“Aye, my lord,” the soldier replied, eyeing Alec hesitantly for the first time. “Would you prefer that I deliver the message in private?”
Alec almost demanded that the man spill his message immediately and be gone, but something in the soldier’s expression made him pause. Without a word, he beckoned the man to follow.
Ali met him in the foyer, passing an eye over the familiar soldier. Alec led Ali, Toby and the soldier into the small solar and closed the door softly. As Toby lit an oil lamp, Alec faced off against the messenger from Blackstone.
“What is it?”
The messenger did not hesitate. “Your brother Paul was killed in an unfortunate mishap earlier this day. As the new heir to the barony of Rothwell, your father requests your presence at your brother’s funeral the day after tomorrow.”
Alec did not react for a moment, but Ali and Toby passed astonished glances. “How did Paul die?” Alec asked, his tone considerably more subdued.
“He was apparently attempting to ride your father’s destrier and the horse trampled him, my lord,” the soldier replied quietly. “Your sister’s betrothed discovered the body in the stall.”
“Warrington?” Alec’s jaw suddenly developed a tick. He slanted Ali a disbelieving gaze before returning his attention to the soldier. “So my father requested my company at the funeral, did he?”
“Aye, my lord,” the soldier nodded firmly. “And your mother sends her warmest regards to you and your lady wife.”
Alec’s gaze rested on the man a moment longer before turning away, moving pensively towards the wide oak desk that used to belong to Albert. Ali and Toby watched him closely as he digested the news, wondering if he were going to refuse outright to all questions posed.
When Alec reached the heavy piece of furniture, his focus trailed across the surface, lost in thought for the moment. Eventually, he sat heavily in the hide-covered chair behind the desk.
“You will return to Blackstone this night and inform my father that my wife and I will attend my brother’s funeral as requested,” he said quietly. “Be gone with you.”
The soldier faltered a moment, expected to carry a much longer, far more emotional reply, but saluted sharply and spun on his heel. When the door closed behind him, Toby let out a sharp hiss.
“Paul hated horses!” he blurted. “There is no possibility that he would have been anywhere near Lord Brian’s charger!”
Alec did not reply for a moment. “I am particularly interested in the fact that Colin Warrington discovered his body,” slowly, he looked to his ebony friend. “Mere coincidence, mayhap?”
Ali shook his head decisively. “Paul was terrified of horses. I cannot ever recall seeing him in the vicinity of the stables,” he lowered his muscular body onto the edge of the desk. “Something is very wrong here, my friend.”
Alec drew in a deep sigh. “Wrong indeed. My brother is dead and his body is discovered by a man of sinister character.”
Ali met Alec’s gaze a long, contemplative moment, as if they could read one another’s thoughts. “I wonder if Colin was the last person Paul saw on this earth. Is it possible they shared a conversation, an argument? Even if Colin actually killed Paul, strangulation or stabbing would have been obvious. The messenger said your father’s charger killed your brother, which means there must have been no outward signs of murder.”
“Unless Warrington beat him to death and put him in the stall to make it look as a mischance,” Toby said in a low voice.
Alec sat back in his chair pensively. “Murdered by Warrington, who then conveniently places his body in the stall to make it appear as an accident,” he drummed his fingertips against one another. “Assuming this presumption is true, the question remains; why did he kill Paul? Surely he did not consider my brother a threat.”
“Not in the physical sense,” Ali said. “Mayhap Paul saw something that he should not have. Or mayhap he did something extremely offensive.”
“Offensive enough to kill?” Alec shook his head, the realization of his brother’s death beginning to settle. “Paul was no more a threat than a mere child. I cannot imagine what he could have possibly done to warrant his own death.”
Ali did not say anything; he, too, was beginning to feel the loss of Paul as the shock of the news wore in. “We attend the funeral in two days. Mayhap we shall come across our answers then,” he rose from the desk and turned to face Alec.“You, however, have been handed a great inheritance this night. Congratulations.”
Alec looked at him as if the thought had not yet occurred to him. “As I recall, my father disinherited me not three weeks ago. And now I am heir to Blackstone?” he shook his head. Then, he chuckled. “And my mother. Sending her warmest regards to me and my lady wife. It would seem that she has had ample time to regret her harsh words to us.”
“She’d kiss your arse if it would appease you,” Ali snickered. “Your mother has the fastest temper and the fastest mouth in all of England. She most likely regretted her slander the moment she issued it.”
Alec smiled faintly, thinking on the estrangement that had infected him for weeks. Anger and concern for a father who was apparently a weakling, puzzlement over the entire Warrington situation. Was Paul’s death another example of the power Nigel Warrington was presumably exercising over his father, over the entire House of Summerlin? As pleased as he should have been that his parents had apparently forgiven his actions, he was nonetheless deeply perplexed with the falling of events.
But one thing was certain; he had lost another brother and although he and Paul had not shared a companionable relationship, he was naturally grieved. But he could not dwell on the fact that his only remaining full-brother was deceased, not when there were far too many other anxieties occupying his attention.
Ali clapped him sympathetically on the shoulder, breaking him from his train of thought. Alec glanced up at his friend, who was focused on Toby. The young knight stood against the wall, his handsome face drawn with sorrow. “I am sorry for you as well, Toby. You and Paul spent a good deal of time together,” Ali said softly.
“We used to fish sometimes,” Toby said vaguely.
Ali wisely decided to leave the brothers to their own thoughts, giving Alec a final pat before moving towards the cedar door. His hand was barely to the latch when he heard Alec’s voice behind him.
