Meredith flinched when Felix and Warren barely avoided a coach rumbling down the street before reaching the steps of Kit’s townhouse. “Do you suppose they will be all right?”
“It’s not the first time they’ve been foxed, my dear. Kit will handle them.” Her husband then grinned mischievously. “However, I have a wedding present to show you. I believe it should be installed now.”
“Installed?” She echoed as he led her back out into the gardens.
“Yes. They started the moment we went inside for breakfast. I wanted to give you something special.”
“I don’t need anything special. I have you.”
He turned to silence her with a kiss. Then, when she was good and breathless, he stroked his thumb over her bottom lip. “You must let me give you things, sweetheart. I fear it is the terrible price you must pay being mine.”
“Oh, all right, if I must.” She sighed dramatically, which made him laugh. She leaned against him as they walked down the aisle of petals upon the grass toward the back garden wall. When they were close to where the heart-shaped hole was, Meredith gasped.
A statue had been placed in the gardens, right next to the heart-shaped hole. It was of a tall woman dressed in a Roman robe and helmet. She held a spear in one hand, and an owl sat on her shoulder. A battle shield rested against the woman’s legs.
“This is Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom and strategy.”
“Minerva…” Meredith covered her mouth with her hands. “You did it for her.”
“And for you,” Darius said. “Without you, we never would’ve known what Crell had done, nor would we have caught him. I don’t ever want you to forget how brave you are. And I don’t want anyone else to forget her, just as you wished.”
Wildflowers and roses had been planted around the base of the statue. The wildflowers would attract dozens of butterflies in the spring and summer. This part of the garden would become full of them.
“How are you so perfect?” she asked Darius.
“How? By loving you.” He pulled her into his arms, kissing her. His lips were soft and eager against hers, making her belly quiver in anticipation of their wedding night.
“Now, what say you to celebrating our newly married state in my bed?”
Their wedding night was to become a wedding afternoon…and she had no complaints at the change in plans.
“Our bed,” she corrected. “I want to share rooms with you.”
“I want that as well.” They raced back to the house hand in hand, their feet flying upon the ground and their laughter echoing off the stones of the house.
Warren sipped his brandy as he watched the Bow Street Runner bend over the billiard table and line up for his shot. “Answer me a question, Doyle.”
Doyle was unfazed by the interruption, focused on his present task. “Ask away, Mr. Burville.”
“How did he do it?”
“Who?” Doyle struck the cue ball, which shot across the green baize surface and connected with several other balls. One dropped neatly into a corner pocket, and another rolled perfectly into place for his next shot.
“Crell,” Warren said. “Did you ever learn of his wife’s fate?”
“Oh yes. The mistress told us the whole of it in order to escape the noose.” The other men in the room stopped talking. Several gathered around the Bow Street Runner to hear him speak.
“It was planned. He tried to smother her with a pillow, but she was stronger than he expected. She escaped the bed and tried to flee. She made it to the mews before he caught up with her and stabbed the poor woman. He cleaned up the blood with the clothes Darius dug up in the garden. He also hid the jewels in the same hole in the garden, hoping to sell them in a year once he’d convinced everyone his wife never planned to return to London and didn’t need her jewelry.”
“What about the servants? Didn’t someone see the struggle?”
“He let go of his entire staff, except for the butler, a week before he killed her. That man was paid handsomely for his silence and assistance in concealing what happened. He’s the one who dug up the bloody clothes and jewelry after Darius found them.”
“And what about her body?” Warren pressed.
Lionel groaned. “Christ, Warren. Let the poor woman rest in peace.”
Doyle sighed and leaned on his billiards cue. “They put her body in a trunk and buried it in the country. She was given a proper burial in her family’s plot in Kent.”
