Page 65 of The Secret of the Dashing Detective
He looked off into the distance before returning his gaze to her, and this time, he simply looked sad, which was almost worse. “Last night, Lewis was judged simply for being in a particular place at the wrong time. The entire building was full of the peerage, but none of them were under suspicion. Yet here comes a man who, despite how hard he has worked for his current status, is still seen as less than in the eyes of those who apparently matter. This is a man who has the blood of a duke within him. How do you think your family would ever see me? How do you think you wouldn’t eventually come to resent me?”
The pain had receded, and Juliana’s anger was growing by the moment.
“I cannot believe you think such little of me,” she said, stepping toward him, and he backed up just a step so that she was not standing on his toes. “That you would think I am so shallow that I need all of the fineries in life or care what everyone else thinks. I have told you time and again what I want, but it seems that you do not care any more than anyone else in my life. This is what you want? A life without me? Fine, then. So be it. If you cannot fight for me, for what is between us, then I shall quit doing all of the loving and all of the fighting for both of us. You only made me look the fool. Goodbye, Matthew. Enjoy your life.”
With that, she turned and stormed away, hands in fists, before he could see the tears that had started to stream out of her eyes. She waited for him to call out to her, to tell her that he had been wrong, but it seemed that he had no wish to care what she felt or how she was doing.
She would just have to accept the fact that he simply didn’t want her.
CHAPTER24
Matthew returned to Holborn with purpose. He was done with the Warwick family and Mayfair and all that it represented. He didn’t belong there, and nor did Juliana belong here with him.
This was how it should be, he continued to repeat to himself. He had made the right decision.
So why did it feel so awful? All he could picture was her face in front of him, stricken, panicked, to be replaced by so much anger.
At least the anger was better than the pain he had initially seen written there. Pain that he had caused. For so long, he had done everything to be the one to protect her from threats that might bring her anything but joy.
Now he had hurt her worse than anyone ever had before.
He had known better, he berated himself as he kicked at a large stone in the middle of the street. He should have stopped this before it had started, should never have let her in.
And yet he knew, deep within him, that there was no way he could ever have prevented her from getting wedged into his heart. She was the woman for him. Even if they couldn’t be together, he knew that he would never love another the way he loved her.
But this was for the best.
The ball had made it clear to him where his place was in society, and where she stood. His job had been to protect her, not to fall in love with her. She had been raised to attend dances and sew needlepoint, not to be the wife of an investigator. Meanwhile he would never be accepted as her husband, which would mean a life away from all she had ever known.
Better to finish this before it went any further than it already had.
He slammed open the door of his office, nodding to his men before standing at the front of the room.
“We’re off the Warwick case,” he said. “The duke considers it finished.”
There was a clamor among the five or so men who sat in the room as they all began hurling questions at him. Matthew held up a hand.
“The duke believes that Lewis and his mother were behind it all, and he said that he is going to take it from here.”
“There is no way it was Lewis,” Owen said, standing with concern and walking over to Matthew, obviously gathering there was more to the story, but Matthew held up a hand.
“I agree with you. I don’t believe it is him either, which I told the duke. But if this is what the man wants, there is nothing else we can do. We have more cases awaiting us. I just have to go through some files and determine what case we take next. Take the night off, men, you are relieved of your duties for today.”
They all lost their questions at that, filing out through the door, although Owen remained behind, following Matthew into his office.
“The duke wouldn’t see reason, then?”
“No,” Matthew said, shaking his head. “I sense that he likely isn’t pleased about the entire situation of having a brother, of what it might mean or what it says about his family. He was quick to jump on the certainty of Lewis’ involvement.”
“What else?”
“What do you mean?”
“What else happened?”
“Nothing.”
Owen snorted. “Don’t give me that. You look like one of Lady Juliana’s forlorn puppies.”
