Chapter Three
April 22, 1820
One day until the wedding
Mary frowned as she poked a forefinger into Gabriel’s shoulder, for the man snored as if he alone were responsible for creating every storm in the North Hemisphere.
When he grunted and rolled over onto his back, he cracked open one eye and looked askance at her. “What?”
“You know what.” She snorted and then propped herself up on an elbow to peer down at him. Dawn was just beginning to glimmer through skies. “Apparently, the country air doesn’t agree with you, for you’ve snored every night since we arrived.”
“Can I help it if I sleep deeply when out of London?” His body tensed, and seconds later, he’d rolled over, covering her body with his. “But now that we’re both awake, perhaps we can indulge in unspeakable things before the day starts and time runs away from us.”
No matter how much she adored the familiar weight of him and how his arms around her provided safety as well as arousal, she had other ideas for her morning. “Actually, I thought to walk through the gardens before breakfast. The dowager viscountess is allegedly a fantastic gardener, and she grows a hybrid species of daffodil that I particularly wish to see for myself. I adore the young people here, of course, but they are quite loud when they stroll through the gardens, and some of them trample the delicate blooms.”
“Mmmhmm.” Bright nuzzled the crook of her shoulder then his lips were at the side of her throat as he kissed and licked a sensual path to her mouth.
By instinct, she slipped her hands up his chest to loop her arms about his shoulders. Before they’d adopted the children, her former Bow Street inspector had slept in the nude, or at least he’d done so when he’d stayed at her townhouse, but now he’d taken to donning a long sleepshirt in the event he needed to rise unexpectedly in the night.
“We can’t do this now, Bright. Someone will hear. There are too many guests, and the children will wake soon and want to see us.”
Yet his hands were already cupping her breasts, and he’d teased her nipples into hard points with his thumbs, and his lips were just so addictive. For a few glorious seconds, she indulged in that kiss, furrowed the fingers of one hand through the soft hair at his nape, and wished that she’d woken a few hours sooner, for perhaps then they could have given into base urges… if they remained quiet, but that wasn’t usually how things were between them when passion took over.
After the space of a few heartbeats, her husband pulled away and then rolled once more onto his back. “You have quite the knack to set fire to my blood, woman,” he whispered into the still dark room.
“Yes, well, the feeling is mutual.” She blew out a breath of frustration.
He threw an arm up over his head onto the pillow. “How about instead of taking tea with the house party guests, we agree to meet at the heart of the hedge maze and carve out some time for ourselves? Tomorrow will prove too busy with the wedding and all the celebrations afterward, and since we arrived here, there has been far too much to do in preparations.”
Excitement buzzed at the base of her spine. “That sounds lovely. I shall bring an old blanket or a quilt with me and perhaps a basket with tea things so we can have a refresh too.”
“I would enjoy that.” He took her hand, brought it to his lips, flipped it over, then flicked the tip of his tongue along the pulse point in her wrist. “I knew I married you for a reason.”
Flutters moved through her lower belly, and she smiled. For a woman of her age, surely it was strange to still have such feelings for her husband, but she couldn’t help it. “Such gammon,” she whispered, then rolled again and lifted onto her elbow. Leaning down, she brushed her lips over his. “I should get my day started. You stay here and sleep for a bit longer. After your last case, you deserve to relax.”
The case he’d solved shortly before they’d left for the house party had involved a missing dog, a kidnapped heir, and oddly enough, a small cask of rare Roman wine.
“Well, how can I say no to that?” With a quick kiss, he burrowed back into the bedding. “And now all I’ll dream of is teatime in the maze.”
Giggling as if she were a schoolgirl, Mary left the bed and headed for the painted silk privacy screen at the other side of the room.
Everything had changed since she’d met that man, and it never failed to amaze her.
An hour after dawn broke, Mary had a quick cup of tea in the morning room before anyone else had risen for the day, then she took herself outside to enjoy Lady Titterford’s flower gardens. It was odd to have such a large event happening on the morrow but having little to no responsibility to prepare for it other than having a gown made up.
When she turned down one of the paths through ornamental fruit trees whose leaves were well past the budding stage, she came upon Miss Davenport. The young lady randomly touched a few flower heads and leaned down to smell the blooms of some of the pastel tulips.
“Priscilla, hullo.”
With a gasp, the other woman startled. “Oh, Mrs. Bright. How lovely to see you.” She looked past Mary.
