Page 64 of The Odd Riddle of the Lost Duchess
George took mere moments to phrase his answers but the words in his head only painted a horrible picture of him—a man with an intolerant disposition–and he desisted from uttering them.
“Think about it, George,” his mother said quietly, “What would you have done if Miss Benwick’s father banned you from seeing her? Wouldn’t you do something drastic for your beloved? Think of that.” Without looking to him again, the Duchess passed by her son and slowly made her way towards her quarters.
Standing there, in the middle of the corridor, George reflected on her words and felt irritation that his mother was forcing guilt upon him, and into seeing Emmeline’s point of view. She was right however, there would have been nothing and no one to stop him from seeing Ann. And if he felt his way for a woman who was under no barriers for marriage, how bad had it been for Emmeline who had?
It wasn’t love!
Pain rent George’s chest in half at his mother’s snub, but he reasoned within himself that what he was doing was right. Newberry was still the one to blame.
One day they will all recognize that I was right,George thought while continuing on his way to the wine cellars.Mother will know that I am in the right here, no matter what she believes, I know the truth!
* * *
Noah was not a spiteful person—he was far from it—but this situation with his mother was so pressing that he found himself harboring anger toward his own flesh and blood. It was inconceivable that his mother had known about his grandmother’s plan and had done nothing substantial about it.
If he couldn’t stand to see his mother, he knew if he saw his grandmother, he would rip her apart, so, he stayed away from them altogether. Noah, though he didn’t shy away from social circles, wasn’t entirely taken with them so solitude wasn’t that much of a problem for him. The problem came when the silence was so stifling that it sank into his soul and dug up his grief for Emmeline.
It ate at him, his organs seemed to shrivel up, and he had no appetite for food or drink, no matter how succulent or satisfying they could be. He still didn’t sleep much but he made sure to do his dukedom justice.
Upon the receipt of Leverton’s renewed proposal, Noah had put in effect his orders and had given his workmen a hope for a prosperous working agreement. The partnership with Lord Berklingshire was another positive step and Noah felt that his father was smiling upon him from heaven.
Despite the wonderful things happening, Noah was still not at ease. He needed to know if his grandmother had ordered his beloved’s death. After twisting and turning on his bed for five nights straight, Noah decided that he needed to get some answers, and he wasn’t going to use a roundabout way to do it.
As soon as the morning had dawned and his mind was made up, Noah went directly to his grandmother’s room. The old woman didn’t sleep after dawn had broken, while his mother chose to rest until eight.
Noah didn’t even give his grandmother the courtesy of knocking but strode through the door with determined step. The old woman was sitting up, in a massive bed ten times her size, and she turned a hateful glare unto him, “Don’t you have any manners, boy? Who are you to just stride in like you’re the King?”
“Be grateful I have some respect for your age or I’d have done much worse.” Noah said stonily, “Tell me directly, did you hire someone to kill Emmeline?”
The Dowager Duchess’ eyes widened a bit before a sly and devious smile tugged her lips wide, “And if I had, what couldyoudo tome? I still hold much of the power here, boy. That girl was nothing more than trouble and I, for one, am glad she’s gone.”
“That was not what I asked you,” Noah grated, “What did you do to her?”
“Nothing that she didn’t deserve,” his grandmother crowed, “The chit is dead, what more business do you have with her? And don’t give me that drivel about you being in love with her–she was a Grant, boy—they don’t deserve affection much less love.”
Noah leaned close enough to see his grandmother’s spiteful dark brown eyes and his tone was lethal when he spoke, “Listen to me carefully. I will use every power God has given me to find out what you planned, and if I discover that you had theslightestthing to do with robbing me of my beloved, you’d better pray grandmother, not even the devil will tax your soul more than I will.”
A soft gasp announced the presence of the Duchess of Newberry, but Noah didn’t care if his mother had heard his threat—he had every intention of carrying it out, grandmother or not. He strode past his mother with a curt nod and went back to his study, where he summoned his butler.
“Cole…I need an investigator, and one that is not above the law.” Noah directed enigmatically, “I will pay him a Midas’ fortune if needs be.”
* * *
The Duke of Leverton had never felt this oddly placed in his own home. George was at odds with his mother over Newberry and he despised that. There were days when he feared that to have any reconnection with his mother, he would have to play nice to Newberry, and even the thought of it was disagreeable.
George had made a commitment to protect his sister and even with her death he was bound on fulfilling that process. He had doubled the men searching far and wide for Emmeline’s killer and was intent on finding him. There were no solid clues for now, but George knew he was going to find the culprit.
Night had fallen again on the Leverton manor and George was in his study nursing a sherry and reading a book when the butler knocked.
“Enter,” he called idly, while slowly swirling the red wine.
“There is a visitor for you, Your Grace.”
George was concerned, “This late? Who is it?”
“Me,” The voice of Newberry sounded, while he stepped into the room, “I have broken my oath to seek your help, Leverton.”
Dark rage slithered through George’s chest at the man’s impertinence. “Hudgins, you are dismissed.”
