Page 77 of The Wise Daughter
Nora looked over the jewelry. It was very fine. “Do you mean to say he stole them?”
Janie nodded. “It seems impossible that someone as kind as he is would do such a thing, but I don’t know what else to think. As much as I don’t want to see him in trouble, I knew I had to tell you.”
“Thank you, Janie. I’ll keep these safe and let the duke know.” Nora regarded her maid. “Janie, with such an important discovery, why did you not tell the duke himself?”
“He isn’t home. I thought about telling Mrs. Manning, but it felt right to come to you.”
Nora pulled her in for another hug. Janie bid Nora good night and left. Alone again, Nora held up the necklace. It was exquisite in detail, each diamond carefully set in silver leaves, dropping to a center pendant holding three large diamonds. It must have been worth a fortune.
Ruthers? After his help discovering the foal, which had led to their discovery of Mr. Gaines, Nora had been ready to give up her suspicions against him, but how could she now when she held the evidence? Her stomach, however, would not settle over it.
“There is something in this that I’m missing.”
Nora paced across her room several times, rubbing her arms and wrapping and rewrapping her shawl around her shoulders. Why had Aaron not yet returned? Had Mr. Gaines hurt him again?
She wandered over to her window and pushed open the glass. The darkening sky was heavy with the scent of rain. Nora tried to breatheit in, anything to push out her worries when a heavy thud sounded in Aaron’s bedchamber.
Chapter 27
At first, Nora only listened at her door, waiting, but when it was clear she needed to be closer, she crept into the sitting room that joined her bedchamber to Aaron’s. Men’s voices sounded on the other side of Aaron’s door along with enough thumps to make one think they were rearranging the furniture.
“Easy now,” a man grunted. “Didn’t think he would drop this quickly.”
She didn’t hear everything that went on, but she thought she discerned Chuff’s voice and the mention of a doctor amidst terse pieces of conversation. Though her muscles itched with the urge to rush in, Nora didn’t think she should announce her presence to unknown gentlemen by barging into Aaron’s bedchamber, engaged to him or not. So, she waited. Whatever was going on, they were tending to Aaron.
She must have waited nearly an hour, imagining the most horrendous injuries and the trouble that caused them. When the voices and shuffling finally died down, Nora waited longer, then quietly turned the cold knob.
The floorboard creaked slightly with her first step. She had never been in Aaron’s bedchamber, not even to peek inside, though she had been curious what his room looked like. The darkness didn’t afford hermuch clarity, but she could tell the room was set up in the mirror image of hers.
The crackle of fire on the grate lent heat to the room, sending a dance of shadows that pulled at her nerves.
“Aaron?” she whispered, hoping not to startle him as she drew closer to his bed.
The hairs on her arms rose despite the fire. Aaron’s bed curtains had been drawn, so she couldn’t see him or how severe his injuries were. She shuddered just thinking about the possibilities.
“Miss Lacy?”
Nora jumped, her whole body drawing in like a whip with the sound of the voice behind her. She turned, pulling her shawl tight around herself.
“Ruthers,” she gasped as he rose from a chair in the corner of the room. Janie’s accusations hung fresh in her thoughts. “I… I heard noises. I only came to see… I…” She didn’t know how to explain herself. All she wanted was him gone.
“So that’s where Derricott put you.” He gestured toward her room with his head. “As close to himself as he could. Doesn’t surprise me.”
Ruthers stood and drew closer. Nora stumbled backward, bumping into one of the bed posters. Swallowing a cry, she scrambled to draw open the curtain and see Aaron for herself.
“There’s no need to worry, Miss Lacy. He’ll be fine.” Though Ruthers spoke as easily as he always did, his movements felt ominous.
Nora drew the curtains further open despite Ruthers’s reassurances. She needed to see Aaron.
He was sleeping on his back, entirely still except for the slow rise and fall of his chest. She couldn’t see any bruises in the darkness, but there was swelling around his left eye. His left sleeve was torn open, revealing a bandaged forearm.
At the sound of the floorboard creaking, she spun back to face Ruthers and pointed a finger. “Not a step closer.”
“Easy, Miss Lacy, or you’ll wake him up. Actually,” Ruthers scratched his cheek, “probably not since the doctor just gave him some opium.”
This declaration sent Nora’s heart racing. “What’s happened?”
“Derricott and I along with a few of the stablehands and the constable took care of Gaines.”
