“There is a constable here to see you.”
“A constable?” Asher said, his stomach dropping. He had nearly allowed himself to forget all that had brought him and Evelyn together, to believe that nothing else would happen, that they could begin to focus on what their life together could look like rather than on all that threatened them.
He had been wrong.
So very wrong.
Evelyn’s attention was now worriedly focused on him, her puzzle forgotten.
“What is it?”
“Your grace?” came a voice from the doorway. “I am Constable Peters.”
Asher gritted his teeth together that the man would take it upon himself to walk through his house without invitation and greet him in his private parlor, where he sat with his wife.
“Peters. What is it?”
“Would you have a moment to speak in private?” the constable asked, glancing toward Evelyn and then back at Asher. He was a tall man with long sideburns and a close-shaven beard who seemed rather confident in whatever had brought him here.
Asher stood.
“We can speak in my study,” he said, before looking over at Evelyn, whose arms were crossed as she stared at him expectantly.
“My wife will join us if she chooses,” he continued.
“Your grace?—”
Asher gave Peters a look to remind him that he had no need to listen to any arguments. He held out his arm, and Evelyn was at his side, the two of them leading the constable through the drawing room and breakfast room toward the study.
The fire was lit in the grate, the curtains drawn back to allow in the light from outside once they entered, for the staff had likely expected him first thing after breakfast, following his usual routine.
One he had diligently followed until Evelyn.
She took one seat in front of his desk, the constable the other. Asher was glad to see that she shifted her chair slightly away from the man toward him, making it clear they were a united front.
“Now,” Asher said, his tone still icy to make it clear that while he was accommodating Peters, he still didn’t appreciate the interruption. “What brings you to my home, Constable?”
“It has to do with the theft of the Paragon Diamond,” Constable Peters said. “We have uncovered new evidence.”
Asher didn’t know whether to sigh, curse, or laugh. Of course they had. And Asher had a feeling it was all going to lead back to him and Evelyn.
“Duchess, your father is known as a master problem solver, is he not?” The constable asked, causing Asher’s spineto straighten. While Evelyn’s expression remained passive, he could only imagine what she was feeling within as she gritted her teeth and stared the constable down.
“He is,” she agreed suspiciously, having every right to.
“He is one of the few people with the intelligence to pull something like this off. To know how to tamper with the lock just enough for the mechanism to open easily but without anyone noticing something is amiss.”
“What are you saying, Constable?” Evelyn asked, crossing her arms over her chest, and suddenly Asher was filled with a desperate need to make this right, to prevent any further disappointment for her.
“I am saying that based upon a letter we received implicating your father was involved, as well as the undeniable knowledge that he has the skills and the intelligence to have schemed such a crime, we have to take this as a legitimate possibility. However, with respect to you, your grace,” he directed this at Asher, “I thought it best to speak to you about this first.”
Asher drew to his full height as he rounded his desk and walked over to the constable. He might not be able to prevent rumors or society gossip, but he could certainly keep anyone in his family from facing legal threats. He was one of the most powerful men in England, a fact he had rued for some time now, but for once, he was pleased about it.
“That cannot be,” Evelyn was saying, disbelief covering her face. “My father would never do such a thing. Someone is only trying to throw suspicion on him, Constable. You must understand that.”
She was clearly at a loss, and Asher was more than happy to be the one to save her.
“Let me see the letter,” he said, holding his hand out. The constable hesitated, and Asher fixed his most regal stare on him. “Now.”
