“Oh, Julius, let me tell you the rest of it. The dam has been unblocked and it is all coming out in a flood of memories now.”
“All right, but I want you to stop if it gets too much for you to bear.” However, he could tell by her expression that she was going to plough on to the end.
“As I started downstairs,” she continued with determination, “I heard my uncle commanding them all to leave. That’s when I realized there were others besides Flossie in the study with him.”
“Did you turn and run then?” He immediately shook his head, realizing she probably had been more curious than worried. “No, you walked straight into the lion’s den, didn’t you?”
“I had recognized Flossie’s voice and did not think there was anything dangerous going on. After all, he and my aunt often exchanged unpleasant words. I just assumed this was more of the same, except that my aunt had sent Flossie to do her dirty work for her this time.”
“I’m not blaming you, love. How could you have known what you were walking into?”
“I should have realized. Do I not pride myself on my forensic knowledge? As I neared the study, I heard my uncle’s muffled cry and then he made an odd gurgling sound that I should have recognized as strangulation had I been paying closer attention. It was quickly followed by a thud, as though something had fallen onto the carpet.”
She released a ragged breath and groaned. “I thought he might have knocked over a book on his desk and nothing more. So, I stupidly walked in, still not realizing anything was seriously wrong. But I had taken no more than a few steps into the room when I saw my uncle bleeding on the floor. So much blood. And there was Flossie and a woman who resembled her standing over his body and quietly bickering over how messily it was done. Flossie had the knife in her hand, red and dripping. Both suddenly went silent when they saw me.”
Julius kissed her on the forehead. “Oh, love.”
“Flossie looked beyond me to whoever was standing behind the door and said, kill her.”
“Merciful heavens, Gory.”
“Then I was struck over the head. I never saw who hit me.”
“It doesn’t matter. Havers has that man in custody and he will never be set free,” Julius insisted. “Gory, I’m so sorry. I should have been there for you.”
“Don’t you dare shoulder any blame. How could any of us have expected something so monstrous? I must have passed out for the longest time, long enough for them to change me out of the peach silk and into my wedding gown. I’m glad I did not feel their vile hands on me.”
“Dear heaven, so am I,” he said with an ache to his voice. “It would have taken nothing for them to notice you were still breathing. Even the slightest moan from your lips and they would have hit you again. Only by the grace of heaven were you spared.”
She nodded. “My uncle’s body was motionless beside me when I awoke. All I could think to do was get out of that house. I didn’t know who to trust. Was Jergins involved? Was my maid? Of course, no one else in that household would have ever betrayed us. But at the time, I was so scared and functioning on raw instinct.”
“And you ran to me.”
“All I could think of was finding you. I wanted you to hold me in your arms and protect me. This is what my heart knew you would do. I had to seek you out because I loved you and you were the only one I could ever trust to help me.”
“I have you now and always will, love. I’ll never let anyone hurt you.”
“It is over now, but I can only ever identify Flossie and her sister as the two who were present that night.”
“It does not matter. They have all turned on each other like a pack of jackals. Nor should you forget that the sister’s husband had the requisite scratches, so he can be tied to the murder, too.”
“But my aunt has not confessed yet.”
“She does not need to ever say a word when the others are all talking like trained parrots. It will all come out, every sordid detail. Havers will get their confessions down from start to finish. We know your aunt gave Flossie the latchkey to the townhouse and then covered for Flossie’s absence while in Windsor. The mail coach agents will confirm they saw Flossie, along with Flossie’s sister and husband, on the coach to London and on their return just a few hours later. You can now give Havers your statement about who was in the study when you walked in and saw your uncle on the floor.”
“What about the Mayfields? I do not think they were in my uncle’s study that night.”
“Doesn’t matter. Jergins or others in your household can attest to the affair Lady Easton was carrying on with Reginald Mayfield. Mr. Barrow’s man caught the Mayfield son attempting to set a fire in the church just before the funeral service was to start, and I caught the elder Mayfield trying to shoot you. They are not going to get away with anything. In truth, I expect the Mayfields will be the first to sing like nightingales if promised a more lenient sentence. Damn cowards.”
The clock chimed the midnight hour.
Julius gave Gory a lingering kiss.
She cast him another vulnerable smile. “I came to you with so much blood on my hands and on my gown, but all I felt was relief when you undressed me and washed me. Yours were the healing hands I needed on me. Yours was the gentle touch that soothed me. I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t found you.”
“But you did find me, love.”
She nodded. “I would have searched the moon and stars for you. Then you walked into your bedchamber, and I knew in that moment I was safe. I was with the right person and I needed to be with you for the rest of my life. I had you to help me deal with the murder and…then I intended to ask you for help in dealing with my wedding.”
