“I wasn’t sure if you were part of his criminal activities,” Charlotte admitted.
Unexpected pain serrated Matthew. “You believed…” He paused, glancing from one twin to another. “You both believed me capable… of…” He trailed off, unable to conjure the right description for the level of his brother’s depravity.
“Not a willing participant,” Charlotte quickly amended. “I thought maybe he had forced you to do something when you were young and has been blackmailing you into silence ever since.”
Matthew did not want Charlotte to falsely see him as a dashing hero, but neither did he wish her to view him as some sort of sniveling coward. “If I had any proof that my brother killed people, I would not remain silent.”
“I should never have doubted your character, but I could not afford to take any chances, Matthew. You were acting suspiciously, and you were hiding something. I wasn’t entirely wrong, was I?” Charlotte asked.
Matthew once again battled back his emotions in an attempt to think rationally. Charlotte had every right to protect herself against the powerful Hawley. It wasn’t that far-fetched to imagine that Matthew had been coerced by his brother to carry out crimes. Instead of feeling put out, Matthew should be relieved by Charlotte’s caution. She’d need it to survive the viscount.
Until recently, Charlotte had little contact with Matthew. But he had spent literal years in Alexander’s company.
“Did you truly suspect me of conspiring with Hawley?” Matthew turned toward Alexander, trying to keep raw accusation from his voice.
To his surprise, Matthew heard the same underlying indictment in Alexander’s tone when he answered. “I found it extremely unlikely, but there was the matter of the necklace.”
“I thought we resolved that!” Matthew protested.
“You still haven’t shown it to me.” Alexander crossed his arms, his expression uncharacteristically grumpy. “Nor did you explain how it came to be in your possession, although I may have an inkling now that I’ve heard about your rooftop leaping skills.”
“Wait! You talked about the choker with Matthew? Why didn’t you tell me?” Charlotte dropped her scone on her plate as she turned toward her brother.
“I was going to, but you never showed up at the Black Sheep because you were following criminals through the back alleys of London!” Alexander rarely raised his voice, but he did so now, his irritation palpable.
“What piece of jewelry are the three of you talking about?” Hannah asked.
Matthew found himself getting irritated too. Frustrated with all the mistrust, he reached into his inner pocket. Withdrawing the choker, he slammed it down on the table holding the scones and seedcakes. “This one—not that it is a bloody help in proving that Hawley murdered his late wife.”
“May I interject for a moment?” Sophia asked in her pragmatic way. “It appears that the three of you have been investigating Hawley separately to keep the others safe. Wouldn’t it be more prudent if you worked together starting with this choker? To me,collaboration seems less dangerous than keeping secrets and inadvertently working against each other.”
Matthew forced his breathing to steady, just as he did before missions. He instinctually wanted to plead with Charlotte to stop pursuing Hawley and allow him to continue to trail his brother alone. But this wasn’t his struggle for freedom. It was Charlotte’s.
In as few words as possible, Matthew explained how he’d discovered the choker in Hawley’s house in a cleverly hidden compartment. “I am certain that he is the one behind last week’s ambush.”
“So am I,” Charlotte said. “The men who I followed yesterday were definitely the two who you fought, Matthew.”
Instead of scolding Charlotte or letting fear take hold again, Matthew forced himself to only nod in agreement. “I suspected they might be when Hawley showed up at the Black Sheep. I wasn’t certain though. But we unfortunately don’t have any evidence proving the men attacked us or that they did so on my brother’s orders. The necklace is the only concrete clue, but of what, I don’t know. I checked it for engravings to help identify it, but there aren’t any.”
“I showed a drawing of it to my Society friends and even to Mr. Powys. No one recognized it, but Mr. Powys did say that it looks like it is from the Tudor era,” Charlotte said.
“That may explain why I cannot find a maker’s mark.” Matthew nudged the onyx pendant with his forefinger. “This is the most unusual part. I’ve stared at the creature in the cameo from all angles, but I simply cannot identify it.”
“Lion?” Charlotte offered.
“Badger,” Alexander said. “Most definitely a badger.”
“It looks nothing like a badger.” Charlotte rolled her eyes at her brother.
“A misshapen dragon?” Hannah offered as she poked at the animal’s nose. “Although this would be a rather smooshed snout.”
“It could even be a poorly executed squirrel with a scrawny tail,” Sophia said as she lifted the cameo to study it more closely. “Or an angry monkey.”
“I vote for angry monkey since my badger suggestion was so rudely vetoed.” Alexander sent his twin a miffed look.
Sophia sighed and laid the piece back down. “It is almost as if the artist was intentional in the crudeness. The carving is otherwise very finely done. It is remarkable how all the white was carved away from the black onyx, except for the creature itself.”
Tavish reached for the choker next. Holding it in the light streaming from the window, he frowned.
