Page 58 of Moonlight Encounter
As before, Smythe gestured adamantly and leaned in to talk with yet another beefy dock worker. This one appeared to have not bathed in a week, nor any of the other patrons. Aidan breathed through his mouth to avoid the sour odor hanging about like an evil omen.
At the bar, a drunken argument broke out between two slovenly men, slurring as they gesticulated wildly. The sullen proprietor behind the bar came out, grabbing both men by the scruff of their collars to escort them out crudely. Aidan shook his head in amazement that he was sitting in such a place. He still could not overhear anything from the table where he sat, so instead he observed and seethed.
Smythe was a blackguard deeply involved in sinister schemes. There was no other explanation for why he would be visiting such blighted spots to converse with a criminal element.
Were these the ruffians who had attempted to break in to Ridley House? Had one of these men scared the wits out of his little sister? What gave Smythe the right to behave this way?
It was becoming more and more obvious that his father-in-law had visited the late Baron of Filminster on the night of the coronation and bludgeoned Brendan’s uncle to death before running away into the night like a pathetic coward.
Aidan needed to find the evidence to end this farce.
Which means I will be forced to hurt Gwen when she learns of her father’s perfidy.
This reminder of what lay ahead was unwelcome, so Aidan forced his attention back to the present.
After thirty minutes, Smythe took his leave and Aidan left the tavern to rejoin Old Fred. Once again, they trailed the Smythe carriage down the alleyway and onto the opposite street.
It was with some disappointment that Aidan realized they had turned and were headed back east.
Smythe must have completed his errands for the day, or the weather had dissuaded him from further activities, because they were headed back to the Smythe home across London.
If only Aidan could have caught him in the act of something. Frustration sizzled through his veins as he rubbed his hands up and down over his breeches and thought about how to bring this to a resolution. It was obvious that Smythe was guilty, as Aidan had thought from the beginning. But how to prove it?
It was excruciating to be this close to discovering the truth, yet not know what to do to finish it and prove what he knew in his gut. He thought about the day Lily had been attacked, the marks on her neck from when the villainous footman had held her by the throat. He thought about how his little sister could have been killed.
And the more he thought, the more he seethed that Smythe could behave like an ordinary gentleman to his face, all charming grins and polite talk, while behind the mask was a cold-blooded murderer. He had hosted Filminster and Lily in his home, along with their family, and pretended to be a friendly face and a new relation, yet hurried about Town daily to plot his dastardly conspiracies.
It was up to Aidan to stop him.
CHAPTER 15
“The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival.”
Aristotle
When Aidan reached the Smythe home, ensuring he came in a good half hour after Smythe, it was to be met with another letter. Stalking over to the little drawing room off the entry hall, Aidan quickly unfolded the note to see what hellish report he was to receive.
After we left RH last evening, it happened again. Michaels is injured, but the doctor assures me he will recover.
Filminster.
Aidan’s vision turned red asrage rushed through him. The butler had saved Lily’s life! And if Lily had been at Ridley House, she could have been hurt or killed, being such a tiny little thing!
Smythe was behind it! Aidan knew this was the truth. There was no other explanation for what he had witnessed this afternoon nor for the bills of sale he had found in Smythe’s desk.
Aidan’s hands were shaking with fury as he crumpled the page in his hand, attempting to quell the hot emotion causing his heart to race. He was panting with the sheer outrage that the killer was only dozens of feet away and he could do nothing about it.
It was beyond the pale! Completely untenable!
He stood here, helpless, while his family and their close connections were under attack.
The more he tried to hold his temper at bay, the hotter it simmered—boiled—until the appalling dishonor of this disastrous farce caused his feet to turn toward the door. In a blinding anger, Aidan stormed down the hall to throw open the door to Smythe’s office.
His father-in-law’s head shot up in surprise, then he frowned in confusion when he saw Aidan standing in the doorway.
“May I help you, son?”
Aidan stepped in, closing the door behind him with deliberation. It was time to end this, but there was no need for Gwen to overhear this confrontation.
