Chapter Ten #2
“Oh? How’s that?” It wasn’t that Felix didn’t care to know the man’s history, but it was more that he didn’t care to have his new bride being flirted with by this cheeky captain.
“I was a junior Runner at the time, partnered with other, more experienced principal officers, but I saw you about Whitehall, knew of the cases you’d solved, and I was there the day you were shot.
” His hand paused midway to his mouth with a jam tart.
“I was one of the men they sent for a doctor and a wagon to bring you to hospital.”
“That’s amazing how you two are connected,” Caroline said as she gave a small smile to the captain, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
Was she feeling quite the thing? He’d need to remember to ask her later.
“Thank you for your efforts in saving the major’s life.
I, for one, am terribly grateful for that.
” When she peered at Felix with a fair amount of heat in her eyes, he shifted on his chair.
“The world is a much better place with him in it.”
Well, damn. Perhaps she was feeling very well indeed. Could he love her more?
After an hour, Caroline excused herself while the men talked about Bow Street personnel, cases, and operations.
Once upstairs in the nuptial bedchamber, she cast up her accounts into the chamber pot, twice.
Her stomach always felt unstable in the mornings because of the pregnancy, and though she wished it would stop, there was a certain part of her that rejoiced each time, for it meant the babe was strong as it grew.
Or so the midwife had told her before Caroline had removed from London to Brighton for the wedding.
By the time she came back down, the captain had gone and Felix stood at one of the windows. “Did you wish to conduct another interview?”
“Absolutely we will.” As he turned, his gave roved up and down her person. “Is all well with you?”
“I believe so.” She shrugged and flicked her regard to the windows beyond his shoulders.
The morning sun sparkled on the sea, but a few fat white clouds had blown inward.
“I simply thought the two of you wished to speak of things only you would understand. Frankly, I didn’t wish to sit there ignored. ”
Felix grunted. “There was no ignoring. Captain Horner was quite interested in you.”
“Do stop. He was just being friendly.”
“No, he wasn’t.” The major shook his head. “If given half the chance, he’d seduce you and take you to bed.”
“Such gammon.” It was adorable that he was jealous. Crossing the room, she joined him and rested a hand on his chest. “I married you. I want you. So don’t worry that I’ll fall for anyone else.”
Some of the tension released from his body. She could feel it beneath her hand, but the concern shadowed his eyes. “I appreciate that.”
When he tugged her into his arms and lightly brushed his lips over hers, Caroline sighed. “Don’t tease me, Major, else I’ll drag you into the bedroom and keep you there for days.” Hopefully then she’d have the courage to tell him about the secret she’d been keeping.
“As if that is such a bad thing?” One of his hands slipped to the curve of her arse.
“It is, because that will delay the solving of this case, and that is the only impediment for us to enjoying our honeymoon.” After she nipped at the underside of his jaw and took a sniff of his cologne, she stepped away from him and beyond his reaching hands. “Who are we interviewing next?”
“Your brother.”
Her stomach muscles clenched while the urge to retch once more rose in her throat. “Right. I’d forgotten he was friends with Danforth.”
“After that, we’ll come back here and try to enjoy ourselves for a few hours.”
She nodded. “It will feel good to be out in the sun again.”
An hour later, they finally tracked Andrew to earth at her parents’ townhouse. Apparently, he’d stopped by to talk with their father, which meant he was rather thin on funding and wished to beg for more.
He met them as they came into the house while he was on his way out.
“A moment of your time, Andrew, if you please,” Felix said as he easily stepped into her brother’s path.
“But I’m late for—”
“Andrew, please.” Caroline laid a staying hand on her brother’s arm. “This won’t take much time, and since Felix is investigating the death of Lord Danforth, I thought you might wish to see that finished quickly since he was your friend.”
“Oh.” Sadness shadowed his eyes. “Yes, of course.” He encompassed them both with his gaze. “Please, let’s talk in the parlor. It’s more private.”
“Thank you.” She followed her brother with Felix bringing up the rear of their little processional. “Where are you off to?”
“Into town to meet a couple of my friends at the tavern. We intend to have an early dinner then attend the opera later tonight.”
“You’re not going back to Town?” she asked as they filed into the parlor of the rented townhouse.
“In a couple of days, or whenever the major says we can.” He looked at Felix while he said that before dropping himself onto a chair. “Until then, I refuse to sit around and wallow in sadness. There are entertainments to be had.”
Caroline frowned. She settled onto a low sofa near Andrew’s location. He looked every inch the gentleman about Town instead of a man readying to spend a couple of hours in a local tavern. “You don’t plan to spend time in mourning for your friend?”
“Perhaps a bit, but it wasn’t as if Danforth and I were close. We were friends, only because he needed me to look more respectable and I needed him to gain access to places in society I couldn’t get into before.”
“Ah, a transactional friendship as it were,” Felix said as he sat on the sofa next to Caroline. “When was the last time you saw him?”
With a shrug, Andrew bounced his gaze between her and Felix. “The night before your wedding, I suppose.”
“What was he doing?” The major pulled out his notebook and pencil.
“Having a smoke and playing billiards, same as the rest of us. Mama told us to keep the noise at a manageable level, but I don’t think we managed that very well.”
Caroline snorted. “She was quite annoyed about that.”
“When isn’t she annoyed by something?” Andrew shot off with a speaking glance at her.
Felix cleared his throat. “We’ve been told you were the one who invited Lord Danforth to the nuptial ceremony. Why was that?”
“Uh…” A flush of ruddy color crept up his neck to show above his collar points. “Mama wished for him to be there.”
“Did you truly think Danforth had a chance to win me from the major?” she asked with a certain amount of pique in her voice.
