Page 13 of Trapped with the Earl of Sin

“Yes,” Susanna whispered. “To Lord Duncan Thompson. She met him in one of her early Seasons, and they got along very well. It seemed to be an absolutely perfect match. Everyone was very happy.”

This caused Martin’s hackles to rise. He had been a little concerned that Luke was about to get his heart broken by Mary, but he had all but pushed those worries aside because she seemed to care for him just as much as he did her. But this statement put him back on edge all over again.

“Why did that not work out?” he asked thickly, unsure if he even wanted to know the details.

“Duncan was involved in a terribly unfortunate incident a week before their wedding.”

“Incident?” This was getting stranger by the moment, especially as Susanna sadly hung her head.

“He was actually murdered, just outside of his home.”

Martin sucked in a shocked breath.

Murdered?

Was that what Edwin meant when he said, “Maybe it is not luck, but deserved punishment.”

That truly sent an unwelcome chill down his spine.

“We do not know what happened. Even to this day,” Susanna continued. “Of course, the rumor mill has run rampant. Many things have been said, but most of them I know to be untrue.”

“So… do you have a theory as to what happened?”

Martin felt truly terrible even asking this, but he absolutely needed to have all the details he could get about this story before he processed it properly.

Did Luke know about this? Why had it never been discussed?

Susanna offered him a helpless one-shouldered shrug. “I cannot be sure. But I do know that Duncan was not involved in anything nefarious. I suppose the only assumption I can make is thatbandits attacked him. Perhaps it was a robbery gone wrong or Duncan saw something that he should not have seen. But I do not have any evidence of that, and I guess I never will.”

Martin was starting to see everything through a new lens now. His heart bled a little for Mary. That had to be a horrible experience to go through, so actually it was very brave for her to be here, trying out love once more.

And if there was anyone in the world who could help her recover from heartache, it was Luke. His kind heart would go a long way to ensuring she had a happy life from here on out.

“And why do you think Edwin was talking about that?” Martin practically whispered because he was not too sure that he wanted the answer. “Just the gossip?”

Susanna scrunched up her face for a moment, showing her disgust before she responded. “Edwin has actually been trying to court my sister for a very long time, but she has never shown any interest in him whatsoever. He does not seem to know how to accept rejection.”

“He has?”

Susanna nodded. “Yes, and he made that very obvious when Duncan, who was his closest friend, passed away. He offered to ‘help’ her, but was actually just using the time to make her fall in love with him…”

“Martin, there you are!” Before Martin could ask the hundreds of questions that were now floating through his mind, Luke cried out to them. “We were looking for you. I do not know how we got lost there. We were just thinking that it might be nice to have a picnic lunch by the lake. What do you say?”

The lake was a beautiful part of this estate, so it was no wonder Luke wanted to show it off to his fiancée. Martin would have much preferred to stay where he was with Susanna, so they could talk some more about everything he had just unexpectedly learned, but there was no way they could do that without raising suspicion.

Luckily, Susanna seemed to understand that too, as she smiled and agreed with Luke. “Yes, that sounds wonderful.”

Martin could tell that there was a tremor in her voice, he could still hear the anxiety there, but it seemed like it was hidden enough to remain out of Luke and Mary’s sight. Either that or they were far too wrapped up in one another to pick up on anything else.

Luke headed inside to ensure a picnic was packed for the little trip to the lake at the edge of the estate, while Martin took a step back to let the sisters talk. He could tell that it was Mary leading the discussion, seemingly talking about her lovely walk with Luke, which gave Susanna the chance to nod along and not say much.

Martin wondered if her head was spinning just as much as his.

What did Luke think about his cousin’s behavior? Did he evenknowabout Edwin’s intentions?

It was too much of a heavy subject for Martin to just bring up with him, but he was going to have to try and figure out just how in the know his best friend was.”

I will have to get Susanna alone again.

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