Page 74 of A Duke's Unwanted Bride
Mrs. Patmore hung her head. “I am sorry that I did not give it to you sooner. I thought I was doing the right thing, but now, I’m not so sure.”
“You can only work with the information you have. And for my part, I do not hold it against you.” Adele’s voice was soft and kind. “And I am sorry for suspecting that you were behind this latest scandal.”
“I understand why you thought so, Your Grace. After the way we treated you, it’s only natural.” Mrs. Patmore gave her a small, sad smile.
Warner was barely aware of the two women leaving the room. He picked up the journal running his hands along it. His chest felt like an invisible hand was clasped around it, slowly squeezing tighter and tighter.
He always thought well of you.Warner’s hand shook. He walked up the stairs; he needed to be away from the smell of roses. He opened the door to his study and put the book on the table. He felt like he might be sick as he poured himself a scotch.
Warner stared at the journal on the table in front of him and sipped on his glass of scotch. He ran a finger across the cover, tracing the embossed crest of the Marquess of Kidlington.
Rothwell.He rubbed a hand over his chest. “What secrets do you hold?”
He took another drink of scotch, revelling in the burn of the liquid down his throat. It mingled with the ale, and he suspected he would regret the decision in the morning.
“How did I miss this?” Warner picked up the journal.
Adele’s face floated to the forefront of his mind. Her wild laughter as they had run down the street. The way she seemed to pull him off the path he had trodden for so long.
They had nearly kissed. He had wanted to kiss her. He would have kissed her, but the servant had interrupted. A cocktail of anger, relief and shame rolled over him. He could feel the warmth of her against his body, hear her rapid breathing.He trusted you.
“She is a distraction. She is too easy to lose myself in,” Warner mumbled.
Warner’s hand shook as he stared at the journal. “You saved me, and here I am… dancing and drinking and laughing with your widow.”
He knew that they had not been in love, that his cousin’s heart had belonged to another, but there was no denying that Eric’s death was the only way he could have had these stolen moments with Adele.
He could picture Rothwell’s face in his mind. There would be no anger, that was not his cousin. It would just be a saddisappointment. The look that said, “I thought you were better than this.”
Warner had thought it too. He had believed that he had grown, that he had become the kind of man worthy of his title. Yet something as simple as a pair of pretty brown eyes had completely undone him.
“Warner?” Adele’s voice caught his attention, and he turned to find her standing at the door with a tray of biscuits and tea.
He made a gesture for her to come in. She did, closing the door behind her as she sat the tray on the desk.
“Are you all right?” she asked sitting across from him.
“Yes.”No.He cleared his throat and gestured to the small book on the table. “I should not have missed this.”
“Mrs. Patmore hid it; there is no way you could have known. You are not some omniscient being.” Adele reached towards him, but Warner moved out of her reach.
He would not let her comfort him. “I have let myself be distracted. And look what has happened. I have missed vital things, things I would not have missed otherwise.”
He strode away from her, hardening his heart. He thought of all the pain he might have avoided if he had been more like himself. If he had stuck to his rules.They are there for a reason.
“Warner, there is no way —” Adele began, but he cut her off with an anguished roar.
“He was like a brother to me, Adele. He is the reason I am the man that I am.”
The man that I thought I was.Warner’s face twisted, and he downed the rest of his whiskey. “Someone murdered him, and you have distracted me too much for me to see the missing pieces.”
“What pieces do you think you have missed? We do not even know what is in the journal. It might be nothing.”
“You do not believe that.” Warner shook his head.
“I do not know what to believe.” Adele chewed on her lip, wrapping her arms around herself. “But the only way that we will know for sure is to read it.”
“No.” Warner’s voice was harsher than he had meant it to be, and he saw Adele recoil as if he had struck her. With an effort, he forced his voice to soften. “I would like to read it alone.”
