Page 16 of The Scarred Duchess Deal
Even then, it took a moment to part from one another for a reason he could not – would not – name. They shuffled apart and Leo moved into the room behind her; being at the far end of the house, it was mostly unharmed. The fire must have crept through the doorway and stopped when the carpet gave way to the hardwood flooring of the office. The books – miraculously – were as unharmed as the ledgers were still in place and a quill rested next to an open bottle of evaporated ink. Were it not for the scorch marks, it would have appeared as if Mortimer had only just vacated the space moments before. A strange frozen moment in time.
“It feels as if he is going to turn around in that chair to greet me with some silly anecdote,” Tessa said fondly. Leo could not help but grin and nod in agreement.
“It does, with that same enthusiastic energy that always seemed to be endlessly abundant.” He laughed as he spoke. “You truly have not heard from him?”
“I wish more than anything that I had – even a letter stating that he was alive and well would have been enough for me. It is not like him to simply disappear without a word. I cannot help but assume that the very worst has happened every time that I think of him, what with all of his debts and those who wished him harm.” She shook her head as if to push the thoughts away.
“Take comfort in knowing that he was also in possession of a tireless silver tongue. I have witnessed him talk his way out of scrapes many times. We must hope that talent has not left him,” Leo offered.
“He came home bloodied and bruised after one too many nights betting on boxing matches for me to take much comfort in that.” Tessa sighed and turned her focus instead to the desk in front of her. She started to gingerly push the letters and papers apart, looking for anything that could be useful to them. It seemed much the same as one would expect to find in any study: lots of correspondence and letters, but nothing useful. At least not at first.
“You sound as if you were even closer to him than I was,” Leo said, grinning.
“I should hope so – I am his sister after all,” Tessa responded with a grin of her own. Leo noted that while he was speaking of her brother in the past tense, she always used the present. He had not even meant to make the distinction.
“I am not even sure what it is that we should be looking for,” Leo admitted after a long bout of searching.
“I am hoping that we shall know it when we find it.” Tessa pulled open drawer after drawer to no avail before finally one of them came loose from the desk entirely. The heavy thing crashed to the floor and the overly dry wood cracked and splintered, revealing a treasure trove of hidden letters that had been concealed by a false bottom. She sank to the ground and she started to pore over their contents hungrily. As she finished each one, she passed it to the eager man standing over her.
“These are threats!” Leo exclaimed with shock. “I knew that he owed money to a great many dangerous people but I never imagined that the sums would be quite this high! He never went to the constables with these threats?”
Tessa could hardly breathe. Of course, her brother could not have told anyone about how much he owed because there was no way that he would have been able to repay them.
“The constables blamed my brother for the fire – as you know… but these letters prove that his life – all of our lives – had been threatened. Surely these threats will be enough proof to place some seeds of doubt into the minds of the authorities?”
Leo’s expression softened as he neatly stacked the letters together. “I hope that they will, but I would not get your hopes up too high.”
“What? Why?” She felt as if she were on the verge of tears.
“I fear that if the constables have their hearts and minds set on Mortimer as the culprit then these letters alone will not be sufficient evidence against that,” Leo offered gently.
The truth of it frustrated him. Leo knew that he was going to have to get his hands on the constables' reports one way or another, and it was not likely to be an easy task to accomplish. It would be the only way to know why they were so determined to think Mortimer was the only culprit.
Leo scrubbed his hands down his face to compose himself. “I think that I should like a bit of fresh air. Come, let us take a walk. The letters will still be there when we return.”
“I should like to look just a moment longer. I am certain that there is something here that we are missing. I will meet up with you in a moment. Go on ahead.” Tessa did not wish to pull her eyes away from the papers in front of her. She felt as if she stopped now, it would be the same as quitting. She could not do that until she had searched every inch of this place in the hope of learning more about her brother’s final days.
“Even if that is true and you can continue searching, I cannot. Please, accompany me for a walk?” Leo held his hand out in her direction.
Tessa hesitated a moment. The look on Leo’s face was pained enough that she knew he truly needed a moment to step away and process what he had just found. In truth, it was likely the wiser of the two options.
“All right.” Tessa sighed as she slipped her gloved hand in his and felt braver. She allowed him to pull her to her feet, leaving the letters behind her.
ChapterTen
“Iknew that being back in that house was going to be hard, but I never imagined that it could be that difficult.” Tessa slipped her arm through Leo’s as they walked. No doubt they made quite a picture in their current condition. Ash clung to their clothes and hair, and she was fairly certain that the ash only exaggerated the look of her scars. Yet Leo made no comment on it. Every time he glanced in her direction, little butterflies set flight in her belly.
The moment that she stepped outside of the house she felt better. With each step that put further distance between herself and the source of her nightmares, the lighter she felt.
The last time that she had walked this street had been with Mortimer. Heading toward the nearest park felt strange to do with another partner.
It was improper to walk with him like this, she knew that. She knew that it was indecent of her to be linked with him arm in arm and no chaperone in sight. Poor Thalia was likely still waiting for her to return. Tessa made a mental note not to dwell on their walk too long lest her only friend start to worry about her too much. It was hard to remain focused while being so near Leo. She was not bold enough to ask what sort of cologne he wore, but it certainly was an intoxicating scent.
The sunlight made the ordeal of the house easier on her. It certainly made it simpler neither to dwell on the contents of the letters nor to focus on just how many people seemed to wish her brother harm. Leo was right to suggest the walk.
“I must confess, I did not expect to be affected by the event either but it is hard not to… and I am not the one who endured the whole ordeal,” Leo said kindly. “You are a remarkable woman. I do not think that many of those in thetonwould have been able to come out on the other side of things with even half of the grace or composure that you show every day.”
Tessa smiled and focused on the ground in front of them as they walked. “This coming from the man who met me while I was crying in a garden?”
