Chapter 24
Twenty-Four
“How is it that the more I read this, the less sense it makes?” Warner frowned at the line on the account books that he had read and re-read several times over the last hour.
Sunlight streamed through the window of his study making him blink as he looked up. It was the day after the ball, and Warner had been sequestered in his study for several hours.
“She needs time with her friends and her family without me lurking around,” Warner mumbled to himself as the image of Adele flitted through his mind.
He tried to convince himself of his words but found that they rang hollow. Running his hand through his hair, he let out a sigh. He did not need to be a part of her joy, and it was good that she had so many people who loved her.
It will make parting easier. His chest squeezed at the thought, and he shook himself, trying to ignore the cold that filled him at the thought of them eventually leading their separate lives. I will not control her.
“This is for the best.” Warner jabbed at the line of numbers on the page in front of him.
“Talking to yourself already?” an amused voice sounded from the doorway. Warner looked up to see Adele standing there with a small bouquet of flowers, several pastries, and a pot of tea.
He stood as she entered the room, straightening his shirt as he did so. Her russet hair was tied up in a messy bun, and a strand fell across her face. Warner put his hands in his pockets to keep from reaching towards her.
“It helps me think.” Warner shrugged and gestured towards her tray. “And what is all this?”
“The children were getting a little rowdy, and Cora thought that I could do with a break, so she suggested that I bring you up a snack and some tea.” Adele put the tea on Warner’s desk. “They know that if Uncle Scar is in his office, he is not to be disturbed.”
“And the flowers?” Warner gestured to the bouquet of daisies, roses, and wildflowers that Adele had placed on the windowsill.
“They worried that you might be sad that you had to work instead of play with them, so they picked some flowers from the garden for you.” Adele shook her head, the corners of her lips quirking upwards as she turned to face him. “It was quite difficult to convince George not to accompany me.”
“You did not need to dissuade her.” Warner took one of the pastries from the tray and popped it into his mouth, leaning against the edge of the desk as he watched Adele.
“I know, but I wanted some time alone with you.” Adele’s cheeks flushed endearingly, but before Warner could tease her, she continued, “I wanted to thank you.”
“I have already told you, you do not need to thank me for letting your family stay here. This is your home too.” Warner made a dismissive gesture with his hand. For now.
He pushed the thought away.
“That is not what I mean. I just… I know that you were only playing a part last night, but…” Adele took a half step towards him, her fingers playing with the fabric of her dress.
“It meant a lot to me. I do not think I have ever had so much fun at a ball before. Nor danced so much. My feet were rather unimpressed with me by the end of it.”
Warner moved towards her, his hands coming out of his pockets as he searched her face for signs of pain. “You should have told me.”
I should have realised that her feet were hurting. How can I have missed that? He had been so focused on the delight he felt when she had been in his arms. He had let himself be selfish, and now, look what it had done. He swallowed, struggling to contain his feelings.
She looked at him, a small smile on her face. “But I did not want to stop dancing.”
Nor did I. His heart skittered, and he ran a hand through his hair to keep from reaching for her. “I had no wish to cause you pain.”
“They did not hurt while we danced. Only once I walked upstairs.” She gave him an impish grin “Besides, it is not like you could have swept me in your arms and carried me to bed.”
“Do you doubt that I could?” Warner chuckled, taking another step towards her.
Adele arched an eyebrow at him, spots of colour on her cheeks as she smiled at him. “It is not a question of capability so much as willingness.”
“And you think I would be unwilling to sweep you off your feet?” He shook his head as a smile crept over his face. “Perhaps I rather like the idea of playing the gallant hero.”
“As amusing as that image is, what makes you think I wish to play the part of a swooning princess?” Adele straightened but did not step away from him as he moved closer.
“I thought all women wished to be swept off their feet.” His eyes danced as he breathed in the smell of roses. “Perhaps you simply need to be shown how enjoyable such things can be?”
Adele’s eyes widened, but before she could say another word, there was a knock at the door. Warner moved in front of Adele and called, “Enter.”
“Your Grace, I am sorry to interrupt, but I must speak to you on a rather urgent matter.” Mr. Turner walked into the room and placed a newspaper on the desk.
