A May Day Mystery (Mary and Bright)

Chapter One

Portman Square

Marylebone, London

Mrs. Mary Bright sighed with contentment or relief—it was difficult to tell these days—as she settled onto a sofa in the private family parlor.

She and her husband had finished dinner two hours before she’d gone upstairs to spend some time with Cassandra and Charlie then she’d tucked them into bed.

Though the two had only been part of the Bright family for nearly two years, she couldn’t imagine life without them.

In fact, they’d turned her life as well as Gabriel’s upside down in the most meaningful of ways.

The thought of her husband caused a frown to tug the corners of her mouth downward.

She had also made a promise to the children that their father would pop in on them once he’d come in from finishing his work.

Which he had been doing much more of in recent months, and away from home at that.

She couldn’t remember the last time he’d been in his study turned office.

And what was more, she missed him. Not only to spend time with as a husband, but to solve cases with.

To be honest, she could count on one hand the number of cases she’d solved with him in recent months.

That was slightly alarming.

To be fair, though, both she and the inspector had countless things to fill their days; she with the household and the children while he had cases and clients and his friends.

Of course, she had a few friends that she saw when time allowed, but not as many as her husband.

He was far more congenial and outgoing when they attended social functions, and he was charming to boot, which made him a favorite with everyone he’d ever met.

However, recently, Bow Street had leaned heavily into asking for Bright’s assistance on a few tough cases.

Since he’d tired from that organization—on the heels of being sacked over a long-ago case—he had consulted for them on a handful of cases, which he solved.

Did Bow Street lose face because of it? Yes and no.

They realized that Bright was a gifted investigator, but they also grayed the lines when talking to journalists, so when the articles hit the papers, it sounded as if Bow Street had an unbeaten record.

Did it bother Bright? Sometimes, but he let it roll off his shoulders, for there were bigger things to worry about in the world, and he took his cases to heart.

Yes, he was a good man, and it made her proud that he served his local neighborhood as well as the downtrodden in London, to make things right, but what of the home life that he left behind when he was out saving the world?

Of course she was concerned about their marriage.

Of late there just hadn’t been enough time to spend with each other outside of day-to-day issues or working a case together.

The fact he lingered over those cases, the people he helped, even went out to his club a couple of nights a week all meant that those hours weren’t spent with her or the children.

Not that he should need to feel tied down at home, but he never used to mind staying home to be with them.

Daily, she had to remind herself not to try and control her husband’s life.

That was what his first wife had done, and he’d hated every moment of it until their marriage crumbled and the woman went away to conduct an affair.

She trusted him, of course, and had faith that their union was as strong as it had ever been, but still she worried.

And she missed him.

Worn out from the thoughts that always plagued her during this time of night, Mary stretched out on the sofa and closed her eyes.

As much as she adored the children, she had vastly underestimated how demanding they were even with a governess and how tired she would feel at the end of each day.

Not that she minded. Cassandra had finally come out of her shell and had begun trusting the people in her life so she could pursue things that interested her.

And Charlie was just a handful. He was curious and fearless, which meant he was always into things that were probably not good for him.

The children were the exact opposites of each other, and yes, they sometimes fought, but by and large, they were fiercely protective of each other even though they weren’t blood siblings.

Then her thoughts shifted back to her husband.

Had their romance faded? Did the heat and attraction they’d had in the beginning when they’d met and when she was Bright’s mistress fade?

A soft whimper escaped her, for she rather hoped not.

Yes, she loved him, and she understood that as they both aged and as the years passed passion perhaps would disappear, but she wasn’t ready for that yet.

Her eyes popped up and she contemplated the ceiling.

Was this what things would be like going forward, then?

A bit of fear twisted down her spine. She’d been married once before, and that man had been simply awful to her, treated her worse than a dog in the street.

Not that Bright had ever given her less than respect or encouragement, but at this point, they hadn’t been alone for more than perhaps an hour a week for at least the last few couple of months, and when they were, it certainly wasn’t for carnal things.

If such things had been planned, they were usually perfunctory or else they were postponed due to exhaustion.

Have we indeed lost our spark or even our interest in each other?

Heated panic filled her chest. Of course, it wasn’t popular within society for women to enjoy being intimate with their husbands, but Bright was quite spectacular in that regard, and she missed being sent flying like only he could do. What had happened to their relationship to postpone such needs?

As she lay there, a wisp of worry came into her brain.

Has he taken a mistress? Is that why he had been busy and away from home so often?

No, that wasn’t who he was. When he’d said vows to her, he’d been nothing but honest and honorable.

Beyond that, she trusted him implicitly, but if he had needs and she was too preoccupied to fulfil them…

Another whimper escaped her throat, and this time she succeeded in stifling it. Whatever the issue, she hoped it would soon be resolved, for she still loved her husband, and she missed just being in his presence.

Eventually, Bright returned home just as the long-case clock in the corridor outside the room struck eleven at night.

“I never thought I’d come home to a sleeping beauty, but here we are.”

The deep rumble of his voice tickled through her chest. Mary’s eyes fluttered open, for she’d been drifting in and out of sleep. “Gabriel.” A flutter of excitement went through her lower belly to see him. “I’m so glad you’re back.”

“As am I.” He leaned down to drop a quick kiss on her lips, but when she wanted to pull him close so that they might extend the peck into a more proper embrace, he’d already stood back up to his full height.

“Did you just get in?” Cold disappointment circled through her chest, for he usually couldn’t wait to kiss her senseless. Did that mean he’d already been… serviced by someone else this night? A sick feeling rose in her throat, but she was too much a coward to ask.

“Yes. I went upstairs to tell the children goodnight before I sought you out, of course. They demanded a story, so I told them a quick tale.”

She managed a faint smile. Bright was a terribly thrilling storyteller, and Charlie, especially, couldn’t have enough of his made-up tales.

“You should ring for some dinner. No doubt Mrs. Adrian left you a portion of what I had earlier. She dotes on you, as do all the servants.” The women on staff had a never-ending supply of smiles and simpers for him.

However, Mrs. Adrian, the housekeeper, more or less thought of him as her wayward son.

The way she looked after him was adorable.

There was absolutely no jealousy there on Mary’s part.

“Oh, I couldn’t eat another bite, but I might sneak down to the kitchen for a snack later tonight if I’m peckish.” Her husband waved a hand in dismissal. “I took dinner with Major Kourier at the club.”

“Ah.” As she righted herself, Mary frowned. “How is the major these days?” While her husband began the task of removing his tailcoat as was his custom when he came home from the club, she took a moment to admire him.

For a man who was three and forty this year, he was still quite attractive.

Silver in his chestnut hair concentrated at his temples and some of those strands winked in the candlelight as they winded through the remainder of his thick tresses.

Beyond that, he kept himself lean and fit, which was one of the reasons she particularly adored exploring his body when they had time together in bed.

Her gaze dropped to his hands as he yanked at the ends of his cravat, easily undoing the knot in the neckcloth.

Such large hands but he was quite gentle with her as well as the children.

Yet his mind was brilliant, and it was another reason she’d been drawn to him.

“Kourier is still much the friend I knew from Bow Street but… different.” Bright took a seat on the cushion next to her.

The heat from his body seeped into her. “He is well enough, I think. Preoccupied with his time filled like the rest of us.” When he shrugged, the touch of his shoulder to hers set off a host of tingles down her spine.

“I had to rib him about his engagement as well as his devotion to Miss Ives.”

“That wasn’t well done of you. He truly loves that young woman, and she’s done a remarkable job of encouraging him back into society.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that at all. But he’s still balking about being caught in parson’s mousetrap. Came the crab with me a couple of times.”