“I assumed you would be out here with the inspector. He’s usually not far from your side.”
“Inspector Bright was still abed when I left. I’d hoped to enjoy the gardens before they were crowded.”
“Understandable.” The younger woman nodded, but beneath the brim of her bonnet, her eyes were shadowed with worry. “Where are the children? I’d hoped to spend more time with Henry’s younger siblings.”
It was refreshing that Priscilla referred to Cassandra and Charlie as such. “They haven’t risen yet, but when they do, their governess will have charge of them for breakfast and a few lessons before they’re turned out onto the world.”
They both shared a laugh .
Though Priscilla smiled, the gesture didn’t reach her eyes. “I remember what it felt like to run wild with freedom. I hope they do that as much as they can before they need to be proper members of society.”
“Surely it’s not that bad.” When the other woman didn’t answer, Mary sighed. “How are you feeling? In just over twenty-four hours, you will be saying your vows to Henry.” It sounded so odd to voice the statement aloud, for she couldn’t image Gabriel’s oldest son as a married man or entering his own adult life. Soon the two of them would set up housekeeping together.
“I am doing well enough.” She didn’t look at Mary, but they strolled the garden paths together, side by side. At the rear of the property was the hedge maze that Mary would meet Gabriel in later that day. Just the thought had her heartbeat accelerating. “There are nerves, of course, but Henry is a lovely man. I’ve never met anyone quite like him before.” The younger woman touched a fingertip to the petals of a yellow daffodil. “There is something unexplainable about him that makes me feel everything will come out right yet that excites me in a way I’ve not encountered.”
Mary couldn’t help but grin. “Ah, I know exactly what you’re referring to, for his father is much like that.”
“Yes, Henry often sings his father’s praises; it is much to live up to.” For the space of several seconds, Priscilla paused. Then, “I do wonder, though, what sort of a wife I’ll be. I don’t wish to give up playing the piano on stage merely to be married. Many men would expect that, wouldn’t they?”
“I rather doubt Henry would ask you to do that. Doesn’t he support you in all the ways that matter?” At least she hoped that was how she’d interpreted Henry’s adoration for the younger woman.
“Oh, he does, but you know how men are.” Priscilla’s lips turned down in a frown. “They lie.”
“Some men, yes.” Hadn’t she discovered that with her first husband? With Francis as a lover before he’d taken the viscount title? Gabriel had only lied to her once, but there had been no malicious intent behind it.
Shadows appeared again in the young lady’s eyes. “But then, we all lie at some point, don’t we, Mrs. Bright?”
“Um… I suppose, whether those lies are malicious or not.”
The other woman briefly bit her bottom lip. “What if those lies aren’t able to be forgiven?”
Mary frowned, for she had no idea what the girl was talking about. “I believe if the person you’ve chosen truly loves you, forgiveness will happen. Sometimes not immediately, but it will. None of which you need to worry about. ”
“I hope you’re right.” Silence reigned between them for another stretch as they each enjoyed viewing the spring flowers. Then Priscilla straightened. She turned to face Mary on the gravel path. “Well, I’ve taken more of your time than I should when I came out to gather a bouquet for the morning room. Mama is at her wit’s end with all the guests and the wedding tomorrow, so I thought to put something cheerful on the table for her to see.”
“That’s a sweet gesture. I’ll talk with her and see if I can’t help relieve her of some of the strain.”
“Thank you.” From a clever pocket in her spencer, Priscilla brought out a pair of gardening scissors then began to clip flower stems. “You and my mother are lovely models of what a wife should be. You in particular, since you are not one to follow society’s dictates.”
“Ha.” Mary chuckled. “Well, we can’t all be darlings of the ton .” If there was more sarcasm in the statement than she’d intended, she couldn’t help it.
“Yes.” The younger woman nodded. “You’re so wise.”
Perhaps understanding sarcasm wasn’t her strong suit. “I shall talk with you later. And remember, you are saying vows tomorrow, not headed for the gallows. Henry is quite excited, and I know he is the perfect match for you.”
“I certainly would like to believe that is true.” She waved a hand. “Enjoy your day, Mrs. Bright. Mother is going to help me wash my hair later this afternoon and then we’re going to finish packing the trunk with my most treasured things to take over to the townhouse where I’ll start my married life.”
