“Yes.”
“Then we’d best start preparing.”Samantha turned her hand over and clasped Melody’s fingers.“Every bride deserves to look her best on her wedding day.”
* * *
Standing on Edward’s front step, Adrian tried to refrain from resorting to threats.The butler was only doing his job.
“My apologies, Mr.Croft, but his lordship has no time for social calls today.”
This explanationafterthe man had gone to check if Edward was even at home.More likely, he just didn’t want to see Adrian.
Well, too bad.
Adrian took a steadying breath and resolved to address the butler’s reasonable side.“This is not a social call, Bertram.I’m here because a connection was made this morning, between your master and the disappearance of Lady Edwina, the Duke of Wrengate’s sister.”
Despite whatever attempt he made to keep his expression neutral, the butler’s shock showed in the slight widening of his eyes.He stared at Adrian for a couple of seconds, then made his decision and stepped aside, opening the door wider.
“Please wait here,” he said after showing Adrian and Murry to the parlor.“I’ll see if his lordship can make time to see you.”
Adrian looked to Murry as soon as the butler was gone.“If Wrengate catches a whiff of this, he’ll murder Marsdale on the spot.”
“Wouldn’t you do the same if you were the duke?”Murry asked.
Adrian chose not to answer.Murry knew full well that his vengeance against anyone who dared to threaten his loved ones would be lethal.
Silence settled between them.Adrian’s mind drifted toward other issues he had to deal with, like Finn O’Leary’s disappearance.The Irishman remained at large, leaving Adrian and his family vulnerable to additional threats.Finding the bastard and shoving a blade through his heart was essential to Adrian’s peace of mind.Jaw clenched, he turned to the door at the sound of approaching footsteps.
He really didn’t have time to do Bow Street’s job, yet what choice did he have?His conscience would never permit him to turn his back on an innocent woman who might be in terrible danger.
The thought evaporated upon seeing Edward.He looked…so very different from how Adrian remembered him.The kindness that used to shine in his eyes had iced over.Gone was all semblance of the good-natured spirit that had defined Edward’s character for as long as Adrian had known him.
Not even when Evie died had he looked this forbidding.Unspeakable pain had marred his features back then, but now…it was rather like being met by a hollowed-out version of the man he’d once been.
“Bertram says you want to question me about Lady Edwina’s disappearance.”Edward stared at Adrian, his expression as frigid as the North Sea in winter.“Honestly, I didn’t imagine you capable of destroying the last remaining shards of our friendship, but it seems I was wrong.Suspecting I might be involved in what happened to her proves it.”
“Aren’t you the slightest bit curious to know why our search for her brought us here?”When Edward didn’t respond, Adrian scoffed and decided it might be best to match severity with severity.He turned to Murry.“Please wait for me in the hallway.”
Murry didn’t so much as blink before doing as Adrian asked.
Adrian waited until the door closed, providing him privacy, before telling Edward, “I realize you blame me for the disastrous outcome between yourself and Miss Roberts.”
“Do not—”
“What you’re probably too angry to see,” Adrian snapped, silencing Edward’s words of warning, “is that I was unable to tell you the truth without putting Samantha’s life in danger.Harlowe will kill her if he believes it was she who leaked the information about Miss Roberts’s true identity.So I did the only thing I could think of, which was to try and warn you away.”
“Not only did you deceive me, but you lied.”Edward’s gaze pinned him in place.“When I asked you if there was anything you were omitting, some other reason besides class differences that prevented you from supporting a match between myself and Miss Roberts, what did you say?”
“I told you there wasn’t.”When Edward produced an answering snort of contempt, Adrian gnashed his teeth together and leaned toward him.“What would you have done had you been in my place?I had to put Samantha’s safety above a love interest destined to fail.”
Edward angled his head.A frightening gleam appeared in his eyes.“Did you imagine that I would share what you told me in confidence if there was a chance it could harm someone?How little you think of me, Adrian, not only to deny me your trust but also the chance to make an informed decision.Only for us to end up in the very position you hoped to avoid.”
A chill swept Adrian’s spine.Had Edward revealed his knowledge about the Nightingale Project to Harlowe?“What do you mean, the same position?”
“Miss Roberts and I will be married tomorrow by special license.”
Adrian’s heart plummeted.“What?”
“I had nothing to do with Lady Edwina’s disappearance,” Edward said, apparently choosing to ignore Adrian’s shocked response.
