The Regency Season: Hidden Desires: Courted by the Captain / Protected by the Major

‘Yet he did not get what he wanted,’ Adam said and frowned. ‘We have Mark’s notes and the necklace. You should speak to Staffs. He will recall the game and may know if anyone lost that necklace to Mark that night. We should need a witness. The mere fact that someone lost the necklace in a card game does not make him a thief. He could have been duped into buying it.’

‘In which case he would be unlikely to murder in order to retrieve it,’ Hallam said. ‘If he were not known in society, it would not matter to him—therefore he must be a gentleman. Someone with a reputation to lose.’

‘It all begins to add up—’ Adam said and broke off as Paul walked in dressed in a dark riding coat and pale breeches. ‘Paul, we found this mess—’

‘And you did not think to tell me.’ Paul glared at him. ‘If you imagine I would do something of this kind...’

‘No, of course not. Hallam was with me when Jenny told us of the intruder. We came straight here...’

‘So Miss Hastings knows more than I...’ Paul turned away. ‘I’ve had enough of all this. It is stifling me. I’m going for a ride.’

‘Don’t be an idiot,’ Adam said. ‘Hallam has discovered something important. That necklace was stolen—’

‘Are you suggesting my brother was a thief?’

‘No, of course not,’ Hallam said. ‘For goodness’ sake, man! No one is accusing Mark of theft or you of murder. Mark must have won it in a card game, as we thought—but the fact that it is stolen makes it more likely that someone might kill Mark to protect himself from discovery.’

‘Yes, I see what you mean.’ Paul gave them a brooding look. ‘I wish to God that I knew who it was. At this moment I should need no excuse to break his damned neck with my bare hands.’

‘Paul...please, do not be foolish,’ Adam said. ‘I know how you feel, but—’

‘How can you know?’ Paul demanded. ‘You don’t have people looking at you, wondering how you feel about becoming your father’s heir. Everything was Mark’s and I feel like a thief because I shall now inherit what ought to be his.’

‘Ridiculous,’ Hallam said. ‘Mark was the elder. Now you are—of course everything will come to you in due course.’

‘Even Lucy?’ Paul’s eyes were dark with grief. ‘I’ve seen the way she looks at me—resentful, as if she wishes it was me who died.’

‘I am sure she has no such thoughts,’ Hallam said. ‘You are being a fool, Paul. Lucy is grieving, as we all are.’

Paul shook his head, muttered something and walked away. Hallam looked at Adam and sighed.

‘He’s like a bear with a sore head.’

‘We can hardly blame him. People will wonder and speculate for a while.’

‘I dare say what is upsetting him is Lucy. You know how he feels about her.’

‘He would never have done anything about it. She was always Mark’s future wife.’

‘Yes, but Mark isn’t here now,’ Adam said. ‘Now there is nothing to stop him asking her to marry him—and yet he can’t. To speak now would be like dancing on his brother’s grave. It must be a terrible feeling to see what you desire most in the world within touching distance, but unable to reach out. He must feel she is still forbidden to him.’

‘Yes, I see what you mean.’ Hallam looked thoughtful. ‘Poor devil—though...’ He shook his head. ‘Lucy is Paul’s problem. We have more important things to worry about, Adam. If the murderer should turn out to be Fontleroy, we have to discover a way of making him reveal his identity.’

‘Exactly what I was thinking,’ Adam said. ‘That would be difficult, I imagine. With Mark dead there are no witnesses to what happened that day—though if we could prove Fontleroy lost that necklace to Mark in a card game we could threaten him with disclosure. If he thought he might be arrested for theft, he might try to get the evidence from us.’

‘It is a faint hope,’ Hallam said. ‘But first we have to find someone who saw him lose that necklace to Mark—if indeed it was he that lost it.’

‘Do you happen to know where Staffs is staying at the moment? Is he in London or his country home?’

‘It is a wonder he did not come today.’ Hallam frowned. ‘He was one of Mark’s oldest and best friends. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen a card from him—is that not strange?’

‘The announcement was in The Times and other papers—and a notice was sent to Mark’s club. I cannot think that he would not have seen it.’ Adam was thoughtful. ‘I believe you should set out for London this evening. If he was a witness...’

‘Then his own life may be in danger,’ Hallam said.

‘And we should also take more care. We have been careless, Hallam. I made the mistake of thinking that the murderer would be running scared—but he may be made of bolder stuff than we imagined. He is certainly ruthless and having murdered once would not hesitate to do so again.’

‘I shall speak to my uncle and leave almost at once. If I do not find Stafford in London, I shall go down to Hampshire, to his country seat—unless I discover he has gone to visit friends.’

‘This grows more dangerous by the minute,’ Adam said and clasped his shoulder. ‘Take care, Hal—I should not like to lose another of my cousins.’

‘I would say the same to you,’ Hallam replied grimly. ‘Be careful when you ride out alone—and keep a loaded pistol with you at all times.’

‘Yes, I intend to, though the search goes on locally,’ Adam replied. ‘I shall wait for your return and in the meantime I shall do my best to restrain Paul from giving way to a fit of despair.’

Chapter Six (#u4750029e-c2f4-5d7c-a63d-31afb8d983c8)

‘Where did you go to earlier?’ Lucy asked as they were leaving Ravenscar Court a little later. ‘I looked for you but you had disappeared.’

‘A footman spilled wine on my gown and I had to have it sponged—and then I remembered that I had left my reticule upstairs and went to fetch it.’

‘Oh...’ Lucy frowned. ‘It was odd the way they all left—Adam and Hallam and then Paul. Lord Ravenscar looks so unwell that I felt obliged to sit with him for quite half an hour. I should have liked to tell Paul that his father was not himself, but he had disappeared.’

‘Perhaps he found the proceedings unbearable,’ Jenny suggested. ‘I thought he looked very tense earlier. It must be hard to bear—to lose a brother you love so much.’

‘Yes, perhaps,’ Lucy said and sighed. ‘People think he will have it all now, but I am sure he does not care for the estate enough—’ She broke off and blushed. ‘Paul has the estate his maternal grandfather left him. Why should he covet what Mark had? I do not think it of him—do you?’

‘Not at all. I believe he is genuine in his distress.’

‘Yes. So why...?’ Lucy wrinkled her nose prettily. ‘I hoped he might speak to me, tell me how he feels, but he is avoiding me. Every time I approach he moves away and he will not look at me.’

‘I dare say he is still too upset to think clearly.’

‘It is almost as if he blames me...’

‘No, how could he? No one could blame you, Lucy.’

‘No—and yet Paul does blame me for something.’ Lucy blinked hard. ‘Oh, I do not want to talk about any of it. It is all too horrible. I wish we could go away somewhere. I can hardly bear to be near Ravenscar and know...’ She smothered a sob.

‘You will feel better soon, dearest.’

‘Shall I?’ Lucy looked at her in disbelief. ‘I feel that my whole life is ruined.’

‘You must try, Lucy. In a few days people will stop talking about the tragedy and you will be at peace.’

Lucy shook her head, but they had arrived at Lucy’s home. As they got down, Lady Dawlish emerged from her husband’s carriage and came to meet them.

‘Thank goodness that is all over,’ she said. ‘You may change out of that gown now, Lucy my dear. I shall not ask you to wear black again. Your father and I have discussed what is right and proper and he agrees that pale grey or lilac is sufficient.’