Chapter Three
‘Your expression implies that I require your protection, Lord Torbay,’ Olivia said with an exasperated sigh. ‘You imagine, I suppose, that Margaret came to cause mischief.’
He lifted an impossibly broad shoulder. ‘Why else would she come? She cannot suppose that you have any knowledge of her husband’s whereabouts.’
Olivia fixed him with a probing look; unsure if she was comforted by his protectiveness or exasperated by it. ‘I thought we had agreed that I am not completely incapable; a female who swoons at the first sign of unpleasantness.’
Jake threw back his head and emitted a bark of laughter. ‘A less likely wilting violet I have yet to encounter.’
‘Well then, do me the courtesy of admitting that I am perfectly capable of looking after my own affairs.’
‘I will gladly make that admission, Olivia, and if my expression misled you then I apologise. For once I was not consciously thinking of protecting you. Instead I was trying to decide what possible reason Lady Grantley could have to call upon you in her hour of need. To the best of my knowledge, you have had no contact with Sir Hubert recently.’
Olivia felt the anger drain out of her as quickly as it had arrived. Nervous anticipation of her reunion with the man she adored, her suspicions that he was having second thoughts about renewing their intimacy even though she had repeatedly assured him that she did not expect him to form a permanent attachment to her, made her jump to illogical conclusions.
‘You are quite right,’ she said. ‘I have not seen either of them since shortly after I was released from that vile prison.’
‘That is what I supposed. Hoped.’ He sent her a devastating smile that liquefied her insides and filled her with aching desire. ‘You have shared little with me about your married years and I have not asked because I know you would prefer to put that period of your life behind you. But I do know that your husband’s brother and his wife did everything within their power to ensure you were convicted.’ Jake waved a hand to prevent her from interrupting him. ‘I always thought they did so in the expectation of claiming your husband’s property.’
‘Dinner is served, madam.’
‘Thank you, Green.’
Olivia put her glass aside and smiled at Jake, in command of her emotions again, after a fashion. ‘Let us not spoil a good meal by talking of such matters now. For some reason that escapes me, my cook approves of you and when she heard you were to dine here this evening she went out of her way to prepare your favourite dishes. You owe it to her to give them your full attention. We will be at leisure to talk about Hubert afterwards and I will tell you everything you need to know about my marriage at that point.’
Jake smiled down at her again in that lazy, persuasive manner of his that never failed to incite her passions. The simple gesture was sufficient to awaken a heady onslaught of anticipation that failed to make allowance for any change of heart about their rather unorthodox relationship that he might have undergone over the past two months. Then again, perhaps she was seeing shadows where none existed. If he no longer desired her, surely he would not smile at her quite so provocatively; nor would he have taken such an early opportunity to dine with her after his return to the capital, would he?
‘By all means let us talk of more pleasant matters,’ he said, proffering his arm. ‘And I promise to show suitable appreciation for your cook’s efforts.’
‘I am sure you will. Your appetite has never been in question.’
‘Quite so.’
He smiled down at her, a wealth of meaning smouldering in his dark eyes as she placed her hand upon his arm and they walked in Green’s stately wake into the small salon. Jake helped her with her chair and then took the one opposite. The ambience was every bit as intimate as Olivia had hoped to create but the visit from Margaret had unsettled her and images of her married life intruded on the moment. It was unfortunate that Jake had seen Margaret leaving. If he had not she might have broken her word and not mentioned Hubert’s disappearance to him. She owed Margaret no loyalty; quite the opposite, in fact.
‘It seems quiet.’ Jake paused as Green poured an inch of wine into his glass. He tasted it, nodded his approval and Green poured for them both. ‘Without Eva and Isaac here,’ he said, finishing his remark.
Olivia’s responding smile felt strained. She wanted to ask him how he could know since he had barely set foot in her house recently. She would have asked him precisely that, but for the distraction of Margaret’s ill-timed visit. ‘I miss her society almost as much as Tom misses Gracie. I took him to the docks today to watch the boats. He has decided to become a sailor.’
