He raked a hand through his hair and began to pace in front of her bed. “You were in such a bad way only a few hours ago. You cannot dismiss how dangerous it was for you to have lost your vision, even if it was only for a moment or two.”
She sighed. “It frightened me, too.”
“Just give your body time to heal, all right? You are too vulnerable in the condition you are in right now.”
She nodded.
They said no more as Havers and the Bow Street runner entered the room.
There was one chair already placed beside the bed, and Julius now brought over a second chair. He offered them to their visitors while he remained standing since he was too agitated to sit. “What news, Havers?”
“My man found three names in the public coach ledgers for the Windsor to London route the day of Lord Easton’s murder. Two women and a man. Now, it could be mere coincidence that all three bought return tickets for the first coach to Windsor out of London at break of dawn the following morning. We are having the clerk who sold them their tickets and the coach drivers on the London/Windsor route describe these three to an artist who often assists us in our investigations. We’ll see if he comes up with some recognizable portraits.”
Gory pursed her lips. “Do you believe my aunt and her sister were the women?”
“It is a possibility,” Havers said with a nod. “It is also possible the sister’s husband was the male accomplice. However, I am ruling out nothing yet. It is just something to note as we continue to gather all the clues. My men are on the task. They will also be checking Lady Easton’s sister and her husband for scratches.”
“What about Lady Easton herself? Did she finally consent to being searched?” Gory asked.
He cast her a wry smile. “I would not call it consent, but she was searched. Not a mark found on her.”
Gory pursed her lips in thought. “Because it was likely the sister’s husband who was the one struggling with Lord Easton. I’ve met him. He is a big man and certainly strong enough to keep him in a choke hold while sticking a blade into his heart. Oh…”
Julius felt a lurch to his own heart as she gasped and suddenly began to rub her forehead. “Gory, what is it?”
“Nothing…I’m all right.”
“You don’t look all right. Gory, please. You are hurt. Stop pretending you are in the pink of health.”
She looked up at him through pained eyes. “It was just another memory trying to come forward. I don’t understand why they are stubbornly refusing to do so.”
“Because whatever you saw was frightening to you,” Julius said gently.
“I am not a coward,” she grumbled.
Julius wanted to gather her up in his arms again, but her frown as he started toward her put him off. She did not want him coddling her in front of these two investigators. He understood her point, so he kept his distance since she now appeared to have gotten over the worst of these latest throes.
“Not a coward,” she muttered again.
He rested a shoulder against the bedpost and folded his arms across his chest. “I never said you were. In fact, you are the bravest lady I know. But this is why I am so worried about you. There is something shocking to you that is lurking on the edges of your memory. You are afraid to face whatever it is.”
She snorted, but then gave a reluctant shrug. “Maybe.”
Julius turned to Homer Barrow. “Anything to report yet?”
Mr. Barrow nodded. “My lord, this is something I would rather discuss with you in private. It is a most delicate matter.”
Gory immediately perked. “Does it concern Lord Allendale?”
“Aye, m’lady.” He cast her an apologetic look that boded bad news.
She sat forward and clasped her hands around her knees that were drawn up under the covers. “Then I need to be included in the discussion, Mr. Barrow. He is my husband-to-be. I must be told what is going on. Do not spare me any of the details. I deal with dead bodies regularly in my research work. I doubt anything could be worse than that.”
“But this is about the living, m’lady,” Mr. Barrow gently remarked. “It is the living who have the capacity to give the greatest hurt.”
“All the more reason why I must be told. I am already imagining the worst about him. He has not been around to see me all week, other than a brief visit yesterday. He has not come by at all today. I assume he has not called on my aunt, either. I am not even certain he will show up on our wedding day. Not that there ought to be a wedding under these circumstances. But he has not even bothered to present himself in order for us to discuss postponement of the ceremony. What has he been doing, Mr. Barrow?”
“I am truly, truly sorry, Lady Gregoria,” the Bow Street runner said, emitting an anguished breath. “But he has been attending to another young lady. She is about your age and…she has just given birth. There is a child involved. A little girl.”
