Page 53 of A Bride for the Beastly Duke
“Isaid don’t!” The man reached out and put a hand on Edward’s arm, stopping him from turning.
Edward froze again. “What do you mean by that?”
He heard the man sigh. “I knew your brother. Quite well if I must say. He was dabbling in things that he had no business getting into.”
“The treason you mean?”
“Ah now, you see? There you go, announcing that you know about things you should not.”
“Announcing to whom? Are you French?”
“Don’t worry about me. You need to be worried about yourself and your family.”
He tensed even further. “What do you mean by that?”
“If you stop asking me questions and allow me to explain, I will tell you.”
Edward very deliberately did not say a word. After a few moments, the man began to speak.
“Your brother was an excellent soldier, as I am sure you know, and pedantic about the rules. That was fine for his superiors when he was obeying their orders, but then, they asked him to do something… unsavory.”
Edward opened his mouth to ask a question but then closed it again.
“Good, you are learning.”
Edward almost went up on his toes, wanting the man to continue talking. He heard him take a deep breath. “There is one thing the British love more than empire building, and that is money,” John said drily, “And there was a man—just one little man with an inconvenient title deed stopping them from accessing trade routes not blocked by the French. This man, an English national but living on foreign soil, refused to do his patriotic duty and sell at a profit to the crown.”
Edward could well imagine where this tale was going.
“Your brother was supposed to eliminate the problem. He was told that the man was a threat to national security, but the French, in their wisdom, decided to clue him in on the truth.”
Edward gasped.
“Jonathan was upset, but he still believed in his government. He thought he was dealing with rogue elements. He took his complaints up the chain of command.”
Edward closed his eyes and covered his face with his hands.
“I am sorry. I wish I did not have to tell you this, but they killed him to keep him quiet. The Home Office killed your brother.”
Edward expelled an explosive breath as his vision blurred with tears. “No,” he said in a low broken voice.
“I am very sorry to have to tell you this, Your Grace, but the people you expect to apprehend your brother’s killer are the same ones that killed him.”
Edward gulped, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. He felt cold, his hands were shaking, and he was dizzy, but he had to know everything. “Why are you telling me this? Why does the Home Office wantyou?”
“I am the final loose end they need to tie. They knew your brother had told someone the entire story. Someone who might have evidence.”
“You,” Edward said.
“Me.” John agreed.
“And yet you risked coming to me.”
John sighed. “Your brother saved my life more times than I can count. Saving his brother’s life is the least I can do. Drop thismatter, Edward. Enjoy your marriage, and let the dead bury the dead.”
“I never did understand what that meant.”
John huffed in amusement. “Yes, well… me neither.”
