Page 76 of The Secret Life of a Lady
Killian grasped for something to say. Did Alfred’s black moodsalso include periods of murderous rage? Or had he been mistaken? Was Alfred just a grieving brother? ‘Of course.’
‘I hate to pull you away from the ball, but we had a stallion delivered to the stables. I would love to get your opinion. Allow me a chance to make a second impression upon you. Hopefully a better one, this time.’ Alfred smiled. His face appeared younger when not creased with an arrogant scowl.
If Alfred Cavendale was the killer, Killian needed hard evidence against him. If he was innocent, Killian needed to clear his name quickly so they could find the monster behind these murders.
Looking critically at Alfred, he had the soft lines of a gentleman who spent more time drinking with his cronies at White’s than engaging in nefarious crimes. But even a man like Alfred could overpower a much smaller individual. Someone like Sarah Bright. Or Hannah. Alone, in the stables, Killian could use any manner of persuasion to coerce the man to tell him the truth. And he needed the truth. Or Hannah would make good on her promise and put herself in grave danger. Really, he had no choice.
‘I don’t think the title-seeking mothers can blame us for a brief absence from their daughters.’ Killian gestured to the stairs and followed Alfred down.
They strode out the front door, and Killian slapped Alfred on the shoulder. ‘I’ve been thinking about our conversation the other day. I don’t think your reaction was all that unforgiveable.’
Alfred tipped his head to the side. The son had inherited his father’s profile. ‘Really? Thank you. It’s rare to find such understanding.’
Killian categorised the weapons on his person. He calculated how long it would take him to subdue Alfred and get a confession. ‘You lost your brother. Someone you admired. Someone who may have been favoured by your father.’
Alfred’s chin thrust forward, his lips hardening in the light of a full moon. He stopped a few feet from the barn. ‘Did Father tell you that?’
Killian swallowed, sensing that he stood on a precipice. Anger seethed in Alfred’s eyes. ‘He hinted as much.’
Alfred barked out a laugh as he pushed open the stable door. Sweet hay, musty horse, and the pungent scent of manure enveloped them. ‘Of course he did.’
For a large man, Alfred moved with deceptive speed. Killian saw the glint of Alfred’s pistol in the moonlight as the man spun around, but he marked the man’s movement too late to block the blow.
Killian’s temple exploded in pain as the world went dark.
‘Hannah, you look marvellous.’ Ivy squinted at Hannah’s hair then nodded in approval. ‘Wonderful job, ladies.’ She smiled at the maids in dismissal.
‘Oh, bother.’ Millie muttered a moment before Miss Anna Hastings and her mother swept into the room.
Hannah tried not to laugh as Millie silently gagged into her fan.
Lady Hastings pushed her daughter in the general direction of Hannah, Ivy, and Millie.
‘Ah, Miss Cavendale, I was hoping we could talk. Privately. It is my wish to develop a much closer friendship with you.’ Miss Anna’s simpering smile made Hannah want to pinch the girl just to see a real emotion.
Ivy’s shoulders grew rigid. ‘There is nothing you can’t say in front of my friends, Miss Anna.’
Miss Anna Hastings reached a pale hand to her powdered throat nervously twining her fingers in a delicate gold chain.
Hannah’s gaze caught on the uncanny replica of an unfurling lily dangling in the hollow of Anna’s throat.
Dear God. The lily necklace.
Hannah turned to Miss Anna Hastings. ‘What a lovely necklace. Is that a lily? Pray tell where you found such a charming rendering?’
Miss Anna Hastings’s eyes widened as she covered the necklace with her hand. She glanced at Ivy before looking away. ‘I shouldn’t say. It was a token of affection given to me by a certain gentleman who…’
‘Dear God. It’s Alfred, isn’t it?’ Ivy gasped.
‘He asked me not to say. It is a secret, you see. But if he knew you approved, perhaps…’ Miss Anna’s voice drifted off as Hannah’s world tumbled from its axis.
Irrevocable evidence that Ivy’s brother was a diabolical killer. All of the pieces fell together in perfect symmetry.
Alfred was the member of a secret society that inspired fear in her fearless patroness. A society that threatened his safety when the body was found.
Alfred interviewed Sarah Bright for the service job at the Cavendale house.
Alfred gave Sarah Bright’s necklace away to his sweetheart.
