Page 31 of A Bride for the Beastly Duke
“I know you try. And you do your best not to put a foot wrong, and you let yourself want only the least you can expect.” Lady Lanton put down her spoon and laced her fingers together, staring intently at Ava. “I say to you, young lady, want more. Strive for more. Strive for everything.”
“But—”
“No buts. What do you have to lose? Only your fear. Once you lose yours, you will give him a chance to lose his. Happiness awaits on the other side of fear.”
Ava just blinked at her and then nodded slowly in agreement.
“What happened to my brother?”
Mr. Gabriel blinked, his face twitching. He shook his head and cleared his throat. “Your Grace, I wish I knew. He told me to wait for him back at his tent, thrusting a letter at me.If I don’t come back, make sure my brother gets this. Those were his exact words.”
Edward paced around like a tiger, pondering on his next question as his private investigator watched from the corner of his office. “You did not think to take the letter to his superiors?”
The former tiger dipped his head further. “I was afraid. I did not know who could be trusted.”
“So, when you brought it to me, why not tell me what the box contained? Why just leave it with my butler and go?”
He shrugged. “I did not know who could be trusted. Your butler said you were not home to visitors. I did not know his motives for that. So, I decided to leave the box and hope for the best. I told him that it was simply things I packed from Lord Jonathan’s tent, so he would think it was nothing important.”
“And you did that because…”
“Because I did not know who was working for the killer. Lord Jonathan, he… well, the last days, he seemed to think everybody was out to get him. I thought he was being fanciful, but then they killed him!” Mr. Gabriel let out a sob. Edward gave him a skeptical glance, not sure if he was cutting shams or not.
“Is there anything definitive you can tell me?” Edward asked, frustrated.
The man looked up and met Edward’s eye, his own serious. He nodded. “There’s one thing that’s for sure. Lord Jonathan knewthe man who killed him. Knew him well. Start with those close to him, Your Grace.”
Edward nodded slowly. He had suspected such a thing himself, especially considering the slow pace of progress he had made. His increasing frustration with the lack of movement on this case seemed less and less to do with his unrealistically high expectations and more to do with someone stalling.
He grabbed a piece of paper and passed it to Mr. Gabriel. “Please write for me the name of every person my brother met within the week before he died.”
Edward expected the former batman to balk at the task, but he simply snatched up the paper and began to write. Slowly Edward nodded, sinking down into his chair and crossing his arms. He exchanged glances with the investigator who gave him a nod.
“What are you doing now, Mr. Gabriel?”
He looked up in alarm, “Eh? I am writing?—”
“No, I meant are you well situated? Did you find another position?”
The man dropped his eyes as if thinking. Finally, he shrugged. “I have been working the quarries at the Cotswolds. Too scared to get anything close to…”
Edward waited to see if he would say anything else and then nodded. “Well, I happen to require a steward if you feel up to the task.”
He looked up, shocked and confused. “Why would you…”
Edward sighed, “You were Jonathan’s batman. I am sure he would want me to make sure you were taken care of.”
Mr. Gabriel’s jaw worked, and he looked close to tears. He shot to his feet, the papers scattering. “Lord Jonathan was a good man, and I will do all I can to help you find his killers. You do not have to do this.”
Edward smiled. “Yes, I do. Not for what you will do for him, but because you don’t deserve to be another casualty of these men’s actions. We will find my brother’s killer; yes, we will. You will help me, and I will help you. I do truly need a steward if you are up for the job.”
He swallowed audibly, sweat sheening his brow, and then nodded. Bending down slowly, he picked up the papers at his feet, sat back down, and bent over them, writing diligently. Edward and his private investigator exchanged glances. Getting up from where he was leaning on the corner of his desk, the investigator wandered over. “What do you want to do now?”
“We will chase every one of these names down. We will learn all we can about them and hope that it leads to something.”
“While you are here, you could call on the Home Office. If you have something for them, you can use it as an excuse to snoop around in the records room and see if there is anything to be found.”
Edward nodded. “Good thinking as I have all but resolved the blackmail case, I can take it to them. Itisa matter of extreme delicacy and will probably require a fair bit of waiting around while they discuss alternatives. I could use that time.”