Jake laughed. ‘If he is half as ambitious as his mother he will finish up as a fleet admiral before his thirtieth birthday.’
‘Thank you, Green.’ Olivia moved to one side as her butler removed her soup plate. ‘My only ambition is for a quiet life,’ she said, returning her attention to Jake. ‘It is hardly my fault if I am notorious.’
‘It is me you are talking to, Olivia,’ Jake replied with a soft laugh. ‘I happen to know that you deliberately play upon your so-called notoriety, using it as an excuse to avoid invitations you would prefer not to accept, and that you generally enjoy causing tongues to wag.’
‘I do no such thing!’ Olivia sliced into her roast pork, aware that her protest lacked conviction. ‘However, we were discussing Eva’s departure. I am very happy for her and Isaac and shall visit them once they have adjusted to married life.’
‘We could drive down together.’
Olivia nodded, thinking his willingness to be seen with her was progress. ‘Tell me what you have been doing with yourself these past two months,’ she said.
‘Running about at Thorndike’s behest,’ Jake replied with a weary sigh. ‘Much good it did me. Simon Warbeck and I have been chasing our tails in Scotland, failing to tie up the loose ends on a case we handled for Thorndike last year. Alas, it was a massive waste of time. The miscreants are still at large.’
‘I know how much you dislike failure, Jake,’ Olivia replied softly, mesmerised by the manner in which the flickering candlelight played across his rugged features, making him appear mysterious, fascinating and oh so unattainable.
He twisted the stem of his wine glass between his long, capable fingers. ‘I am as fallible as the next man.’
‘Perhaps, but you have more than repaid Thorndike for helping you after your brother’s death.’ Olivia was one of the few people who knew that as a young man Jake had fought with his debauched older brother and inadvertently caused his death. Thorndike had saved the day, making it appear like the accident it had in fact been, but without Jake’s involvement. It infuriated Olivia that he had been trading on his intervention ever since, playing upon Jake’s conscience to have him carry out dangerous and covert assignments for an ungrateful government. ‘You can walk away from his service with a clear conscience, even though you will never convince me that you do not enjoy behaving recklessly.’
His lips curved into a sensual suggestion. ‘That I cannot deny,’ he said, his voice a concerto of meaning that caused her to blush.
Green cleared the plates and placed citrus ice sorbets in front of them both.
‘Even so, facts must be faced,’ Jake added. ‘I am getting too old and slow to enjoy the chase, even if I am not yet ready for the roses you hold in such high regard.’ He leaned back in his chair, flexed his shoulders and sighed. ‘Chasing England’s enemies is a younger man’s game.’
Olivia flashed a mischievous smile. ‘Yes, I can quite see that an old fossil such as yourself would feel disadvantaged.’
‘Witch!’ Jake said sotto voce, while Green’s back was temporarily turned to them.
‘You should know better than to knock at my door if it is compliment you seek, Jake. I feel persuaded that all the Scottish ladies you encountered these past weeks were more than ready to flatter you.’
Jake raised one brow. ‘Jealous, Mrs Grantley?’
She met his challenging gaze and held it. ‘Pragmatic, Lord Torbay.’
He fixed her with a provocative look that made her want to either throw herself into his arms or beat him with her clenched fists for assuming he knew what she was thinking; which it seem that he did, the infuriating man! ‘Ah, that would explain it,’ he said, chuckling.
Olivia shook her head. She ought to know better than to bandy words with a master manipulator. Seeing that Jake had finished eating, she put her napkin aside and stood.
‘My compliments to Mrs Fenton,’ he said to Green, standing also.
‘I shall tell her that you enjoyed the meal, my lord. She will be gratified.’
Olivia wondered if she too was destined to enjoy gratification that evening.
‘We shall take coffee in the drawing room, Green,’ she said, ‘and I dare say Lord Torbay would appreciate a brandy. Not that he deserves one,’ she added in an undertone.
