Read Online A Clandestine Courtship by Allison Lane - Free Book Online

he learned that the money had been transferred to James’s account on the day the old earl died. Bradshaw had known John well enough to expect trouble. John would never have turned over a shilling.
    James frowned. No orders. John had been gone for six months before his death. The servants had done nothing during that time, for John had left no orders. Thus his departure must have been sudden. Why? Had he received bad news from town? Or had he been fleeing vengeance? Perhaps he had chosen the wrong victim for one of his crimes. It gave James something to investigate.
    So which of the locals might have kept his anger hot for six months? He could not believe that a sudden argument had led to such a brutal crime. Killing, maybe, but not torture.
    Don’t lose sight of any possibilities. You don’t know what started that feud – or when. It was important to identify the killer’s grievance, but it might have started two or three visits ago, or even more. John’s trips to Ridgeway had been sporadic. He had appeared without warning, inflicted instant chaos, then left within days.
    James had no real suspects. And he needed help from someone who lived in the area. This visit to town proved that he had little chance of succeeding on his own. Fearing he was another John, people would tell him even less than they had told Isaac.
    Which brought him back to Mary. It was odd how his thoughts always circled back to her. She knew everyone, so could direct him to people who might be willing to talk. She would know what rumors were current, who had started them, and might even know who was guilty.
    But even with help, finding the killer would take time. There seemed to be a conspiracy of silence on the subject. He was going to be here far longer than the fortnight he had expected.
     * * * *
    James set his plans in motion at the Northrup party that evening. But it wasn’t easy.
    “You look lovely,” he told Mary, slipping up behind her the moment she abandoned the receiving line. And she was lovely. Her blonde hair was caught up in an arrangement of waves and curls that made his fingers itch to touch it. It would cascade to her hips once he removed the pins. The image of all that hair spread in a halo over his pillow nearly blinded him.
    He cursed.
    Her only adornment was a locket on a thin gold chain that he recognized as having been her mother’s. Its simplicity drew further attention to her charms.
    She looked at him doubtfully. “Thank you, my lord, but I cannot hold a candle to Amelia. I doubt you recall her, since you’ve been away so long.”
    And somehow he found himself talking to Amelia Northrup, with Mary nowhere in sight. The elder Northrup girl was small, delicate, and so serene that she would have disappeared into the walls if she had been plainer. After exchanging a few innocuous comments, she asked about London, so he handed her off to Harry, claiming that he knew little of the city.
    It took a quarter hour to corner Mary again, because every guest wanted a word with him. They were better at hiding their fears than the servants and merchants had been, but the same questions blazed in their eyes.
    “I need to talk with you for a moment,” he murmured into Mary’s ear. “Is there someplace we could go that is private?”
    “Gracious! Surely you were taught better manners!” she scoffed, making no attempt to sound genial. “No hostess can leave the drawing room this close to dinner. Why don’t you relax and enjoy the evening?”
    Before he could dredge up an apology, he found himself conversing with Caroline Northrup, a vivacious beauty who should have attracted his eyes earlier. But he had murder on his mind, and a ten-year-old affair was eating holes in his gut. He was so angry at the practiced way she had again slipped out of his clutches that it took him a moment to realize that Caroline’s vivacity bordered on hysteria.
    She was trying to control it, clenching her hands whenever she spoke, but fear lurked in