Page 79 of A Duke's Unwanted Bride
“So, her guilt finally got the better of her.” Toby’s voice pulled Warner out of the memory.
“Guilt?” The hairs on the back of Warner’s neck stood on end.
Toby gestured around them, his voice colder than Warner had ever heard it. “Why else would she have left? By all accounts, you have given her a rather luxurious life — you are every bit the doting husband. What woman would choose to leave that unless she could not bear the weight of your kindness? And why would a normal woman struggle beneath that weight? Because she has a conscience — it is only a pity that it did not stop her sooner.”
“I do not care for your tone, cousin. What exactly is it you think weighs on her? Speak plainly, I have no patience for anything else.” Warner’s hands curled into fists.
Toby turned to face him, his mouth thinning into a line. “She is a murderous little harlot who killed my brother.”
Warner had crossed the space between them in an instant. He grabbed his cousin by his shirt, pulling him towards him. Tobias put up no fight, simply arched an eyebrow at him.
“Choose your next words carefully, Cousin.” Warner’s voice was little more than an angry hiss.
Blood rushed in his ears. He felt a muscle work in his jaw. His hands clenched tighter in his cousin’s shirt. Toby’s eyes danced in the moonlight with a sharp, bitter pain that Warner had never seen in him before.
“Still under her spell, Scarfield?” Tobias did not try to break Warner’s hold on him but simply looked at him with angry eyes.
“She is not the murderer.” Warner growled.
“That is not what the papers say. Her own servant reported her for goodness’ sake.” Toby’s face was reddening, and Warner realised that he had lifted his cousin off the ground slightly.
He made no effort to put him down. “A servant that no one has been able to find since the damn story broke.”
“Rather convenient for her. Perhaps she had them killed.” Toby twisted violently, breaking out of Warner’s grasp.
He was panting and massaged his chest. Warner clenched his hands into tight fists but did not try and grab his cousin again. His rage simmered beneath the surface, colouring the world around him.
“Or the servant was never real,” Warner pointed out.
His eyes drifted to the journal on his desk. His mind replayed the conversation with Mrs. Patmore. The smell of roses filled the air, and he shook his head. A wave of nausea hit him, mingling with the anger.
Toby was leaning against a chair, adjusting his rumpled shirt. “Why are you so determined to believe her innocent, cousin? It is not like you to be so forgiving.”
Warner met his cousin’s gaze. “Because I know her. She does not have the heart of a killer.”
“You would be surprised what darkness lies in people’s hearts.” The anger faded from Toby’s eyes, replaced by something darker and more haunting. His voice was like brittle iron, and it broke through some of Warner’s own anger.
He placed a hand on his cousin’s arm. “What happened to you Toby? You are not the man I used to know. Where has that easy laugh gone? You were always the first to see the positive of any situation.”
Toby snapped. “War happened. My brother’s murder happened. Such things force one to see the truth of the world.”
Warner noticed the slump of his cousin’s shoulders, the tightness of the younger man’s jaw. His face had lost all the boyish softness. The easy, charming rake had vanished. It tugged at Warner’s heart.
How could I have been so blind?The guilt chipped away at his anger. He should have noticed his cousin’s state; he should have been there for him. He swallowed.I have let myself ignore my duty for too long.
Warner kept his voice gentle with an effort. “And yet, it seems to have blinded you to it as well. Adele has put herself in danger to find the real killer. She is the one who opened up avenues I had not even thought of.”
Warner gestured to the page he had taken from the pharmacist with his half-finished breaking of the man’s cipher. “She is the one who helped me get that. Why would she do this if she was the killer?”
“Perhaps it is a false lead to throw you off the scent.” Toby shrugged and then peered at the paper. “She has decoded that wrong by the way. That should be an ‘D’ not an ‘E’.”
“And how do you know that?” Warner frowned at him.
“Code breaking is something of a hobby for me. This one is simple enough.” Toby peered at it, his mouth forming a thin line on his face. “Clearly, she was trying to mislead you.”
“She is not the one who has tried to decode it; that was my work,” Warner explained trying to keep the defensiveness from his voice.
“Then she clearly distracted you.” Toby insisted.
