Page 59 of Fatal By Design
“When Reggie and I return from our wedding trip, I insist you come stay with us. I would like you to get to know your nieces and nephews.”
Audrey blinked back tears, but not so successfully this time. “I would like nothing more.”
ChapterTwenty
The promise of autumn had been on the air the last few mornings as Audrey prepared to leave Greenbriar. A fortnight had passed since the dramatic events that saw Millie and Lord Cartwright rescued, Mr. Henley killed, and Audrey wounded by a bullet—once again. Genie and Cassie had not been the only ones to insist she stay on in Kent while her leg wound healed; Michael had all but demanded it. He pretended not to have been affected by the violent encounter with Mr. Henley, citing numerous battles on the Continent against the French, but Audrey knew her brother-in-law well, and he couldn’t completely hide that it had shaken him.
“You will stay here, under my roof, until all danger has passed,” he had commanded, the last few words squeezed by emotion tightening his throat. She’d been touched by his concern, even if Lord Thornton—or Grant, as he’d invited her to call him—had deemed her to be healing well and in no danger of complications from the wound. She would survive, he said with a wink the following morning.
The house party, however, had not.
Genie’s guests started leaving in a flurry after breakfast the next day, which Audrey had insisted on attending, even though her leg pained her. Lady Kettleridge had peppered her with inquiries about Mr. Henley’s duplicity, being abducted from Greenbriar and shot, and “all this business having to do with a diamond ring” until her husband had erupted from his silence to tell her to hush. He and Lord Westbrook appeared ragged at the breakfast table, as if they’d had too little sleep and far too much whisky the night before while Hugh and Michael had been informing them of their losses in the non-existent silver mine. Mr. Filmore, however, had tapped the crown of his soft-boiled egg at breakfast and tucked into his honey cake and tea with only a fraction of his companions’ disappointment.
“The nature of speculation, I’m afraid,” he’d said with a sad shake of his head. “Henley made a grave mistake throwing everything he had into a mine he had not seen for himself and with a man he had just met. No, no, you only risk what you can afford to lose. That is what I always advise.”
Lords Kettleridge and Westbrook had glared at Mr. Filmore from their seats, their breakfast plates untouched. Audrey suspected the two lords had not followed Mr. Filmore’s rule of thumb and had lost significantly.
Lady Veronica had not been at breakfast, and Audrey had not seen her before she and her mother hastened to their carriage and left Greenbriar before the noon hour. Later, Cassie had enthusiastically informed her that Veronica had all but snubbed Hugh when taking her leave.
“It appears she has been made to understand that Lord Neatham will not be making her an offer,” Cassie had said with an impish smirk.
Audrey found it difficult to feel sorry for the debutante. She’d been so unpleasant and competitive, when all along, she’d had no chance of winning Hugh’s affections. Audrey let go of her irritation with Lady Veronica, and instead felt silly for being envious of her in the first place.
Mrs. Stewart and her daughter had been less inquisitive of the drama and dealings with Mr. Henley and more concerned with Audrey’s and Millie’s welfare, which Audrey had appreciated. Though Cassie was still prickly around Cynthia, Audrey didn’t believe she wholly disliked the young woman. It was more likely that Cassie was attempting to stem the comparisons she was making in her own mind between herself and the woman whom William had turned to. However, after her awkward embrace with Grant Thornton, Cassie had seemed less concerned with Cynthia and more concerned with avoiding the physician.
Though Grant had stayed on another week, to remove the stitches from her thigh, Hugh had come and gone during that time. He’d been helping Sir Ridley with the inquest into Mr. Henley’s crimes and death and explaining the details of the events to an emergency convening of the House of Lords in London. He’d also spent a few days attempting to track down Mr. Teague. The account at the London bank where Mr. Henley deposited the invested funds had been cleared out, and the luxurious rooms Mr. Teague had been leasing had been abandoned. It was unlikely he was still in the country, Hugh had informed her when he’d returned to Greenbriar. Or that his name was even Teague.
Though Hugh had sat slumped and exhausted in her bedchamber chair, covered in road dust and sweat as he described his lack of findings in London, there had been no denying the glimmer of exhilaration too. He’d enjoyed stepping back into his role as an investigator, even if it had not been in an official capacity.
“You miss it,” she’d said, propped as she was in her bed, her leg on a pillow. He’d looked delectably roguish in that chair, his eyes lingering on her for a few prolonged moments. It brought a heated blush to her cheeks.
“I’ve asked Sir Gabriel to think of me when he’s confronted with cases that could be a challenge for his officers,” he’d replied. “I hope you aren’t opposed to that.”
“Why should I be?”
“Because what you think, and what you want, matters to me.”
The confession rendered her speechless. When he’d come to perch on the edge of her bed and take her hand in his, she’d known a happiness so overwhelming it nearly frightened her. Was this what love was? A passion so fierce that it could quickly become her only source of oxygen? In the days Hugh had been gone, he had been on her mind constantly. She’d missed him with a new intensity, too. But she knew she could not lose herself to these powerful feelings.
“I hope you aren’t opposed to asking for my assistance,” she said. “I want to be your partner, Hugh. In everything.”
He’d lifted her hand to his lips, his rich brown eyes penetrating. “You already are. And you always will be.”
They’d been interrupted then as Greer had entered the room to draw Audrey a bath. Hugh had stood up, joking that he required one himself. With a flutter of anticipation and wonder, Audrey pictured a not-too-distant future where such an undertaking could be done together, rather than apart.
Now, after a few quiet days at Greenbriar while Audrey continued to strengthen her leg and heal, she and Genie were once again arm-in-arm as they approached the courtyard and a trio of waiting carriages. It was time to depart Kent, and Audrey could only hope they were not waylaid by anything untoward this time.
“Are you sure about this?” Genie asked. “What if your leg bothers you when you’re abroad?”
Audrey patted her hand. She was a true mother hen, and it suited her well. Especially now that she had quietly announced to her and Cassie a few days ago at tea that come winter, George was to expect a sibling. Audrey was thrilled at the announcement, and Cassie had been as well. Though, when Genie had turned to ask the maid to bring cakes and lemonade for celebration, Audrey had caught a wistful twinge at the corner of Cassie’s smile. Not that she would have ever let Genie see it.
“Cassie, Carrigan, and Greer will take good care of me.”
Audrey had put forward the idea to Cassie the week before that they should take the next few months to travel the Continent, and as expected, her sister-in-law leaped at the invitation. The trip wasn’t entirely to avoid London society, though it did play a large role. She simply couldn’t fathom staying at Violet House the next nine months while she waited out the rest of her mourning period. The solitude and boredom would drive her to the brink of madness. And Cassie, with no desire at all to attend any social events or find a husband during the upcoming Little Season, saw it as the perfect excuse to escape.
“You must write often,” Genie said, and then softer, “and keep an eye on her. I think she is very unhappy, though she tries to conceal it.”
Next to her own waiting carriage, Cassie stood patiently listening to Michael as he no doubt tried to talk her out of leaving for the Continent and instead staying to find a husband. Behind him, out of his view, Tobias rolled his eyes, at which Cassie’s lips thinned in an attempt not to laugh.
