Page 18 of The Moonstone Pirate
She shook her head. “It was splendid.”
“Yes, it was,” he said with a seductive rasp to his voice. “But we are far from done.”
This man certainly knew how to confuse her. “There is more?”
“Yes. Gad, you are delicious. Are you real, Imogen?” He groaned. “I like you, but that is not a good thing. I cannot afford to like you just now. For your sake, I had better see as little of you as possible.”
She felt as though someone had suddenly poured ice water over her head. “Oh, is this how it works? A kiss for a foolish girl to dream on, and then I am dismissed. Thank you for enlightening me to the ways of a rakehell. I should have known you were no better than Driscoll and his lot.”
“Never compare me to those bounders,” he said, sounding hurt and insulted.
What gall! How dare he pretend to be the one bruised.
“I am notdismissingyou,” he insisted. “There is a difference between dismissing you and wanting to keep you safe. My concern is the latter. Driscoll is dead. There is a murderer on the loose. And if this murderer meant to come after me, as you yourself suggested, then I do not wantyouanywhere near me when he does.”
Well, that made sense. Still, it hurt. “What about the danger to you?”
“I have not ruled it out,” he said, raking fingers through his hair. “But I know how to defend myself.”
Yes, she had no doubt of it.
He had the muscles and quick reflexes to prove it… Dear heaven, those divine muscles of his were hard to overlook. His body was chiseled out of glorious rock.
After a moment, he sighed and took a step back. “Imogen, you heard me threaten Driscoll earlier, yet you have not mentioned it to anyone. You seem convinced of my innocence. Why is that? I could have stabbed him after Parrot ran out and I went after him.”
“No, it was never a consideration. Parrot was responding to the murder already taking place. Driscoll’s friends were already running off by the time you got out there. Perhaps they killed him, or saw who did it, or found him dead and ran off scared.” She studied him closely. “It is obvious you came upon him after the fact.”
He let out a breath and smiled at her. “I’m glad you trust me, Butterfly.”
“I trust you about the murder, but that is as far as it goes. I’ve learned my lesson about trusting arrogant, rakish earls.” Quite a hurtful lesson, but she hoped her expression hid just how badly he had hurt her.
“Your family is coming out of the house,” he muttered, and called to Parrot, who came bounding out of the bushes with his tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth as he happily scampered to Draco’s side.
Imogen started to turn away, but Draco caught her gently by the wrist. “Imogen, I am not discarding you. I just don’t know what I am to do with you. It is not at all the same thing.”
She drew her hand out of his grasp. “Actually, it is completely the same thing. Why deny it?”
Chapter Four
Draco rode toFort Arundel early the next morning in the hope of questioning Driscoll’s friends. Viscount Brennan, who was the army major in command of Fort Arundel and the fairly new army hospital built beside the ancient fort, was to assist him. However, Draco would take the lead in their questioning. Driscoll’s friends must have seensomething, even if they had not witnessed the actual murder itself. Perhaps now that he and Brennan were no longer in their ridiculous costumes of last night, they might be taken more seriously.
“Let’s start with Lord Hawes,” Draco suggested, for he sensed Hawes was someone who might break easily under questioning. “The dissolute lord is used to his lavish comforts. More important, he is a sot and will need a drink to calm his nerves. Of course, that drink will be denied him until he tells us all he knows about last night.”
The viscount nodded. “You are fairly well acquainted with these lords, Woodley. Approach them however you think best.”
It did not take long for the soldiers on duty to bring Lord Hawes to Brennan’s office. Draco made certain to keep a bottle of aged scotch in plain sight of the man whose hands were already trembling for want of a drink. Draco felt sorry for him, but was not about to show him any mercy yet. “Make this easy on yourself, Hawes.”
The man scowled. “You have no right to hold me here.”
“Your friend died last night. You are all suspects in his murder.” Draco motioned for him to take a seat around the small table in the fort commander’s office. He and Brennan sat as well. “Tell us what you saw. Just tell us the truth so we can rule you out. Besides, does his family not have a right to know what happened?”
“They won’t care. He was a miserable person. We all knew it.” But Hawes shook his head and moaned. “I didn’t see anything. None of us did. I need a drink.”
Draco nodded. “You shall have one after you answer our questions. You were with Driscoll throughout last night’s affair. You must have noticed something. Did anyone approach him?”
“Other than your staff? No.” Hawes set his hands on the table to show how badly they were already trembling. “I need that drink.”
“And I need answers. Why did Driscoll go down to the pirate caves?”