The headline read: Proof at Last — Marquess murdered by his Marchioness.
He turned to Mr. Turner, his voice cold and hard as steel. “I thought I made clear that these papers were not to publish any hearsay.”
“It is not hearsay Your Grace; the papers claim they have a witness.” Mr. Turner paled, shaking slightly beneath Warner’s anger. “Apparently a servant from Her Grace’s household has come forward to speak against her.”
“Her parents’ household or the Marquess’?” Warner’s brow furrowed.
From what he knew of Adele’s past, he doubted it would be her parents, but perhaps if it was a servant of Eric’s, that would help them. After all, they would have not been hers until after they were married.
His mind began to race, even as a wave of rage broke over him. How can this have happened? He had made it clear to the editors of every respectable paper that smears against the Duchess would invite serious confidence. Which means they must have some damning proof indeed.
The thought settled over him uneasily.
“Eric’s.” Adele’s voice was small, her eyes wide as she read the article. “At least that is what the article claims though they do not name the person.”
“They will be claiming to protect the person through their anonymity.” Warner let out a hiss of breath.
“I cannot believe what they have written.” Adele chewed on her lip, her brow furrowing as she read aloud, “She approached me and said that once they were married, her dowry would be mine if I would only help her end the Marquess’s life.
When I turned her down, she claimed that I had passed some kind of test. But now, I know it was a lie.
Clearly, she found some other person to do her dirty work. ”
Warner’s fist clenched. “And what reason have they claimed that you would do this?”
“For his money and for the freedom.” Adele’s shoulders slumped.
“The paper references the way I behaved before we were married. That I gained the kind of money few people can even dream of. God, they even know that I increased the servants’ salaries, but they paint it as further indication of my guilt.
As though it were some kind of hush money. ”
“They were already on generous wages.” Warner frowned at her. “Why would you increase them?”
“It seemed like a kind thing to do.” Adele swallowed. “I thought they might be kinder to me if I did such a thing.”
Warner glanced at the rest of the newspapers. He did not need to read them to know what they would say nor to see how easily they would paint a damning picture of his wife.
“They talk about me interfering with the investigation — that is not true! I was trying to solve this dratted murder. I wanted justice, not to thwart it.” Adele chewed on her lip. “I do not know how they found out about some of these things; I thought I was careful.”
Not careful enough.
“That there is truth in their words only lends credibility to the story. It makes it easier to believe in your guilt.” He massaged his temples, his mind working furiously.
If they knew about the salaries, that would suggest someone with access to the accounts which points to a servant in her household.
His frown deepened as he tried to think of who might have done this. He knew that the servants had not been particularly kind to Adele, but to make an accusation like this? It was a huge risk to take. Why would anyone do that?
“But you do not believe it, do you? I swear on all that I hold dear, I did not end your cousin’s life.” Adele’s eyes searched his face. “I was trying to find his killer. You know that.”
“I know.” Warner met her gaze. “I believe you.”
Warner gestured towards Mr. Turner. “You may leave us, Mr. Turner. You will find out who has taken this to the papers, and you will do it with the utmost discretion.”
“Your Grace, that will —” Mr. Turner began, but Warner cut him off.
“I do not want to hear excuses, Mr. Turner. I want results. You are a resourceful man; see that it is done.”
Mr. Turner’s skin was so pale it was practically translucent. He nodded. “Yes, Your Grace.”
Warner noticed the man was pointedly not looking at Adele, and his heart twisted.
“You will, of course, remind the staff that I have no doubts the Duchess’ innocence.
I should hope that all of you have worked here long enough that you trust in my powers of discernment.
Any suggestion of guilt is to question my competence. ”
Mr. Turner winced, his gaze darting to Adele and then back to Warner. “Of course, Your Grace.”
“Good. You are dismissed. No doubt the servants will have seen the papers — you will remind them how I value loyalty.” Warner gestured for the man to leave.
He waited until the door of his study was closed and the sound of Mr. Turner’s retreating footsteps were no longer audible before he turned to face Adele whose face was white. “Now that we are alone, tell me everything.”
“I thought you said you believed me.” Adele stiffened at his words.