“Enjoy that time. If I don’t see you before then, I will at dinner.” And she skirted around Priscilla to stroll through the remainder of the garden. She didn’t know why, but that was quite the odd conversation to have on the eve of a bride’s wedding.
Later that afternoon
Mary glanced at the carriage-style clock on the bureau. She’d just checked on the children, who were happily enjoying their tea with the other young ones in the schoolroom upstairs. Then she came back down to the room assigned to her and Gabriel to freshen her appearance, and now she had just enough time to go out to the hedge maze where she would meet Bright. He was responsible for bringing out a blanket and the basket filled with tea things.
Of course, he adored that sort of work, for he worked his charm on everyone he came into contact with, so by now, all the servants in the kitchens and servants’ quarters would think he was the best man who walked on two legs. Yet that was one of the reasons Mary loved him; he treated everyone the same and with respect.
No sooner had she left the bedchamber and reached the newel post at the stairs than a chilling, bloodcurdling scream echoed through the whole of the manor, or so it seemed. The sound had the power to raise the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck, and for a few moments, Mary paused on one of the treads, listening, but the scream didn’t come again. Then time went back to normal again, and with an accelerated pulse, she ran down the stairs in the attempt to figure out the source of the sound.
“Mary!” At the second-floor landing, Bright came running from the opposite end of the corridor with the blanket and basket in hand. “What the devil was that?”
“I don’t know, but I’m trying to find out. Help me search the rooms on this side of the manor.” In short order, they’d popped in and out of every room on that floor on that side, including the drawing room and billiards room, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. A few people said they’d heard the scream, yet no one recognized the voice.
Gabriel assumed command, and in an instant, he went from flirtatious lover to no nonsense inspector. “Please remain in these rooms until we can ascertain what happened.” With an expression of worry, he met her gaze. “Let’s move on to the lower level.”
“Perhaps someone saw a mouse or a rather large insect,” she mused as they both went down the stairs together.
He grunted. “When have we ever been that fortunate?”
It took next to no time to pop through the rooms on that level. The entry hall was empty, the library had a few guests who wore matching expressions of fear, and so on until they reached the parlor at the far end of the corridor that was at the rear of the house. She came first into the room, and the scene wasn’t exactly ideal.
“Henry?”
The young man ignored her, for his attention lay riveted by something on the floor behind a highbacked sofa. Priscilla was there as well, but she had dissolved into tears so wasn’t immediately ready to offer an explanation.
“What the hell is going on in here? We heard a scream.”
Finally, Henry became animated, but his face was as white as a ghost. “Uh, Priscilla screamed.”
“Why?” Bright set the basket and blanket on a nearby chair as he came further into the room.
“This.” Henry pointed to the floor. “I can hardly believe it. ”
With a glance at her husband, Mary stepped around Priscilla to peek at what had Henry so discombobulated. She sucked in a quick breath. “Dear God,” she uttered in a hushed voice, for a young blond man lay on the floor, crumpled on the Persian rug, his body on its side, stabbed apparently through the heart with some sort of knife or other instrument. Until it was pulled from the body, there was no way to identify it, for the handle was of plain wood. “The poor man.” Fresh blood pooled beneath him and soaked the carpet. It stained his lawn shirt and the crisp white folds of his cravat. She’d seen the young man about the estate since they’d arrived for the house party, and he was a twin.
Finally, Gabriel reached her side. He was much more vocal and direct. “What the devil happened here?”
Mary huffed, for this would certainly cause problems with upcoming events. “Murder, obviously,” she said with sarcasm in her voice, which earned her a withering glance from him that she was hard pressed not to laugh about.
Perhaps another time.
“Henry, an explanation, please,” Bright demanded, and he was fully immersed once more into his role as consulting inspector.
“I, uh…” The groom-to-be cleared his throat. “To be honest, I don’t know. In fact, I wasn’t aware he wa s back there…”
Her husband crossed his arms at his chest. “Why were you and Miss Davenport here in the first place?”
The poor young man darted a glance to his intended, who had calmed somewhat, then focused back on his father. “Priscilla and I came into the parlor to enjoy some quiet time and kissing, away from all the guests.”
Pricilla dabbed at her eyes and cheeks with a dainty lace-edged handkerchief. “Henry and I needed time in private to talk about something of import before the wedding.”
“Yes.” Henry nodded, but he didn’t glance at Miss Davenport’s direction. “I’d gotten up to pace—the subject matter was quite… something—and that is when I found the body.”