They removed to the drawing room and spoke of inconsequential matters until the coffee and Jake’s brandy had been served and Green had withdrawn, closing the doors behind him. The moment she had been so anxiously anticipating since Jake’s return to London was now upon them. Expectancy hung in the air between them like the prelude to pleasure, creating havoc with Olivia’s equilibrium. She glanced across at Jake to find that he was already watching her with quiet intensity. Their gazes made sizzling contact as he swirled the brandy around in his glass and his lips curved into a sinfully tempting smile.
They were alone and would not be disturbed, but Margaret’s visit had caused Marcus’s death to come between them like an intrusive and unwelcome guest, spoiling Olivia’s anticipation and making her forget about all the things she had wanted to ask Jake. Instead, she would have to talk about her late husband and all the painful particulars she had never told him—had never told anyone—about her marriage.
Damn Margaret!
‘Tell me more about Hubert’s disappearance and why Margaret imagined you would know anything about it,’ he said into the silence. ‘I have never asked you about your marriage to Grantley, why it came about or why you were arguing so violently on the evening that he was killed.’ He fixed her with compelling look. ‘I have always wondered, since I knew you could have done so much better for yourself. The right time to ask you would have been when you were released from prison, but I sensed that talking about the past was the last thing you wanted to do. God alone knows, I could understand that. But now, if something has happened…’
‘Something has. Hubert has been disobliging enough to disappear.’ Olivia pursed her lips, trying to stop them from trembling. ‘He always did enjoy making trouble but he’s surpassed himself on this occasion.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Jake said, leaning across the space that separated them and making gentle contact with her ungloved hand.
‘It is hardly your fault.’ Olivia reclaimed her hand. If she had to talk about this, she needed to remain calm and not allow Jake’s touch to affect her. ‘Anyway, Margaret heard about my friendship with you. Well, I suppose she was bound to know of it since you made no secret of the fact that you uncovered the true villains when the police had stopped looking, thinking they already had their woman.’ Olivia tossed her head, trying to disguise the fear that still visited her when she looked back on that dreadful time. ‘Every young lady in the land was swooning at the thought of having such a suave gentleman riding to her rescue, if even half of what I heard subsequently is true.’
‘Never listen to gossip, Olivia,’ Jake replied, waving the compliment aside. ‘You of all people ought to be aware that it has little basis in fact.’
‘Oh, but I adore gossip,’ she replied, striving for a playful tone.
‘Even so.’
‘Well anyway, Margaret has decided that you are some sort of master sleuth, and wanted me to beg for your assistance in locating her recalcitrant husband. It has absolutely nothing to do with me, and I warned her that you were probably too busy to spare the time.’ Olivia lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug that was perhaps a little too contrived and almost certainly failed to convey the indifference she sought. ‘I cannot imagine why you’d think there is anything sinister afoot, which I can tell from your brooding expression that you do. I dare say Hubert has involved himself in another peccadillo and allowed time to get away from him. I cannot think why you seem so…well, agitated.’
Jake put his brandy balloon aside and reached for her hand. ‘I am not prying into your affairs, Olivia; please don’t think that. It is just that Henderson asked to see me before I came here today.’
‘Your detective friend from Scotland Yard?’ Olivia widened her eyes. ‘A most enlightened man and about the only one in that establishment who did not think I was a murderess. I remember him well. What did he want?’
‘To tell me that there has been another murder, using the same method as that employed to kill your husband.’
‘What of it?’ Olivia shook her head. ‘I would imagine hundreds of people die from stab wounds every year. Why would Henderson connect this death to my husband’s?’
Jake tightened his grip on Olivia’s hand. ‘Because it happened in the office in The Strand that used to be your husband’s and is now used by the man who took his place.’
‘Oh!’ Olivia felt the blood drain from her face. The nightmare was in danger of starting all over again and she didn’t think she had the stamina to withstand it for a second time. ‘Who was killed?’
‘The night watchman. He disturbed burglars, or so Drake thinks—and Henderson agrees with him on this occasion.’
‘That is not comforting. Drake is a fool!’
Jake chuckled. ‘Even fools occasionally get things right.’
‘If there are similarities to Marcus’s killing,’ Olivia said softly, ‘I dare say Drake will think I am the guilty party this time as well. He is too lazy to look beyond the obvious and was furious when I was acquitted.’
