Page 69 of Marigold and the Marquess
Marigold groaned. “Do not get your hopes up. Leo will not allow us anywhere near the spot of the crime. In fact, he willneverforgive me if we do not go straight to Chipping Way and dutifully await his return.”
“Men,” Syd said with an irritated grunt. “Lord Denby’s home is along the way to your home. We have to pass his street…well, fairly close by. And does not his manner of death raise questions? If someone is stabbed through the heart, he would be facing his assailant. Did anyone hear him cry out? What if he did not expect to draw his last breath because he knew his assailant and trusted him? Or her. It could have been a woman, although I cannot imagine a woman overpowering a man so easily.”
“Well, she could have lured him in close with the offer of sex,” Gory mused. “Men always have their guard down when thinking with their privates instead of with their brain. Were there defensive wounds? Signs of a struggle? Did he fight back and scratch his assailant? Or perhaps manage to wound him? And how did the perpetrator get inside unobserved? Wouldn’t Lord Denby’s butler have had to let this guest in?”
“Not necessarily,” Marigold said. “It seems he might have crept in through an unlocked door or upper floor window. Even if the house had been locked up, I cannot imagine it being too difficult to break a window or find some other means into the house.”
Octavian and Julius returned to their side, noted the looks on their faces, and frowned at the three of them.
“Out of the question,” Octavian said. “The answer is no. Do not even bother to ask us to take you anywhere but straight to Marigold’s home. We shall sit up with her until Leo returns.”
“If the assailant was injured,” Gory said, ignoring Octavian’s remark, “there could be a trail of blood along the street.” She glanced toward Leo as he made his way through the crush of guests toward the front door. “Leo, Edgeware, and Mr. Barrow will be busy investigatinginsidethe house. It is threatening rain. Any blood droplets will be washed away if we do not get there in time to look around. How can we allow such a vital clue to be lost?”
Marigold and Syd heartily agreed.
Julius groaned. “Dare I say it? They do have a point.”
Octavian scowled. “Julius, we promised. Do not dare weaken. And what makes you think they will overlook this possible evidence? Edgeware and Barrow are experienced investigators, probably among the finest in England. If Gory thought of a potential blood trail, I’m sure they will, too.”
“And what if they do not?” Marigold felt completely downcast.
Why had Leo shunted her aside?
During their weeks of marriage, she had opened up to him about her hopes and dreams. They’d had several conversations about all she had accomplished and what she hoped to achieve in the future. He had seemed to be supportive, but was it all a lie?
Did he regard her as a mere trinket to adorn his bed?
Perhaps she had been so clouded by love that she did not notice how easily he had been manipulating her.Oh, yes. There’s a good girl, Marigold. Come to bed and let me hold you in my arms.
It worked every time because she was a besotted fool. All he ever needed to do was give her a gentle pat on the head and a little rub behind her ears.
He treated her much as he treated Mallow.
He even called hermy pet.
And how many times had he warned her their marriage would be annulled if he thought it was necessary to protect her? Who made him the final arbiter? Did she not have a say in a decision of this importance?
She thought their marriage had been perfect bliss, but he merely thought of her as a commodity to be disposed of when the time was right.
He had never once said he loved her.
He had never once assured her their marriage would last forever.
She shook out of these thoughts because they would make her cry and she dared not show any weakness. “Investigators do not cry,” Leo would insist and point to her behavior as confirmation he was right to keep her out of his business and perhaps even out of his life.
It was not long after Leo’s departure that the five of them bid their hostess a good evening and made their way back to Chipping Way in the Thorne carriage. It was a magnificent coach, as big and impressive as Leo’s. In truth, it was more impressive since the exquisite leather seating was in pristine condition, not at all scratched or scuffed.
Marigold was feeling particularly desolate as they passed by Lord Denby’s street.
Suddenly, Syd opened the window and hurled her reticule out of it. “Oh, dear. I’ve dropped my reticule.”
Octavian emitted a string of curses, not caring that the three of them were innocent females and therefore ought to have had delicate sensibilities. He barked orders for their driver to stop the carriage immediately. “You ladies stay here,” he commanded, his eyes the silvery glint of steel. “I will retrieve it. Julius, do not let them climb out for any reason. I do not care if they set fire to this damn conveyance. Let them burn alive inside.”
Syd feigned indignation.
Octavian growled low in his throat. “Move a muscle and I will haul you over my lap and spank your backside raw, Syd. Do not dare think I won’t.”
She was not intimidated so much as frustrated that he was thwarting her plans. “Julius, are you going to let your brother speak to me this way?”