“I see.” Bright nodded. “And Miss Davenport, what were you doing the whole time Henry was pacing?”
“Trying to talk to him, to calm him down.”
“From what?” Mary wanted to know, but neither of them apparently wished to talk.
“All right.” Bright pinched the bridge of his nose between his eyes. “Was he already stabbed when you saw him?”
“Yes.” Henry nodded. “I touched the body, but only to see if he was still alive,” he quickly added when Gabriel’s face turned red. “That is when I discovered the murder weapon isn’t a knife or anything I recognize. In fact, it has two prongs, like a large fork. ”
Mary frowned. “Then what is it?”
“I can answer that,” Priscilla said as she wiped away more tears. “It’s a piano tuning fork. I always travel with one.”
“And you brought it into the parlor with you?” Mary shook her head. She and Bright exchanged glances. “I don’t understand why it would be needed for a conversation that didn’t include a piano.”
“No, I… I’d thought I had misplaced it yesterday, but when my conversation with Henry became a bit heated, I’d forgotten about it.”
“Well, damn.” Gabriel shoved a hand through his hair, a sure sign that his calm had been ruffled. When he looked toward the open doorway, Mary did the same. Guests gathered outside the room. “We need to secure this space and then start questioning people.”
“Right.” She nodded. “And summon a constable. This doesn’t look good.”
Priscilla gasped. “What about my wedding?”
“We’ll need to talk with your parents. Since you and Henry were both in the room with the body, we can’t clear you as suspects until an investigation begins.”
She broke out into tears once more.
Mary tamped on the urge to sigh, for there was no need for hysteria. “Henry, comfort your bride-to-be.” She and Bright needed to control the situation before it grew out of hand and before guests could escape.
“Is it true?” Things went from bad to worse as another young man burst into the room. Of course it was the dead man’s twin. “Is my brother dead?” As soon as he saw the body, he uttered an anguished cry, which only added to the confusion.
“Devil take it.” Bright muttered to himself as he crossed the room to yank on the brocade bell pull. “I’m summoning the butler. This murder is going to make things rather difficult, I’ll wager.”
Mary nodded. “Is the constable even in the area?”
“I’ll find out.”
While he talked with the butler when that austere man arrived, Mary worked to usher guests away from the parlor, suggesting they either gather in the drawing room or return to their own bedchambers.
Eventually, Henry and Priscilla were sent out of the room. Bright turned to Mary with consternation in his expression. “It seems our picnic tryst will need to wait.”
“Such is our luck,” she said with a faint smile.
He nodded. “The butler is sending a footman to the local squire’s home. He’s the constable in the area. In the meanwhile, I’ll go talk with the bride’s family and confirm that they want us to investigate. After that, I’ll come find you so we can start the case by examining the body, for there is no doubt in my mind this was murder.” His voice was grim. “I would imagine that we might need to postpone the wedding a few days.”
“I’ll go upstairs and retrieve a notebook, but first, there is this.”
“What?” He frowned because she waylaid him on his way to the door.
“There is something you need first.” Curling a hand into one of his lapels, she lifted onto her toes then gently pressed her lips to his. “It has been a bit since we’ve worked a case together, so now you may go.”
His grin held an edge of bemusement as his eyes darkened. “Now I don’t want to.” Then he took her into a loose embrace and kissed her properly. Each time he moved his mouth over hers, tiny fires erupted into her blood, and she couldn’t have enough of him. After a few seconds, he released her. “Odd as it may sound, I look forward to solving this case.”
She couldn’t help but nod. Unfulfilled longing chased through her chest. Hopefully, they would have some much needed time alone soon. “As do I. Unfortunately, when we begin questioning suspects, the bridal couple will be first on the list.”
“I know.” He blew out a breath. “Let’s not delay if we can. The sooner we solve the case, the sooner my son can marry.”
“If anyone can do this, it is you, Bright.”
He waggled his eyebrows. “I do so enjoy it when you call me by my last name, but I adore it more when I have you by my side.” Then he winked. “Meet back here in half an hour?”
“Yes, but who will guard the room in our absence?”
“There’s a footman waiting.” In fact, he gestured at the door, and a young man came quickly into the room. “Young Jon here will make certain no one comes in or out of the room.”
“Good man,” she said as she passed the footman on her way out. Of course, murder was horrible, but she was excited to return to working a case with her husband.