Page 92 of A Slight Problem with the Wedding
“What’s her incentive to do anything once you are married to me?” Julius asked.
“The fear that I will remember what happened and be able to identify whoever was there that night. By identifying them, I would be able to link them to her. That danger will never go away so long as I am alive. Julius, I have already agreed to serve as the bait. We must not falter now that we are so close to the end.” Gory winced as a stabbing pain suddenly shot through her temples.
Julius immediately placed his arms around her. “Gory, let me take you back home. You’re not well, and we’ve accomplished more than enough tonight.”
She took a deep breath and then another. “No, I… Oh! Oh, heavens. Ouch!”
“Blast it, Gory. Never mind home, I’m taking you straight to Dr. Farthingale.”
“No, I’m not in pain.”
He cursed softly. “Really? Has ouch suddenly developed a new meaning?”
“Don’t be smart, Julius.” She winced again and then released a defeated breath. “It was there, the memory of that night. But it’s gone again. Gad, why won’t it come out?”
Julius growled. “Because it was terrifying and painful, to you. But that memory need never return. Keep it lost and buried forever. As you said, we are almost at the finish line. Havers will do the rest and get us across it.”
“And he will cross that finish line, but with my help,” she insisted.
Julius understood her desire to bring the investigation to a rapid close. Did he not feel quite miserable about the continuing danger to her? Her life would remain in peril while the perpetrators believed Gory had seen them and would eventually remember.
His heart was in a painful twist because he knew that he could not talk Gory out of going to her uncle’s funeral and purposely provoking her aunt. That she would have an army of constables and Bow Street runners on guard around her while she prodded that sleeping bear did not allay his concerns.
Was all their vigilance enough to guarantee her safety?
But he also understood why Gory was so insistent. The rumors swirling around her being the guilty party would persist unless Havers definitively solved this murder. It was not enough to put the man he had in custody on trial, and would it not be disastrous if the wretch chose to lie and accuse Gory in open court of being the one to pay him?
Gory the ghoul.
Everyone would believe she was responsible for her uncle’s murder.
Lady Easton, unless proven guilty with a certainty, would stir up more trouble by also spreading rumors and blaming Gory. The malicious woman could play the innocent victim to the hilt. Long suffering widow. Left impoverished while her cruel and spiteful niece got a hefty inheritance.
Of course, he and his brothers would defend Gory’s honor. But the consequences would be dire, especially to Ambrose. That sort of scandal could destroy the Huntsford Academy’s reputation. Everything Ambrose had sought to build in honor of their father would be brought down because he had the audacity to place Gory in charge of their forensics laboratory. It had already stirred controversy when she was first appointed to the role. To now have her implicated in the death of her uncle…no, the Huntsford Academy would never recover.
Gory was voicing similar concerns as she spoke to Havers to assure him of her desire to cooperate. “I will have damaged not only my reputation, but that of the very people I consider my closest family.”
Dread coursed through Julius. “All right, Havers. What do you need us to do?”
Havers did not look happy, no doubt also having concerns about involving Gory, but he set out his proposal. “All you have to do is arrive shortly before the funeral service is about to start and make certain Lady Easton sets her eyes on you. My men as well as the Bow Street runners will already be there watching her and her maid. We’ll see who Lady Easton whispers to and who scrambles away to do her bidding.”
Julius gnashed his teeth as he listened. “Let’s discuss the perimeter. How close am I to allow that person to approach Lady Gregoria before I stop them?”
“That is our role, not yours, m’lord. We’ll stop anyone before they get too close,” Mr. Barrow assured.
Gory turned to Julius. “See? It is all under control.”
“Assuming they are watching the right people,” he grumbled.
“But I’ll have you near me to keep me safe if something goes wrong. Are you serious about marrying me tomorrow?”
He nodded. “Absolutely.”
She reached up and kissed him on the cheek.
Havers cleared his throat. “I suggest we take Lady Gregoria back to your home now, Lord Thorne. Then you and I shall pay a call on Lord Allendale.”
Julius agreed. “Time to let that scoundrel know we are onto him.”