“I don’t know.” Her brother shrugged.
“How did you feel about the plan?” Felix wanted to know as his pencil tip hovered over the notebook page.
“I wanted Caroline to be taken care of, of course, but I rather thought she didn’t need to marry some nodcock in the beau monde.
She’d not exactly a society miss and she doesn’t put on airs like those women do.
” Flashing a grin at her, he ducked his head.
“I was honestly glad you followed your heart in the face of our parents’ hesitation. ”
Felix rested his gaze on Andrew. “Then why did you go along with the plan?”
He shrugged. “Mama is persistent. I grew weary of hearing her complain.”
“So you went along to shut her up?” she wanted to know.
“Basically.”
“At any point were you annoyed enough at Danforth and his plan to disrupt my nuptial ceremony that you had words with him or might have stabbed him with Mama’s letter opener?”
“What?” Andrew gawked at her. “Of course not. Is that how he died?”
She ignored him. “Why were you hanging about him anyway?”
“I told you. He was an earl’s son. He knew people, and I wanted to know those people too.” He gave her a sheepish look. “It’s hell trying to find an eligible connected heiress these days.”
The major rolled his eyes. “If we could come back to the discussion at hand?” When Andrew nodded, he continued. “And your father? Was he aware of your mother’s machinations to have Caroline’s ceremony interrupted?”
“I would have no idea.” Andrew blew out a breath.
“This wedding planning business has irritated him with the amount of coin Mama has spent. I don’t remember them doing that for Debra’s Seasons, though he does complain about them too.
” He buffed his fingernails against his jacket lapel.
“In fact, he’s spending the contents of his whole damned coffers and there won’t be much left. ”
Caroline’s eyebrows soared. “For you to inherit, you mean?”
“Yes, of course.” Both men frowned. “What’s the point of inheriting a title if it’ll be empty?”
“That isn’t the subject of this interview.” Felix tapped his notebook with his pencil. “Was there anyone who took issue with Danforth? Someone who hated him enough to kill him?”
For a few minutes, Andrew was silent. Then, “I couldn’t say, but he wasn’t kind to women. That would have made some people angry.”
“How so?”
“Well, he didn’t treat them with any sort of respect. Chased after anything in skirts. It was tiresome after a while, especially when we had other plans.” A strange expression passed over Andrew’s face. “In fact, the morning, before the ceremony, I heard some gossip that he tried to tup a maid.”
Caroline exchanged a glance with Felix. “What happened after that? You said you hadn’t seen him after events the night before the wedding.”
“From what I could understand, he wasn’t successful, so he fled the house.”
“Did you hear him arguing with a woman in the garden?”
Andrew frowned. “A woman?” When Felix nodded, he sighed. “It could have been his mistress.”
Surprise slammed into Caroline’s chest. “Why would his mistress have been invited to my wedding?”
“She’s one of Debra’s friends.” He shrugged. “And she’s well-connected. You know how Mama is desperate to advance their connections.”
Felix grunted. “Is this mistress emotional? Could she have driven a sharp, pointed weapon into Danforth’s neck?”
“I suppose anyone could have. Danforth had the capacity to act congenial, but he likes brandy more than anything in life, and that made him an arse.” For the space of a few heartbeats, Andrew paused.
Then he gasped. “During billiards, though, I remember him saying that one of the wedding guests was pretending.”
“Oh?” One of Felix’s eyebrows went up. “Did he say who?”
“No.”
“Was it a man or a woman?”
“I didn’t ask, and he didn’t continue the conversation, for we began to talk about eligible women at that time, and how likely they might, uh…” He glanced at Caroline and cleared his throat. “Well, how likely they might…”
She held up a hand. “We don’t want to know.” Who her brother wanted to bed would remain a mystery.
One corner of Felix’s lips twitched, but a grin never materialized. “When Danforth didn’t come back to the lodging house where you shared rooms, did you question it?”
“Not really. I assumed he’d found a woman to stay the night with.” Andrew shrugged. “I thought I’d see him at the ceremony, for he’d taken the ring box with him.”
“Yet he must have returned early that morning to dress,” the major mused.
“Not truly. He wore his formal clothing to the opera, which was another reason I didn’t question him not coming back to our rooms.” Then Andrew stood. “If there’s nothing else? I do have plans.”
“I have nothing further. One last question, though.”
“Yes?” Andrew’s expression turned guarded.
“Did Danforth try to set up a meeting between you and this investor fellow?”
“I spoke with him, yes.”
“And the result?”
“That is none of your business, Major.” His tone was decidedly frosty.
Why, though? Surprise circled through Caroline’s belly. If the meeting didn’t go well, would Andrew have been angry enough with Lord Danforth to kill him? He would have easy access to their mother’s morning room where the letter opener was kept…
Slowly, Felix nodded. “If something else comes to mind, I’ll track you down.” Felix waved a hand. “Enjoy your day.”
Once they were alone, Caroline sighed. “We are going around in circles with this investigation.” She didn’t wish to focus too much on her brother’s guilt in the event Felix picked up on that before she had a chance to think it through.
“When do we not?” He wrote another few notes before closing the notebook.
“We’re going to need to speak with the mistress.”
“Agreed, but first, I’d like to interview the investor person. Everything is revolving around him.”
“Do you think so?”
“I do.” He nodded. “If he’s keeping secrets, we need to know, and quite frankly, I think many people in Brighton are doing just that. Including your brother and mother.” Annoyance threaded through his voice.
Worry pulled in Caroline’s belly. “Then we’d best do it now before she leaves the area.” Good heavens, she needed to tell him her own secret, but it didn’t feel like the right time.
He is going to hate me.