“Bow Street believed he had knowledge of the artifacts stolen from your neighbor. When they approached to question him, he ran and when cornered, he jumped. We fished him out this evening.” The man lowered his eyes. “Again, I am sorry for your loss, Miss Doyle.”
“Thank you,” she murmured, uncertain what to say.
“The coroner has the body. You may contact him about burial.”
Eve buried her face in her hands, unable to concentrate. How was she to bury her brother with so few funds to her name? Where was she to bury him? “A paupers grave,” she found herself answering. “I cannot afford anything else.”
“I’ll inform them.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“Good evening then,” the man said before leaving.
At the click of the door, Jeffries turned to her. “I’m very sorry, Miss Doyle. Let me pour you a brandy and then I’ll fetch Lord Kilsyth.”
“A brandy would be nice.” Eve pulled herself to her feet. Numbly she walked in to the library and sank down onto the settee as Jeffries crossed to the sideboard.
“But please, do not bother Lord Kilsyth. There is nothing he can do to change the situation, and he needs his rest.”
“Are you certain, Miss Doyle? You really shouldn’t be alone at a time like this.”
She glanced up and took the offered glass. “Actually, I’d prefer to be very much alone right now. Find your bed Jeffries, and thank you for your concern, but this news can wait until everyone is rested.”
“If you insist.” He stared at her, worry in his eyes.
“I do,” she insisted. “And I thank you for your concern.”
For the longest time, she sat in the library, sipping the amber liquid, feeling nothing. She was numb she supposed. Strangely, Eve wasn’t surprised that her brother had come to such an end. Demons had followed Brendan since before they left Ireland. The gambling, drinking, opium and now theft. He was no longer the lad she’d grown up with. The boy who loved horses. He’d become a stranger. As for his burial, she’d not attend. Eve would rather hold on to the memory of the boy while father was alive, not have her last one be of his body being lowered into the ground.
But what was she now to do?
Kilsyth no longer needed her and she knew for certain that Brendan would not return, which meant she now only had her sister.
Oh, how Eve missed Cait and now she must go to her. News of their brother’s death should not come by way of a letter. Cait needed to be told face to face, and it was time Eve confessed everything she’d hidden. After that, Eve would find a way to make her way in the world. And maybe one day, she’d find someone for herself. Someone who would like her just the way she was without trying to change anything about her.
At those thoughts, tears sprang to her eyes. She’d lost her brother tonight but her heart had fled a few days ago. One she could get back; the other was lost to her forever.
Chapter 15
Wiggons’ School for Elegant Young Ladies,
Cornwall, England
“Where do you suppose it is,” Eliza asked from her bed.
“Wherewhatis?” Sophia grumbled. It was far too early to be pondering any question.
“The mummy, of course.”
At that, Sophia groaned. “I don’t know. I don’t care.”
“How can you not?” Eliza demanded as she rose up to balance herself back on her elbows.
“Because it doesn’t matter.”
“It would matter if it were near,” Rosemary said as she sat up in her bed.
“Only because then we’d have thieves in the area,” Sophia rolled over and pulled the covers over her head. They didn’t need to be down in the dining room for another hour and she fully intended to get a bit more sleep.”