He made a placating gesture and poured Adele a cup of tea, placing it in her hand, his voice gentle.
“I do, but if we are going to get to the bottom of this, I need to know everything you know. Everything this accuser might know. From what they have told the papers, it seems likely they are a servant or else had access to the house and your possessions.”
“I know the staff did not care for me, but I did not think they would do something like this. I could be hanged.” Her hand shook so badly that tea nearly spilled into her lap.
Warner shook his head, his heart juddering to a stop. “You will not be hanged. Even though they claim to have proof, they have not yet released it. I can only conclude that they are looking into the claims. Especially as the Bow Street Runners have not come calling. Nor have you been arrested.”
“It seems only a matter of time. If a servant is willing to testify falsely against me…” Adele’s lip trembled, and she placed the cup back on the desk. “Warner, I am as good as dead if we cannot clear my name.”
“Then we will clear it,” Warner growled softly. “You were conducting your own investigation, were you not? I need to see everything you discovered.”
“I can fetch the journals. They are in my room. But I seemed to have only run into a spate of dead ends. I was looking into the procurement of oxygenated water —” Adele began but Warner cut her off with a questioning look.
“Oxygenated water?”
“You can make cyanide by combining it with a certain pigment, Prussian Blue. Or at least, that is the easiest way to make a lethal dose. One could, of course, try and gain it from almonds, but for to work, you would need an unusually large amount. The cost would be extraordinary.”
“A suspicious man might wonder how you know that.” The hair on the back of his neck and arms stood on arms.
“It is hardly difficult to discover. It was one of the first things I looked into during my investigation.” Adele ran a hand through her hair. “To be honest, it was a rather unsavoury fellow at the King’s Arms who gave me that particular bit of information.”
Warner frowned. “Prussian Blue is rather fashionable of late, that is true, but that is in part due to the rarity of it.”
“It is not rare so much as expensive. But it would be less expensive than the number of almonds one would need to make cyanide and far less likely to attract attention.” Adele shook her head, tapping her fingers on his desk.
“But as I said, it was something of a dead end. Perhaps if I knew where Martha was, that might open up some other ideas.”
“What do you mean?” His eyes widened. Why did she not mention this before?
“She left the household some weeks ago — it is what snapped the servants. They thought I had gotten rid of her. I have not been able to find her anywhere. She has vanished.” Adele looked at him, her eyes wide.
“I have tried to find her, but it is hard to make such enquiries without drawing attention to the fact that she has gone. I know how this looks, Warner.”
Her brown eyes were full of tears, but her voice did not shake as she said, “Please — you have to know that I did not do this. I do not know what is happening, but I am innocent.”
He swallowed. “I know that. But whatever is happening, it is not good. I cannot protect you if you do not let me. Swear to me Adele, no more secrets.”
“I swear.” Adele nodded.
“Good. I will have someone I trust look into Martha. Let us hope she has not come to harm.” That will only cement your guilt. Warner paced around the study. “There is something we are missing; I am sure of it.”
“I do not think we will discover much while we are away from the city.” Adele bit her lip.
“Then we will go back. We need to get to the bottom of this, sooner rather than later. It is a matter of moving our plans up a few days.” Warner ran a hand through his hair. “Though I do not want those vultures to think we are returning because of these stories. It will only damage things further.”
“I am sure Rowen would be happy to give us an excuse. She could say that George or Alistair is ill and that we decided to accompany them.” Adele stood, her eyes distant and thoughtful. “Any of the Widows would be happy to help, I am sure of it.”
Warner nodded even as a prickle of unease spread through him. “If we seek answers as nobility, I suspect we will find none.”
“We could always disguise ourselves. It has been a while since I have been Mr. George,” Adele replied, a ghost of her smile on her face.
“A disguise is a good plan, but I think it would be best for us to go as a commoner couple. That will be the least suspicious and the easiest to maintain. And gives us a way to visit chemists and other such places without arousing suspicion.” Warner nodded to himself.
“One way or another, I am going to fix this.” He took Adele’s hand in his own. “And when I find out the scum who has thrown you to the wolves, they will rue the day their mother set eyes on their father.”