Page 23 of Silence of Deceit
Hugh frowned. He didn’t think she was being evasive. No, she hadn’t heard his question as she’d stared out the window. Something was on her mind, and it was distracting her.
“Two reasons. First, the maid mentioned Mary was planning to call on your home. I wanted to know why. Now I do. Second…” Hugh reached into his waistcoat pocket and extracted a small gold band centered with a marquise cut ruby. “She was wearing this.”
Her attention fastened onto the ring. “You want me to read it.”
“I’d rather not involve you, but I fear you might already be involved. Besides, your talent has proved useful in the past.”
With her stiffening posture and his own words leaving a greasy slick in their wake, he clamped his hand around the ring. “Forgive me. I shouldn’t have asked. You’ll see the poor girl’s murder, and you’ve already seen too much of that kind of violence.”
What in hell had been thinking?
That he’d wanted her close. That he’d started to appreciate her help. That’s what.
Audrey shook off the stringent set of her shoulders and chin and stepped forward, removing her glove, and extending her hand. “I don’t want to see it, but if it will give us anything to go on, I’ll do it. Not for you, mind you,” she added hastily, as though she’d known that his reasons for calling her here had been purely selfish. “For Mary.”
“If you are sure?”
She made an impatient huff and crooked her fingers. Hugh set the ring in her bare palm.
To say that her ability impressed him was too mild a way to put it. At first, he’d been utterly skeptical—no one could possibly have the capacity to see an object’s memories, the events of the past playing out before their eyes. Not only that, but for an object to store memories was utterly implausible. Fantastical. And yet, Audrey could do the unthinkable. It led him to wonder how many more people could do the same, or if they could possess other mind-boggling talents.
The duchess closed her hand around the ring, her thick golden lashes lowering. Behind her lids, her eyes moved erratically. Her chin jerked back, tucking in as though flinching. The muscles forming the apples of her cheeks twitched. He longed to see what she was seeing. How much more efficient his job would be if he could. Then again, the objects she touched did not always give up information easily, or the information she wanted.
Several more moments passed, and then Audrey’s lashes parted, the furrow between her eyes growing deeper. She stared at the ring. “I…”
He waited, but she didn’t continue. “What is it? What did you see?”
As though it were a spider, she passed the ring back to Hugh with a shudder.
“The killer was waiting for her the moment she stepped outside.” Audrey’s stunned daze cleared, and she met his eyes. “It was a woman.”
His pulse skipped. “Did you recognize her?”
Audrey shook her head and pressed a hand to her forehead. “I couldn’t see her face, it happened too quickly. She was waiting for Mary right when she stepped outside and then…and then Mary was falling. The killer wore a bonnet, the brim deep, and there wasn’t much light.”
She closed her eyes, and he suddenly despised himself. She’d just witnesses a murder. Worse, she’d seen it from the victim’s perspective. A victim she had known.
He set the ring on the bedside table. “Are you well?”
She peered at him, frowning. “How do you mean?”
“What you just saw—”
“I am fine,” she said quickly cutting him off. She clearly didn’t like being coddled. “We need to speak to Lady Rumsford again. What if she is in danger? Or her husband?”
“So I take it that she confessed to being blackmailed.” Audrey had never quite answered his question. “And once again, Delia was threatening to expose the secrets of a loved one.”
Audrey peered at him. “Do you know Lord Rumsford’s secret?”
“He prefers men, romantically.”
Understanding slackened her jaw, and she nodded. With a guarded glance over her shoulder at Mary, Audrey asked, “Will there be an inquest?”
“Yes. I’ll inform the magistrate and investigate. But this isn’t an isolated event. You’re right, a visit to Lady Rumsford is necessary. However, I will go alone.”
Her eyes flared. “You asked me here. You trusted me with this.”
“Unofficially,” he reminded her, though he immediately regretted it.
