Page 81 of Scandalous Heiress
“Your Grace!”the stranger gulped.His chest heaving, he gasped for air.“Help me.”
Julian caught him up and virtually dragged him to the night watchman’s chair.“Leland?What’s wrong?”
Leland?That was the name of the man Richard yelled about yesterday.According to Richard, this was the Countess of Carbury’slover?
Tears welled up in the man’s eyes.“Oh, Julian!Jesus.Come help us.”
The duke leaned over the man who was obviously his friend.“What?Why?What’s—?”
“Christ, Julian.”Leland gulped.“Carbury’s dead!”
“What?”Julian jerked upright, incredulous.
Someone cried out.
Beside Victor, Ada gasped.
He curled an arm around her waist and pressed her tightly to his side.
“Dead,” Leland got out.
“How?”Julian clutched the lapels of his coat.
Leland dragged air into his lungs.“Carbury.He came tonight.To the house.Had a gun and de-demanded to see Elanna.”
“No!”Julian groaned.Shrank away in horror.
“I— She—”
“You were there?At this hour?”
Ada’s nails dug into Victor’s sleeve.
Leland blinked at Julian.“I—.Yes.Yes.”
“Tell me how, Leland?Where?”
Leland cast about, as if looking for his sanity.“He barged in.Waived his pistol.Charged up the stairs.Elanna went out.He yelled at her and—”
“He what?Went outwhere?”
“The stairs.She said—” Leland went silent.Blinked as if he were a blind man.
Victor registered that Leland’s story sounded disjointed.But then was that not normal for a man so distraught?
Julian hauled him to his feet.“Where is she?”
“He hit her!”
Julian exploded.“Heshother?Is she alive?”
“Yes!Yes!Alive.”
“And…and what?”Julian shook him.
“He fell.On the stairs.”
Julian stared at him, mouth open.
“I checked.He’s…he’s not breathing.”Leland grimaced.
Lily was crying.Pierce, his eyes bulging, grabbed his sister close.
Ada ran to them, arms around them both.
Leland staggered back to the chair.Head in his hands, he sobbed.“I might’ve pushed him.I can’t remember.…But he’s dead.”
