“Didn’t I?” he asked bitterly.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. She moved closer and slipped her arms around his waist.
When he pulled her against him, she rested her head against his chest with a soft sob.
They stood silently as she tried to convey her sorrow for him without words.
Onyx’s snuffling nose nudged her hair.
She started, then with a half-laugh moved away.
“He’s impatient for his feed bag,” Redcliffe said. Did the pain in his eyes ease a little? Or did she merely wish it had?
They walked silently on.
After a moment, she turned to him, sensing he wished to be alone. “Shall I leave you, Redcliffe?”
His shoulders lifted in a deep sigh. “I must see to the body and George’s horse. The magistrate will arrive soon. I’ll inform him about George, as well as Pike and Mrs. Hobbs. Go to the house, Olivia. I’ll be along shortly.”
He sounded so desperately sad. Not at all like the man she knew. Her eyes blurred with tears as she watched him walk away, then she turned back toward the house.
Chapter Twenty
On his wayback to the house, having sent a groom for George’s horse, Dominic thought about Olivia. How her eyes filled with compassion. How good it felt to hold her in his arms. He could feel the warmth of her tears through his shirt and was humbled that she shared his grief.
Walking through the door, he steeled himself to meet the magistrate, Sir Frederick Buckley.
Buckley arrived not long after Dominic returned to the library. Over a glass of wine, Dominic told him about George as calmly as he could.
Dominic doubted much shocked Buckley, but this clearly had.
“What a devil! I’m relieved it’s all over, my lord. It’s hard to believe, a cousin, you say?”
Dominic tightened his jaw and handed him the banknote.
The magistrate turned it over in his hands, noted the writing on the back, then placed it on the table. “We have Pike in custody. The constable is arresting Mrs. Hobbs as we speak. Acting on the letter your footman brought me, we broke into Pike’s house and had no trouble discovering the box beneath the floor.” Sir Frederick raised his bushy, fair eyebrows and shook his head. “Several thousand were stashed there. A tidy sum if you include this.” He nodded toward the banknote. “I am deeply sorry I failed the old earl.”
“It’s possible Pike murdered him and has been searching for my uncle’s money ever since,” Dominic said. “But you’ll never get him to admit it.”
Sir Frederick’s gray eyes hardened. “We’ll get to the truth. We’ll hold him and Mrs. Hobbs in the jail at Gateshead. If you and Mr. Samuels can ride over and make a statement, I’d appreciate it.”
“I’ll come tomorrow. I want to question them.”
“Certainly. And an inquest into Mr. Yardley’s death will be held in the inn forecourt in the next few weeks. But I don’t foresee any problems.”
“I want George to have a decent burial,” Dominic said. “I’ll arrange it with the vicar.”
The magistrate’s eyes widened, then he nodded. “Very good, my lord.”
After Sir Frederick left, Dominic walked through the house to the rear and watched the constable push Mrs. Hobbs into his wagon. The woman screeched and punched at him with her fists. She managed to kick him hard in the shin before he bundled her inside. The wagon trundled away.
She could prove Pike’s weakness, Dominic thought, as he entered the kitchen to speak to Samuels.
“Well, we did it, Samuels,” he said when the cook greeted him.
“Yes, milord. Saw the constable drag the harridan away,” Samuels said, chuckling. “A pretty sight indeed. She demanded to know what they’d done with her husband.”
“She and Pike are married?”
