Page 74 of Her Duke in Shining Armor
“Thehellyou say,” Julius swore. “The Duke of Brisdane might be hiswife’skiller?”
“That is what Lady Eleanor suspects,” Aaron replied.
Julius callused hand framed a fist before his mouth, “This is unfathomable.”
“But possibly true,” Aaron added with a dismayed shake of his head. “If you had read the lady’s diary…the lady feared for her life, Wilcox. And the worst part is that I do not think she wrote it all down. Her maid was the one who filled in some of the blanks for us.”
Julius sighed and reached for his glass, “She took the child to Seven Dials to save her life. Oberton, if Darcy had even thought of doing something so perilous, my apoplexy would have killed me on the spot.”
“Pardon me, but that spirit is exactly what I love about Lady Eleanor,” Aaron replied proudly. “She is fearless.”
“And a bit reckless,” Julius added.
“That too,” Aaron had to admit. “But is there any way we can prove this? Lady Brisdane died over seven years ago and the only thing we have to go on is her diary. Even the lowest commoner knows that is not enough to send a duke to trial.”
“Correct,” Julius nodded. “There must be something you can use. Somewhere.”
“And that might only be back at the Brisdane’s country seat home,” Aaron deduced. “If that is the only option, our cause might be lost. The man is never going to allow anyone to upturn his house on a whim.”
“But—if,ifthis was true—what possible reason could he have to kill his wife?” Julius still looked horrified. “Can any man be so cruel?”
“Resurrect Anne Boleyn and we’ll know,” Aaron said humorlessly.
Julius shot him a narrow eye before stood up and began to pace, “Only the maid knows about this?”
“I assume,” Aaron replied. “And yes, I can hear you thinking—”
“…physiologically impossible,” Julius interjected.
“…that she needs protection, but as far as I know, Brisdane does not know she knows or she would have been dead a long time ago. Until we can prove this, she is safe where she is. I am sure not a word is going to pass Lady Eleanor’s mouth on this matter.”
Julius continued pacing and Aaron sat with his drink in hand. The more his friend moved, the more amused Aaron grew. “Wilcox, you are carving a furrow in your sweetheart’s floor. Calm down and sit.”
“Why did you come to me?” the constable asked.
“One,” Aaron sat the glass down, “you are the only person who can help me with this without word getting back to Brisdane and two, if you can help me prove this, there is no question of you getting the position of Superintendent. It benefits both of us, Wilcox.”
“That occurred to me,” Julius replied. “But it also occurred to me that if we fail, this can destroy the both of us. Your reputation might take a hit for a month but half of my life would be ripped away from me. I’d become a laughing stock, Oberton, remembered as the constable who dared to try to overthrow a peer of the realm. I would never work again.”
Aaron stood and grasped both of Julius’ shoulders. “I will never leave you to sink, Julius. We’ve been through too much for that to happen. Believe me.”
“I will look into it,” Julius said.
“Look into what?” Lady Darcy asked from the doorway.
Julius broke away from Aaron’s hold and went to his fiancée. “Nothing you should worry yourself about, my love.”
Lady Darcy smiled sweetly and then smacked him over his head, “Do not dare try to avoid me, Julius. I heard Eleanor’s name so I will ask the last time, what is there to know?”
Aaron shared a look with Julius who arched his eyebrow, silently telling Aaron,this is your fault, you must take responsibility.Shaking his head, Aaron asked Darcy to sit and she did.
Taking a chair, Aaron sat closer to her and took her hand, “Darcy, this is not something I would want to know…it is not something I want anyone to know.”
Lady Darcy looked between him and Julius who had a hip perched on the edge of the loveseat. Her eyes then returned to him and went decisive, “If it has anything to do with Eleanor, I don’t care how bad it is. Tell me.”
Seeing her resolve, Aaron sat back and thought quickly about which part in the tale he should start from and decided on the night he had been coming from Whites. Keeping a measured tone, Aaron explained the fortunate moment he had seen Eleanor and the child in the dark street. He continued with trailing them to Grosvenor Square, the church and how he had stepped in to take both of them to Seven Dials.
Saying Seven Dials had made Lady Darcy gasp as, thanks to Julius, she knew the horrors stories of the cutthroat community.
