Page 14 of Her Daring Earl
“When I was out last night, I was offered a drink. Someone was paid to try to poison me,” he said, finally accepting that he had no choice but to tell the truth, for it seemed that it was bound and determined to come out, no matter what he did. “How did you know of this, Lady Eliza?”
“Baxter,” she said, even as her mother tried to shush her.
Eliza turned to her. “If we are all truth-telling, then I must join in, must I not?”
Her mother seemed resigned to that logic, as she nodded slowly. Damn Munroe.
“Did you drink any of it?” Dot asked, already standing and walking toward him, but he swatted his sister’s hands away.
“No!” he exclaimed. “I’m fine. Healthy as ever. Didn’t have a drop.”
“You’re healthy for now,” said Georgina, always looking for the worst possible outcome of every situation. “But that could certainly change as whoever has ill designs on you seems determined to continue.”
“She’s right, unfortunately,” said Dot, glancing over with concern at their youngest sisters, Betsy and Daphne. “What are you going to do?”
“Do?” Fitz repeated. “Why, I am going to try to get to the bottom of this, to determine just who would want me disposed of and why they have gone to such lengths in attempting to do so.”
“How do you propose to do this detective work?” Dot asked, crossing her arms over her chest, staring him down.
“Do you have no faith in me, Dot?”
“What are you going to do,charmyour murderer?”
“Attempted murderer.”
She rolled her eyes at him, and he sighed, rubbing a hand over his face.
“Speaking of detectives,” Eliza chimed in, “why do you not hire one?”
“A detective?”
“Yes,” she said slowly, as though she was talking to a child. “Someone who has the expertise to do this work.”
He should have thought of that. Not that he was going to admit as such.
“Maybe I will.”
“Best do it soon, before thisattemptedmurderer succeeds.”
“In the meantime,” Henrietta said, “we should probably go to the country, should we not?”
“We should,” said Sloane and his mother at the same time he answered, “Absolutely not.”
“How could we not?” Sloane said, her mouth agape. “Fitz, this is serious. You are not invincible.”
“I’ve escaped two attempts, have I not?”
“But you might not be so lucky next time,” his mother said, her voice low and her expression grave. “What would we do without you, Fitz?”
That stopped him. He hadn’t given much thought to what would become of all of his sisters – and his mother – if this plot against him was successful. He had only considered how much he had to do before his time here was done.
“I suppose we could only hope the next heir is more responsible,” he said, attempting a joke, but it fell flat. He lifted his hands in supplication. “I have important work to do. We are still in the season. Parliament is in session. I?—”
“There’s something else you are not considering.”
All eyes turned toward Eliza – including his own. Why did she have to look so stunning sitting there, wearing nothing but a plain morning dress? It was as though the less finery she wore, the more her natural beauty shone through. Annoying.
“What is it, Eliza?” he asked before his mother turned her head to him sharply. “Lady Eliza,” he amended.