‘I am sure he thinks no such thing, but it must somehow concern your husband. Whatever the original thieves were looking for, they obviously haven’t found it.’
‘But the men who killed Marcus—’
‘Are themselves dead.’ Jake’s features were set in a rigid line. ‘I am aware of that. But we always thought they were not the masterminds.’
‘Hmm, I see what you mean about it being a very convenient coincidence, what with Hubert going missing.’
Jake nodded. ‘The two events might well be connected.’ He moved from the chair opposite her and seated himself beside her on the sofa she occupied. He slid an arm around her shoulders and chastely kissed her brow. ‘So you see now why I must ask you about Marcus, much as I would prefer to respect your privacy.’
‘Do you imagine Hubert is dead?’ Olivia asked, unable to prevent herself from shuddering. She actively disliked the man but did not wish him dead.
‘I have no way of knowing.’
The fire had been lit while they were at dinner. Olivia’s cat was now stretched out on the rug in front of it, close enough to the blaze to scorch her belly, purring as she chased mice in her sleep. Olivia stared at the flames dancing up the chimney without seeing them, feeling a tenacious hand fighting her resistance and pulling her back to her past.
‘Will it never end?’ she murmured.
‘I might be resigning from Thorndike’s service, but that does not mean I will not work night and day to resolve your problems. Look at me, Olivia.’ Jake placed a long index finger beneath her chin and forced her to turn her head in his direction. She gasped when she saw the passion that gleamed in his eyes and the fierce intensity that formed the bedrock of his determined expression. ‘I have not forgotten what passed between us recently, or that you and Tom will be joining me in Torbay. I have plans for us, my sweet, plans that require your complete commitment and I cannot, will not, have you distracted.’
Olivia wanted to ask him what his plans were but knew he would not tell her; not with the spectre of Marcus coming between them.
‘Tell me everything,’ he said softly. ‘Start at the beginning. Why did you marry Grantley? He was respectable, one of our set, but our paths seldom crossed. I recall the year you came out and the sensation that you and Eva caused. You could have had just about any gentleman you desired.'
‘Including you?’ she asked playfully.
‘I was not on the market for a wife at the time.’
‘Ever the diplomat, Lord Torbay,’ she replied with a wistful smile. ‘I was admired,’ she said, her expression sobering, ‘that much is true, but you must bear in mind that my portion was small. A lot of the gentlemen who engaged my interest were required to marry for money. Marcus was a safe pair of hands, I suppose, because he was associated with my eldest brother. No, I’m getting ahead of myself.’ Olivia paused, taking a moment to assemble her jumbled thoughts. Jake allowed her to do so without distracting her. ‘Hubert inherited the baronetage upon his father’s death, along with the family’s estate in Esher, close to my own family’s home. We were neighbours and socialised with the Grantleys; I had known them since my infancy. There was some money set aside for Marcus upon his father’s demise and he went into partnership with my brother Rupert in his import business.’
‘Go on,’ Jake encouraged when Olivia paused. He took a sip of his brandy and placed the glass aside. She could smell the liquor on his breath as it peppered her face. Would she taste it later on his lips?
‘The Grantley men were blessed with good looks and considerable charm. Anyone who tells you those qualities do not make a difference is deluding themselves. We are all influenced by beauty in one way or another; be it a work of art, a vista or a handsome face. Marcus knew it and traded upon the fact that nature had smiled upon him. Hubert and Marcus were great favourites in our household and my parents in particular enjoyed their company. They thought Marcus would be a steadying influence upon Rupert. My brother was not especially business-minded, you see. Anyway, that proved to be the case. I recall the years before I came out, when Marcus was constantly at our house, teasing me about how I would take the ton by storm when I was presented. I adored him; I looked upon him as another brother.’
‘But his feelings for you ran deeper?’
‘Yes. By the time I came out, Marcus had made a success of Rupert’s business and taken out his share of the profits, leaving Rupert to run it alone. I did not realise it at the time but Marcus craved risk and excitement, and had only stuck with Rupert until he made enough money to take those risks for himself.’
