Page 36 of The Hero

She gave a shake of her head. “No thanks to you.”

“What I wish to know,” Gideon cut in on the siblings’ conversation, “is did you kill Plymouth for the same reason?”

Her brother frowned. “What?”

“Did you also kill the Duke of Plymouth for monetary gain?” Gideon repeated succinctly.

Harry’s breath caught in her throat as she, along with everyone else in the room, waited for Edward to answer.

* * *

Gideon’s gaze remained narrowed on the younger man as Henlow reacted to the accusation. Initially with surprise. Then dawning realization of the ramifications of what Gideon was asking.

Followed by a fury that made his eyes widen and his cheeks redden. “How dare you accuse me of such a thing?” he stormed indignantly.

“Careful, old chap,” Granger warned softly.

“Do not old chap me.” His friend glared at him. “You ain’t the one being wrongly accused of murdering someone.”

“You did admit to shooting your own father,” Granger reminded.

“With pellet shot,” Henlow dismissed.

Granger shrugged. “It succeeds in killing the grouse.”

“But barely penetrates human flesh,” the viscount snapped.

A reaction, Gideon admitted grudgingly, which seemed to imply Henlow was not responsible for killing Plymouth.

He was unprepared, however, for Dunhill to be the one who spoke up next.

“What nonsense is this about Edward killing Plymouth?” the earl demanded to know. “He was nowhere near Plymouth when the duke was struck down.”

Gideon looked at the older man. “Do you know that for a fact, or are you merely attempting to protect your son, as seems to be your behavior toward him so far?”

“I know it for a fact.” Dunhill pulled himself farther up the pillows.

“How?”

“Because I saw Plymouth being attacked that day, and I went to his aid.”

“Papa…?” Harry looked at her father uncertainly.

He gave her a reassuring smile. “The fever seems to have shaken loose some of the memories I had forgotten after being hit on the head that day.” He turned back to Gideon. “I can now clearly remember Plymouth being set upon by a French soldier. The duke was already on the ground, having received a stab wound to the stomach, by the time I had fought my way to his side. I had no choice but to kill the French soldier when he turned on me too,” he admitted with obvious distaste for the deed.

Gideon and his friends had been informed of what happened that day as seen by James Stanley, Plymouth’s valet. A man who had been taken prisoner and forced to serve aboard a French ship before managing to make his escape a few months ago and return to England. The first thing that gentleman had done was to seek out the Ruthless Dukes and tell them what he had seen.

Gideon now wondered if James Stanley could have been mistaken. If the other man had not, in fact, seen the English officer—Dunhill—defending Plymouth from being stabbed again by the French soldier as the other man lay wounded and helpless on the ground.

Dunhill was something of an oddity, and he should never have become a soldier, but Gideon had no reason to think that the man was lying to conceal his or his son’s part in Plymouth’s death.

Or was Gideon being swayed by his feelings for Harry into hoping Dunhill wouldn’t lie about the events of that day?

“Papa, you’re a hero!” Harry ran lightly across the room to sit on the side of the bed. She gave her father a careful hug, obviously being mindful of his injured side.

Dunhill gave a self-derisive grimace. “I can hardly be called as much when I was struck on the head immediately after defending Plymouth and have not been able to remember the details of the incident until now.” He glanced at the Gideon. “I am sorry I was not able to come forward with this information sooner.”

“Your daughter is quite correct, sir, in that you are a hero for having attempted to save Plymouth’s life. A heroism for which I and my friends thank you.” He gave an acknowledging bow of respect.

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