Page 49 of A Body, A Baron, and Miss Mifford
“And if I did ask you?” Robert interjected, his brown eyes wide and vulnerable, “What would your answer be? I should like you as my wife, Eudora. In fact, I cannot imagine anything that I would like more.”
There it was; the perfect proposal, delivered with sincerity and an undercurrent of passion. Perfect though it was, it was too late.
“I think I should answer that question later, my lord,” Eudora decided, quashing down the urge to throw herself into his arms, “When I am in a more agreeable mood. Now, tell me, did anything else come of your meeting with Mrs Canards?”
If Lord Delaney was surprised by her abrupt volte-face, he did not show it. Instead, he gave a deep sigh and squared his shoulders, the act of a man about to deliver heavy news.
“Mrs Canards and her charming friend Mrs Wickling confirmed the affair between Lord Albermay and Mable,” he said, his tone grave. “They found them together in the library on the morning that the murder was discovered, which—I’m afraid to say—almost certainly removes the viscount from our list of suspects.”
“What shall we do?” Eudora whispered, her heart heavy as she knew what his words implied.
“I shall have to confront Lord Albermay,” Robert replied, his brow drawn into a frown, “And after that, if I deem it necessary, I will inform Lord Crabb about the bloodstains on Lady Albermay’s dress.”
“We could simply not tell him,” Eudora interrupted, grasping wildly for a way to save her friend, “What harm is there in not telling him?”
“Lord Crabb is the local magistrate, Eudora,” Robert replied in an attempt to reassure, “It is within his power to prevent Lady Albermay from being prosecuted if he deems it just. But the truth must out.”
“The mystery must be solved,” Eudora agreed, her tone somewhat bitter.
“I will let you know, how I fare,” Robert finished, the use of the word “I” heavy to Eudora’s ears. It was no longer their mystery but his.
Eudora’s earlier wish to solve a murder so that she could be like her sisters had dissipated entirely, and she was almost gladthat Lord Delaney had taken over the reins, to ride toward the most Pyhrric of victories.
“Thank you, my lord,” Eudora answered.
Then, because she was upset for Lady Albermay, and because she was upset at the distance that had placed itself between Robert and herself, and because she really should not be alone with an unmarried man in his bed-chambers, Eudora left.
Let Lord Delaney finish this, she thought as she made her way to her room with tears stinging at her eyes, she was finished with mysteries.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
AS THE DOORclicked shut behind Eudora, Robert desperately resisted the urge to run after her, take her in his arms, and demand she say yes to his proposal.
He had acted foolishly—even if inspired by gallantry—in declaring their engagement to Mrs Canards before confirming it with her first. Eudora had warned him not to rise to the old tabby’s insults about her family, and he had quite spectacularly failed to heed her warning.
While his pride was a little dented by her refusal to immediately answer his second proposal, hope still fluttered in his chest. She had not given him a definitive no, and until she did, Robert would continue in his pursuit of her hand.
Before that, however, he had another matter to attend to.
“Delaney,” Lord Albermay slurred as he opened the door to his bed-chambers in answer to Rob’s furious knocking, “What the devil are you about, waking a man up from a nap?”
“I need to ask you about this morning’s disappearance of the maid,” Rob answered as he pushed past the viscount into the room.
The room was in darkness, the heavy curtains at the windows drawn to block out the weak winter light. The bed was a soggy mess of twisted sheets and a definite note of sweat mixed with the overwhelming smell of alcohol. Rob wrinkled his nose in disgust; he could not imagine living in such squalor while a guest in another’s home.
“The maid?” Albermay stuttered, attempting innocence, “Awful business, but I don’t know what it has to do with me. The poor girl probably fell afoul of Lady Albermay’s violent temper - just like my father.”
As a child, Robert had been a prolific battledore and shuttlecock player, and he recognised a well-deflected shot when he saw one. Unfortunately for Lord Albermay, Robert was more than prepared for their match.
“You are lying, my lord,” Robert said, his voice mild as he delivered his first blow, “You were spotted coupling with the maid in the library on your first night here.”
The viscount paled, and his hands began to tremor violently. Robert almost felt sorry for the chap as he shuffled over to the nightstand, where he made piteous work of opening a hip flask.
Lord Albermay downed the liquid within, and after a few moments, the tremor in his hand settled.
“I also overheard you and Mable arguing,” Rob continued, quickly delivering a second blow, “The day you found me outside your room. You were trying to bribe her, were you not?”
“I wasn’t trying to bribe her,” Albermay snapped, his face turning red with annoyance, “I was offering her a financial incentive to tell the truth of my whereabouts on the night of my father’s murder. Don’t think me stupid enough to have not realised that my stepmother was trying to pin the blame for the murder on me. Nor did I fail to notice that every one of you would prefer me to be the culprit.”
