Page 24 of The Marriage Deal
"I mean, the diary and the letter prove very little. Nowhere in the diary, at least the pages I've read, does he say, you know, I killed those boys. As for the coded letters…"
"It's not the only diary." His gaze went to the Scott-Elliot collection. It was a massive trove of books, letters, and papers that filled the corner of the auction room. There was interesting stuff that a historian like me would love to read, but concerning the reason Levi was here, the mystery of the Princes in the Tower, and his theory, this all could be nothing. It was a far-fetched theory at best, and the previous owner of the collection either didn't think there was anything to it or he did an investigation of his own and found nothing in it. But if we could decode the letters, who knows what could be in them?
"It looks like Johnson's writing. That's all I can say. Also, Johnson wasn't a key figure. So, it's unlikely someone wouldfake his writing to make a collection this large. It's not like it's the Hitler diaries," I said, referring to the hoax of Hitler diaries being found out to be written by a forger who wanted to scam the German Nazi memorabilia scene.
Levi straightened his back. "If you say so, then fine. I am buying it."
"It's your money." And he clearly had a lot of it.
Levi turned to the curator. "How much do you think the collection will end up selling for?"
The woman shrugged. "If this were a normal collection, I would have told you, but as it turns out, several museums and private collectors, such as yourself, have an interest in buying it."
Levi frowned. "I thought I was the only private collector bidding."
"Haven't you heard? There's another group that wants to purchase it as well."
10
Elvira
"DO YOU KNOW WHAT they look like?" Levi asked Elizabeth. Beth, as she preferred to be called. The tall woman scanned the room full of museum curators, historians, and a few journalists who had heard about the price tag of the collection. Levi, Beth, and I were standing in a corner waiting for the auction to start, wine glasses in hand.
The tall, muscular blonde woman shook her head. "I don't see the usual suspects." She cursed, which sounded jarring and oddly endearing in her accent. "I can't believe those fuckers want it. You know they will rip the evidence and make it seem like their favorite murder king did nothing wrong."
"We don't know if there's any evidence yet," I chimed in, earning a glare from Beth. "The entire collection might turn out to be nothing but the musings of a fifteenth-century gentleman."
The color in Beth's already pale face drained. "Don't say that. Your boyfriend's reputation is on the line!"
I was about to correct her when I heard a familiar trill. I whipped my head toward the laugh to see the last two people I expected to see enter the room. "Fuck," I muttered.
Levi glanced at what caught my attention. A scowl marring his face, he said, "What are they doing here?"
Beth peered at Billie and Wyatt strolling arm in arm, perusing the collection. Wyatt did not deserve to look as handsome as he did in the lounge suit he had on, nor did Billie have to shinein her red sheath dress. They were smiling. They looked happy. A cold block formed around my heart. Continuous white noise filled my head as Beth spoke. "Who are they?"
At that moment, Wyatt saw us and made a beeline for us with Billie in tow. Why were they coming here? Why were they here at all?
Wyatt flashed a white smile that did not reach his eyes. "Well, well."
"Wyatt." Levi's hand encircled my waist. A move that went unnoticed by both Billie and Wyatt.
"Are you here for the collection?" Wyatt's obvious question was meant to be an icebreaker, but it felt like a tease.
"I assume you're here for the same thing?" Levi said.
"Yeah. As part of the Richard of Gloucester Historical Society, I feel it is my duty to help the Society gain such an important piece of history."
I scoffed. "Since when? You've never been into medieval history?"
Wyatt's specialty was the Roman Empire. He thought medieval history was boring and well-trodden ground. As though fucking Rome, of all things, wasn't over-studied.
Wyatt smirked. "Call it a hobby of mine."
My eyes narrowed. He was here to cause chaos. That could be the only explanation. He might not be a threat if Wyatt were just any other historian. But, like Levi, he too came from a rich family. He had enough money to buy the collection three times over. And I doubt he had to marry Billie to access his trust fund.
The two chatted with us for a few more minutes. Nothing serious. Only pleasantries barely concealed by hatred, especially on my end. The comforting thing was that Levi took his assumed role as significant other and held me to him like I was his lover. Wyatt's gaze kept darting to where Levi's hand touched the curveof my waist. I doubt it was jealousy he was feeling. Wyatt just didn't like that someone else had what he took for granted.
When they were gone, Beth said, "That was one of the most tense, pleasant exchanges I've ever been a part of. Colleagues of yours, I assume?"