‘He became involved with theatre?’
‘Yes. He was acquainted with Madame Céleste, the manager of the Adelphi Theatre. He learned that she had been prevented from staging some excellent productions through lack of funding and saw an opportunity. Naturally it worked. Most of Marcus’s ideas did because he thought them through and made certain what he was getting himself into before he committed. He understood that the popularity of the theatre brought with it the need for innovative, affordable productions that would appeal to all classes of society.’
‘And from there he went on to represent the interests of certain actors and actresses?’
‘Yes. He and Hubert argued about that. Hubert is terribly self-aware and thought it demeaning for any Grantley to become embroiled with those who tread the boards.’
‘He failed to take into account the breakdown of social barriers.’ Jake flexed a brow. ‘Where have we encountered similar prejudices in the recent past?’
Olivia smiled, acutely aware of Jake absently coiling and uncoiling one of her ringlets around his forefinger. ‘As a result of the Radicals’ case we now have your friend Lord Willard on the point of marrying my friend Amelia Armitage, the daughter of a middle-class merchant, for no reason other than that he adores her. And we have Armitage’s brother about to marry one of his factory worker’s daughters.’ She chuckled. ‘Poor Hubert. Perhaps knowledge of such presumption on the part of the lower classes has made him take himself off to Timbuktu.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘One can but hope.’
‘You were telling me about Sir Hubert’s reaction to his brother’s enterprise.’
‘What Hubert failed to take into account was that he had been left with a title, a large house and very little cash to run it on. It’s all very well setting oneself above the hoi polloi, until one is unable to pay the bills.’
‘Which is when he decided to get his own hands dirty and involve himself with Marcus’s theatrical business, I imagine.’
‘Yes. He and Hubert were very close, but Marcus had much the sharper brain. He refused to grant Hubert equal partnership rights, something Hubert appeared to think should be his by right. There was never any suggestion of him ploughing any capital into Marcus’s venture, mainly because he didn’t have any to spare. I supposed Marcus’s decision to exclude Hubert. It was Marcus’s money that made the enterprise a success in the first place. He was the one who took all the risks and could have lost everything. Anyway, he gave his brother work to do, using his charm to keep demanding actresses and potential investors happy, and he paid him a salary. When Marcus died I think Hubert imagined he would be able to take over everything.’
‘You ensured he did not.’
‘I owed him nothing,’ Olivia said, wishing that she didn’t sound so defensive. ‘He did nothing to help me in my hour of need. Had it not been for you then I…’ Her voice caught but the reassuring pressure of Jake’s long fingers caressing the back of her neck gave her the strength to continue. ‘Anyway, Marcus’s lawyers knew of a person who would be interested in purchasing his business and I sold it to Mr Barber. Hubert and I have not seen or spoken to one another since that day, shortly after my acquittal, when he came to me in our house in Belgravia, seeming to think he could step into Marcus’s shoes—in all respects.’
‘I think we would be best served if we allowed the blaggard to remain lost,’ Jake said in a disgruntled tone. ‘And I would do so, but for the fact that your late husband obviously owned something that someone will go to any lengths to get their hands on. I don’t wish to alarm you, my dear, but it stands to reason that they will eventually try and look for it here.’
‘They are certainly welcome to try!’ she replied belligerently.
‘What went wrong between you and Marcus, if it is not an indelicate question? You obviously married him because you were comfortable with his society and because he had the good sense to want you, not minding about your lack of dowry.’
‘Actually, considerable pressure was put on me to marry him,’ Olivia replied. ‘I liked him well enough but he was more than ten years my senior and I had never thought of him as husband material. Besides, I had grown attached to the idea of marrying for love.’ She gave a wistful little sigh, thinking how disobliging it had been of Jake not to have been on the prowl for a wife at the time. She had noticed him immediately, despite the excitement and confusion of a first season, in the midst of all those well-heeled gentlemen and had felt a connection to him even then. ‘However, my first season was almost at an end, and no other eligible offers had been forthcoming. My mother and brothers said I was in danger of being left on the shelf.’ Jake made a scoffing sound at the back of his throat. ‘Anyway, they wore me down and so I did what my family wanted me to do.’
