Page 31 of The Hero

“Are you accusing me of paying Eddie’s debts, and in return, he agreed to murder my cousin on my behalf?”

“No. Yes.” Gideon grimace his uncertainty. “I am at a loss to know what to think,” he finally acknowledged heavily.

Granger strolled over to where a decanter of brandy and glasses sat upon the table near the unlit fireplace. He poured a generous amount into two glasses before handing one to Gideon. “Perhaps if you were not so enamored of Harry Church, you might be able to see the situation in a clearer light.”

Gideon stiffened. “I am not—”

“Careful you do not perjure yourself in a way that might come back to haunt you, Oxford,” the other man drawled knowingly as he made himself comfortable in one of the fireside chairs, the bulbous brandy glass cradled in both his hands. “Not that I blame you in that regard. Harry is one of the most genuine and beautiful young women it has ever been my pleasure to know.”

“She is mine!” Gideon’s hand was clenched so tightly about his own brandy glass, he feared for its safety. Nor did he care if he sounded like a madman. He would not tolerate any other man trying to claim Harry.

The other man nodded. “If she decides you are what she wants, then I will wish the two of you every happiness together.”

He scowled. “You sound as if you have doubts on the subject?”

Granger shrugged. “The earl has always allowed Harry to choose her own path.”

“Then I will have to ensure she chooses me.”

“I wish you luck with that,” Granger taunted before taking a sip of his brandy.

“I wish to know more about your friendship with Henlow.”

“First, let me assure you, my being here this weekend had nothing to do with Eddie. I received my invitation because my father is friends with the Whitings.”

Gideon nodded at this confirmation of Harry’s explanation of the connection. “Dunhill and Harry are their brother-in-law and niece by marriage, respectively. Also making Edward Church their nephew.”

“Exactly,” Granger confirmed before sighing. “I admit that my reason for being here is the same as yours, which is to speak with the last officer present the day my cousin Spencer was killed. I do not believe Dunhill to be guilty of the crime, but I wished to ask him if he saw anything that day which might help us to identify who did commit the murder.”

“Harry tells me that the earl received a blow to the head that day and has little recollection of events after that.”

Granger’s eyes narrowed. “You sound as if you do not believe her?”

“I believe that she believes it to be the truth,” Gideon answered cautiously. “Have you had chance to speak with Dunhill?”

“Not before his…accident, no.”

Gideon’s eyes narrowed. “You sound skeptical of it having been one?”

Granger grimaced. “You must admit, the timing of it was very inconvenient for anyone wishing to speak privately with the earl. And no, I did not shoot him as a way of keeping him quiet regarding my having paid him to commit the murder for me,” he dismissed scathingly. “I am a much better shot than that. If I was guilty of having my cousin murdered, then I would have shot to kill the man I paid to do it rather than only injuring him.”

A good point. “What of Edward Church?”

Granger released a heavy sigh. “I freely admit Eddie was a childhood friend of mine, but people and circumstances change. I still see Eddie occasionally socially, but as you said, he drinks too much and is too fond of illegal duels for my liking.”

“Do his other friends feel the same way?”

Granger frowned. “Until this past year or so, we had, I believe, all been happy to help him by giving him money to settle his debts. Even knowing it would never be paid back.”

“What happened to change that opinion?”

“His indulgence in other…substances, which has strained my own friendship with him to breaking point. I believe most of his other friends feel the same way.”

Gideon winced. “He is an opium eater?” Unfortunately, it was a drug which currently held many in its thrall, both high- and low-born, male and female.

The younger man nodded. “I believe he took it initially to ease the pain after he was shot during a duel. He has since become addicted to it.”

Which possibly explained why Harry had said the man Edward Church had become was not the same brother she had once known. Addiction to anything could destroy a person. If allowed, Gideon would be happy to help the much-younger man to break himself of that harmful habit.

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