyorthe Cotswolds. He flipped through the pages in case there might be a second message with more information, but he did not find anything.
He got to his feet with a sigh, Ava watching him expectantly. He shook his head. “There is nothing else to find here.”
Calling a footman, he instructed the man to carry the box to his study then he offered Ava his arm. “Come, allow me to escort you to your rooms. I am sure it will soon be time to change for dinner.”
Ava turned to him, her expression eager. “Will you be joining us? Lily is eager to meet you. At this point, she thinks you might not be real. Or perhaps you are a vampire, she says.”
Edward could not help but laugh, shaking his head. “Well, we cannot have that. I shall make an effort to be at dinner but not tonight. My head is full of my brother’s letter, and I feel the need to spend some time with his belongings—just to make sure there is truly nothing else to be found.”
Ava nodded. “I understand. But tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow for sure.”
Ava smiled. “Good. And of course, I am willing to help you in any way to discover what happened to your brother. I cannot imagine the heartbreak if anything happened to my sister.”
“Thank you, Ava. For tonight, however, I would rather be alone.”
He came to a stop by her door, and she let go of his arm. They stood for a moment, each unsure of how to take leave of the other. Edward wondered what she might do if he leaned in and kissed her cheek. The temptation to do so was strong.
He leaned forward a little, and her eyes widened in expectation, but he could not quite do it. Instead, he bowed to her and then walked away, feeling her eyes following him like pinpoints of warm light on his back.
I cannot let myself do this to her.
Chapter Eleven
“Ihave to find Mr. Gabriel,” Edward said to himself, speaking of his brother’s erstwhile batman. Edward felt a deep regret at the time wasted searching fruitlessly when his brother had left him this clue. He also could not help cursing at Mr. Gabriel for so meekly going on his way after only one attempt to speak with Edward.
He grabbed a piece of paper, quickly writing to his private investigator in London.
Find me this man whatever the cost.
