She tried to reach up and back, hoping to find his face and his eyes, but he sensed the movement and jerked his head away from her clawing hand.
Silently swearing, she lowered her hand and tried—equally futilely—to pry away the arm about her waist. If she could twist to the side, she might break his hold…
With one hand clamped painfully across her face and the other clutching her waist, Edward grunted and tugged, wrestling to keep her moving. Despite her best efforts, step by step, he forced her feet to move in the direction he wished. To her relief, he didn’t make for Percy’s room but hauled her down the family wing.
Wildly glancing around, she glimpsed the maw of the minor staircase for which Edward was making.
He intended to take her out of the house before murdering her.
Of course. If she—her body—wasn’t found for days, he could leave tomorrow and fly free.
It was already late; the gong for dinner would soon sound. Alaric and Percy would be expecting her to appear. When she didn’t…
Desperation lent her clarity. Alaric would come to find her; she had to leave a trail. Because of her size, Edward had to drag her; she was too heavy for him to lift, even to the extent of getting her feet off the ground. He had no way to straighten the runner the heels of her shoes had rucked up; glancing back, she saw the rippling and the drag marks left by her shoes—and dug her heels in even more.
Edward growled, but didn’t halt.
She realized he couldn’t risk freeing either hand to strike her into acquiescence if not insensibility. She wasn’t going to be as easy a victim as Glynis and Rosa had been.
Constance hooked her heels into the runner with every step, leaving the long strip rumpled and askew—hopefully as obvious as a painted arrow.
Then they were at the stairs, and Edward all but pushed her down them.
Fear clutched at Constance’s throat; with Edward’s weight behind her, she couldn’t stop her feet from descending.
* * *
Alaric and Percy had no idea who was at the rear of the gentlemen when, as a group, they’d quit the billiard room, but it was possible that Monty, with his habit of noting every little fact regardless of consequence, knew the answer.
Monty might even know who Rosa had stared at.
Sadly, it was equally possible that Monty had been just behind Alaric and had noticed no more than he.
Consequently, Alaric hadn’t mentioned to the others the possibility that Monty might know, not wanting to get their hopes up only to dash them.
Especially given the somewhat fraught tension that had prevailed under the old oak.
Over the day, they’d followed several promising leads, and every one had fizzled out and left them with, at best, only a tantalizing snippet more of information regarding the murderer.
The pre-dinner gathering in the drawing room dragged on interminably. Alaric kept one eye on the door, waiting for Constance to appear. He’d intended to have her with him when he questioned Monty; however, she was taking her time. Admittedly, they’d been late going upstairs to change.
He was also watching Monty, who, as usual, was surrounded by others and chatting animatedly.
Alaric glanced at the clock. Dinner would soon be served, and he couldn’t question Monty at the table.
Then Monty smiled and stepped back from the knot of guests with whom he’d been conversing; he paused by the wall, presumably catching his mental breath before joining the next group of guests.
Alaric glanced once more at the doorway—still empty—then walked to Percy’s side, dipped his head, and murmured, “We need to speak with Monty.”
Percy glanced at him, met his eyes, then rapidly made his excuses to Mrs. Finlayson and the colonel and followed Alaric as he cut across the room and cornered Monty.
Monty regarded Alaric warily. “What now?”
“A simple question,” Alaric said as Percy joined him, halting by his side so that Monty was largely screened from the company. “On the night Rosa was murdered, when we—all the gentlemen—left the billiard room and headed for the drawing room, where in the scrum were you?”
Monty’s brows rose. “You and Percy here were in the lead. I brought up the rear.”
Thank God.