‘And yet you were not happy?’
‘For the first few months it was a novelty and I thought I would be content. But it soon became apparent that Marcus was incapable of fidelity. It is a family trait. Hubert is similarly afflicted. Margaret is willing to turn a blind eye, provided he is discreet. I was not, and challenged Marcus when he came home in the early hours reeking of cheap perfume.’ She sighed. ‘He hit me for the first time when we had been married for less than a year. Then he repeatedly raped me, telling me to do as I was told and never question his activities again.’
‘The bastard!’ Jake’s face was puce with rage. ‘I would like to bring him alive again, just so that I could have the satisfaction of killing him myself.’
Olivia touched Jake’s hand, reassured by his anger. ‘He clearly did not understand the character of the lady he had married,’ she said. ‘It is not in my nature to be passive and not ask questions. And I am nothing like Margaret, who only cares about appearances.’
‘That is certainly true.’ Jake touched her face; an intimate gesture that rendered words of reassurance unnecessary. ‘No wonder you were so anxious to help Eva avoid returning to her brutal husband. If I had realised how similar your own past was to hers then I never would have asked you to become involved.’
‘Nonsense!’ Olivia flapped a hand is casual dismissal of Jake’s concerns. ‘Eva and I were both married to men who sought to control us; that much is true. But my character is very different from Eva’s. Eva was prepared to endure her lot but after Marcus behaved worse than an animal, I lost all respect for the handsome charmer I had married. I was not about to be violated by him for a second time.’ Olivia closed her eyes, threw back her head and emitted a prolonged sigh. ‘Marcus did not treat me as a possession, or attempt to control my activities; I will say that much for him. Nor did he care whom I consorted with, just so long as I was to hand if he needed me at his side to lend respectability to his activities. Even so, I did not trust him not to hurt me again and so I engaged a private tutor to teach me how to defend myself against a stronger male opponent.’
‘Ah, I have often wondered how you came by that particular skill,’ Jake replied with the ghost of a smile. ‘After teaching you the rudiments of fencing, and how to shoot straight, I suggested, if you recall, that lessons in hand-to-hand combat might be beneficial.’
Olivia chuckled. ‘At which point I landed you on your backside. I never did apologise for that.’
‘You were too busy laughing, if memory serves.’
‘Well anyway, suffice it to say that the next time Marcus attempted to force himself upon me whilst in a drunken stupor, he realised that he had badly miscalculated the extent of my unwillingness to entertain him. We reached an agreement at that point, and led more or less separate lives. Even so, Marcus badly wanted a son and I could not ignore my duty in that regard. And so he visited my room at regular intervals and I have the blessing of Tom to show for those unpleasant but mercifully brief couplings.’ Olivia’s smile was wide and uncontrived. ‘My son is the one good thing to come out of my unhappy marriage.’
‘And a credit to you.’
Olivia chuckled. ‘Most of the time.’
‘You lived in Belgravia.’ Olivia nodded. ‘Sir Hubert does not have a town house?’
‘Not of his own, but he used ours as if it was his. I swear he and Margaret spent more time beneath our roof than they did their own. Even after I disabused him of the idea that he could take over Marcus’s business, he seemed to think he and Margaret would be welcome in Belgravia.’
‘Astonishing,’ Jake said, shaking his head.
‘He soon realised that he had mistaken the matter,’ Olivia said with asperity. ‘I sold the house and moved here. I didn’t need that barn of a place and wanted to be somewhere quieter and less fashionable.’ She exhaled slowly. ‘Anyway, going back to my marriage, I became quite ill when I realised I was carrying Tom and Marcus had the decency to leave me alone after that. He did not return to my bedroom after the birth and I made no further mention of his affairs. If other women meant he would leave me to enjoy my child then I would not risk making waves and angering him. I suppose you could say that in some respects I started to understand why Margaret behaved in the way that she did; allowing Hubert to act as he pleased. The Grantley men were accustomed to having their way in everything, and did not take kindly to being told what to do.’
