“I don’t know, love.It could be that he simply believed them all to be impure and tainted.”
“But we’re not,” Tulip insisted.“Ours is a true and faithful marriage.”
He cast her a mirthless smile.“Yes, but he ismad.What do you think he sees when he looks at us?”
“A happy couple?”she remarked with wry, dark humor.
“Wishful thinking, Tulip.”He took her hand and gave it a light kiss.“I am a duke.You are a commoner.Guess again.”
CHAPTER 16
“WE MUST SEARCHErnfield’s quarters,” Tulip suggested.
“Without doubt,” Alex agreed, feeling fairly confident they might turn up some proof of Ernfield’s involvement in Elspeth’s death and possibly in the deaths of Alex’s predecessor dukes.
Similar to Mrs.Granger’s quarters, the head butler’s chamber was set slightly apart from those rooms housing the footmen and butlers.“I’ll do it, Tulip.I need you to keep the rest of the staff distracted.The cooks and scullery maids will all be busy in the kitchen, so I am not too concerned about them.It is the butlers and footmen whose rooms are close to Ernfield’s who worry me.I’d rather they not see me prowling around Ernfield’s quarters.”
“And report it to Ernfield on his return?”Tulip nodded.“I understand.”
“Have them work on assignments ensured to keep them occupied in the main rooms of the house.Can you do this?”
She looked determined while nodding again.“I’ll have them move furniture and carpets around for tonight’s party.However, I don’t think we can keep any of this a secret much longer.Everyone knows Mrs.Granger was found unconscious and that it might not have been accidental.In truth, no one on our staff is as stupidly naive as I am.None of them will be satisfied if we merely tell them all is well or fabricate some story to appease their curiosity.”
Alex frowned, for he did not like to see her thinking less of herself again.“You have a compassionate heart, Tulip,” he said, giving her cheek a light caress.“This is in no way stupid.In fact, your compassion is a strength in you.That you are always ready to believe in the good in others does not diminishyouin any way.”
She sighed.“Well, Ernfield certainly had me fooled.It is impossible to find any good in him now.”
“He had everyone fooled for decades,” Alex replied.“You weren’t the only one taken in by him.We all were.”
“Will you be looking for anything specific when you search his chamber?”
“Evidence of poison, for one,” he said with a nod.“Also, any keepsake that can be attributed to Elspeth.”
“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that.Would he dare hold onto anything of hers?Such as what?”
“I don’t know, a locket or ring or even a hair clip she was wearing that night.Something that can be identified as hers.If a powerful, jealous rage compelled him to push her out of the tower window, then I think he would have been just as compelled to retain some token of hers.”
“Jealous?You think he was in love with Elspeth?”
“Yes, so it is not inconceivable that he would hold onto her in some way.”
“Ugh!How sick is that?Holding onto a keepsake belonging to the woman he loved, after he’d killed her because of that love.I wonder if they had been courting and she ended it because your grandfather began to woo her.”
“Maybe.Your uncle, aunt, and Mr.Carver might be able to shed light on this.In his warped eyes, he might have imagined a courtship between them, and then considered her romantic involvement with my grandfather a vicious betrayal.”
“I see.”
He gave her cheek another caress because he could see that she was shaken.“I’ll also be looking for those building plans to Thornwycke Hall because they did not simply walk off on their own.Carver saw them in my study just last month.If there are any secret passageways or hiding holes, I mean to find them.”
This had been a priority for him from the moment they had arrived at Thornwycke and one of several frustrations he had encountered.
He no longer doubted that Ernfield had taken those plans.
“All right.I’ll be in the parlor or the dining room behaving like a flighty fribble and making our staff move furniture around.”
He kissed her lightly on the lips.“I won’t be long.Just make sure you stay in sight of everyone.”
“I will, Alex.Don’tyoutarry too long because Ernfield might return soon.”
