Adrian scrubbed his palm over his brow and pinched the bridge of his nose.“Bloody mess.”
Instead of making headway, the paltry bits of information he’d managed to gather left him more confused and uncertain than he’d been last week.
“Sir?”Murry interrupted from the doorway.When Adrian glanced at him he jutted his head toward the stairs.“Your bath is ready.”
Adrian nodded against the sudden weight of exhaustion that clung to his shoulders.He set his glass aside and made his way toward his bedchamber with Murry following close behind.
“Rough evening?”Murry inquired while untying Adrian’s cravat.The slackening of the piece of linen eased the constriction around his neck.
“I went after Lundquist,” Adrian said, his voice strained with self-deprecation.
“Did he deserve it?”
“Possibly, but it was too soon to know for certain.I ought to have waited.”
“You snapped.”Murry didn’t fuss over the word.He stated it matter-of-factly while helping Adrian off with his jacket and waistcoat.
“I did,” Adrian admitted.He shucked his shirt and handed it to Murry.
“Can’t say I’m surprised.”Murry tossed Adrian’s shirt and cravat into a basket for the maid to collect.“Tragedy can take a terrible toll on even the most self-controlled individual.It would be strange if the nature of Miss Croft’s death didn’t add to the strain.”
Adrian scoffed.“My father would have been appalled.”
“Perhaps.Perhaps not.Let’s not forget that Miss Croft was his daughter.”
Of course she was, and had his father still lived, Adrian knew he’d have embarked on his own path of vengeance.The difference was, he would have been more subtle.He would not have allowed emotion to rule him.
Instead of having an outburst in front of the London elite, he’d have done substantial research, checked that research, and then made the guilty blighter disappear off the face of the earth.
It would have been slow, carefully planned, thoughtful.
“Miss Carmichael came to my defense,” he said, eager to shift the subject of their conversation away from himself.
“How so?”
Adrian stripped off the rest of his clothes and tossed them aside while thinking back on the whole ordeal.In the midst of the chaos, he’d not had time to reflect on the part Miss Carmichael played in smoothing things over.
“Lundquist called for my arrest,” Adrian said as he settled into his bath.“Miss Carmichael appealed to his conscience and managed to convince him against it.In the end, I was simply asked to leave and to stay away until I’d finished mourning.”
“Not terrible advice, I should think.”Murry padded about the room to collect clean clothes.“You should know that all your employees are as eager to find your sister’s killer as you are.We cared for her, but we care about you as well, and if I may speak as your friend instead of your valet, I would tell you that it will take time for you to come to terms with what happened.”
“Figuring out who killed her would help,” Adrian muttered, allowing himself to sink lower into the soothing warm water.
“She cares for you by the way,” Murry said, a pensive note to his voice.“Miss Carmichael, that is.Having found nothing dubious about her, I see no other motive for her to defend you.Especially not given all that we know.Considering her recent entrance into Society, which has been made at a rather advanced age for a woman, her lack of pedigree, and her personality which you’ve described as politely reserved, it must have taken courage for her to speak up.”
Knowing she’d chosen to do so for him made his heart beat slightly faster.Warmth spread through his veins, fanning out through his body until he felt wrapped in a comforting blanket.
It pleased him immensely to know Miss Carmichael liked him enough to stick up for him even when he’d gone too far.Where most other people would turn away, sever all ties, and save their own hides, she’d chosen to stay by his side and speak up.Had it not been for Murry assuring him she wasn’t a threat, he would have been certain she must have ulterior motives.
The fact that she didn’t was an immense relief.
* * *
Lady Lavinia knew she ought to be climbing into her bed instead of out of it.But the note she’d received that afternoon encouraged her to be just as reckless as she’d been last night when she’d finally learned what it meant to be kissed.
Not chastely, but in a wild way that brought her alive.It was the oddest thing ever.She’d always been active and ready for a bit of fun.Yet that one kiss – electrifying and sensual – had jolted her out of a slumber she’d not even known she’d been in.
So she dressed and slipped from her room, heart racing with the eagerness of exploring more kisses.She knew it was highly improper, but her body craved Julian’s touch – craved it in a way that risked seeing her ruined.