‘Why did you argue on the night he was killed?’
‘We had all been to the first night of one of his productions. I could see at once that he had more than a business interest in the leading lady, but that did not bother me. There was a party afterwards but we left early and a group of us went back to the house in Belgravia.’ Olivia closed her eyes for an expressive moment. ‘I went upstairs at one point when we returned home after the performance and found Marcus and the lady in question in flagrante delicto in my bed. I saw red, ordered her out of the house and Marcus was furious with me!’ Olivia huffed indignantly. ‘He said others were trying to persuade the woman…you will know her name. She is now very famous. Verity Aspin.’
Jake nodded. ‘I saw her perform in Twelfth Night a year or so ago. She is an accomplished actress.’
‘And not a nice person; take it from me. Anyway, I was incensed because Marcus had gone too far this time. Carrying on discretely was one thing, but we had a houseful of guests, all of whom had seen them ascend the stairs together. The disrespect was beyond insulting, but all Marcus cared about was losing Miss Aspin to another agent which, he told me, would mean a considerable loss of income.’
‘Where Aspin went, others followed?’
‘That is what Marcus said. Miss Aspin did not leave the house, of course. She remained in the room, repairing her hair and listening to Marcus defend her against me. She never liked me, you see because—’
‘Because you are more beautiful than she is and women of that ilk must always be the centre of attention.’
Olivia shrugged. ‘Perhaps. I have always thought it was she who had insisted upon using my bed. She had a point to make, you see. She wanted a confrontation and for Marcus to take her side. Well, she got her wish and Marcus returned downstairs with Miss Aspin on his arm as though nothing untoward had happened. I saw all the pitying glances being sent my way, something inside of me snapped and I knew I couldn’t live like that anymore. Deep down I also know I should have waited until the following day, when we were alone, to tell him how I felt but…well, you know how fiery I can be when I am aggrieved and I simply couldn’t hold it all in. Marcus was outside, or I thought he was. When I went to look for him I found him on the floor in a pool of blood, dying and…well, you know the rest.’
Jake leaned in and gently covered her lips with his own.
‘Thank you for telling me. I know it cannot have been easy for you.’
Olivia rested her head on his shoulder and sighed. ‘Do you imagine that whatever is being looked for has to do with Verity Aspin? I would not put anything past her. She has more skeletons in her cupboard than they have in the local graveyard.’
‘Tomorrow we shall look together through your husband’s records, if you still have them, to see whom he represented at the time.’
‘Yes, there are still some boxes but I have not looked at them. All the up to date records were in the office that Mr Barber took over, but anything personal will be boxed up in the attic here. I will have Green bring those boxes down.’
‘I shall also have to speak with Margaret.’
‘I do not envy you that,’ Olivia replied, wrinkling her nose.
‘I live to serve,’ he replied with a wry smile.
To Olivia’s intense disappoint he stood and she knew he was going to leave her. ‘Must you go?’ she asked.
‘I cannot spend the night with you here, Olivia, much as I would like to. It is easier when you are at my house. A larger establishment, discreet servants. Molly was almost shocked into giving notice when she realised I had been with you in your room at Grosvenor Square.’
‘Hang Molly! She is stepping out with a young curate and is now very morally upright but if her attitude does not improve I shall dismiss her myself.’
Jake groaned. ‘Don’t tempt me, my love. Why do you think I have stayed away from you? I cannot bear to be near you and not with you. I am simply not that strong.’
Olivia’s heart soared. In spite of the fact that he now knew all her sordid secrets, he did not seem deterred. ‘I am a widow. The rules don’t apply to me.’
Jake sent her a scorching smile. ‘We both know that is not precisely true.’
‘Then we had best find my wretched brother-in-law and discover whatever it is that has caused two men to be brutally murdered, because I fully intend to take you up on your invitation to spend the summer with you in Torbay.’
‘When we reach the seclusion of Torbay we will be at leisure to please ourselves.’ He pulled her into his arms and kissed her—far too briefly—before releasing her again. ‘I shall call upon you again in the morning,’ he said as he released her and turned towards the door.