Page 46 of Her Heart's Rightful Earl
Alexander trod carefully through the dense woodland copse to avoid breaking too many noisy twigs. He hoped that Thomas and Captain Morrison would do the same from their directions.
As he met with Thomas, they each confirmed their passage had been clear, and they did not believe they had been followed. Even so, they spoke in low, hushed voices.
“Last night I felt so defeated,” Alexander confessed. “My presence here is causing so much trouble; the enemy is closing in, and we are losing control of the situation. I told Arabella we should abandon this mission and I should return to Scotland…”
Thomas’s mouth fell open in shock. “And do you still feel this way?”
“No.”
“I admit I am relieved—now that we have started this journey, it would be challenging to stop without a satisfying conclusion—but what changed your mind?”
“A solid few hours of sleep and … a kiss from Arabella …” Alexander allowed a smile to show through his sombre expression.
“A kiss! You scoundrel!” Thomas laughed and playfully hit his friend on the arm.
“Only on my cheek! Arabella is a respectable lady, and it was only a fleeting gesture of goodbye, but it told me that beneath her brusque exterior, she still cares …”
“But of course she still cares, you oaf! If she did not hold affection for you, she would not be so angry and hurt!”
Alexander nodded, accepting this to be the truth.
“So we continue our investigations?” Thomas checked.
“Absolutely.”
“Right. In that case, whilst we await the captain, I have an update he relayed to me. I met with him at dawn and can confirm that he has discovered some extremely disconcerting facts.”
Alexander swallowed hard and steeled himself to hear it.
“After your father’s death, a gentleman he was friends with at his club offered to speak with a Bow-Street Runner to lend detailthat may assist with the investigation. He died the night before he was due to attend.”
Alexander inhaled sharply at this revelation.
“And there was another. A servant of the Wellwood estate who apparently held suspicions about men in your father’s circle. He was inappropriately vocal about his views, declaring you were most certainly innocent and there was a murderer at large. He was silenced—he did not appear to work one day and was found dead in his home.”
“This is preposterous! Is the captain suggesting the murderer will kill anybody who strives to expose him?”
“That is exactly the case. He has requested the physician revisit the demise of those two men to ascertain their causes of death, in case they should be coincidental, but currently, it seems that any person investigating the stabbing of your father is eliminated.”
Alexander drew in a ragged breath, and at the same moment, a strong breeze rattled through the trees, causing the branches to creak and shuffle their leaves. Both men looked up at the sudden whispering effect and then around themselves to ensure they were still alone.
“It has been suggested …” Thomas’s face set in a stern expression, “that it could be Marcus who is systematically eliminating witnesses.”
Alexander seemed to forget the crucial requirement to remain quiet as the shock of his friend’s insinuation hit him.
“What?Carrington, how can you intimate such a dreadful notion? Marcus is my baby brother and your lifelong friend!”
Thomas merely blinked, taking the assault he knew that his words would provoke.
“How could Marcuspossiblyorchestrate such sophisticated killings? My brother isunwell,” Alexander confessed.
“He is not thinking straight; a victim of his unfortunate hereditary pattern. He lacks both the criminal connections and the ruthless temperament required for systematic murder. If witnesses are dying, it proves dangerous criminals are involved, but Marcus would be their casualty, not their partner!”
Alexander ran his hands through his hair and took several paces away from Thomas, who stood silently bearing witness to Alexander’s turmoil.
Eventually, Alexander took a deep breath and returned to where Thomas was standing.
“I apologize for aiming my vitriol at you, my friend. You did say this was Captain Morrison’s suspicion and not your own. What are your thoughts?”
