Gideon gave a heavy sigh. “Then I’m right back to the beginning of trying to solve this mystery with no clues as to who is the culprit.”
“These sorts of things have a way of coming out. Perhaps with more time, some of those missing memories will return. Until then, you have another problem that will cause your head to ache,” Asher sniggered with a sly grin.
“What could be a bigger problem that someone trying to kill me or Violet?” he asked with another frown of worry.
“Once Mother finds you haven’t landed some Society lady with a huge dowry, she’s going to have a fit!”
“Like I would have stood a chance or wanted one of them anyway. I honestly never understood how she thought I’d marry some debutante when I’m only a second son.” Gideon slumped in his chair and downed his drink just thinking of the conversation he would need to have with his mother. “God help me with me trying to explain my reasoning to her why her ideas of grandeur for me will all be for naught.”
“You know Mother… she honestly only wants the best for us even if she sometimes goes about her objectives in the wrong way or without thinking things through,” Asher commented with a short laugh.
As if they had conjured their mother up, she was heard in the hallway telling Harrington to get out of her way.
Asher rose to his feet and Gideon did the same, preparing to be berated by his mother. “Let’s talk more about Dawkes and what we can do to perhaps catch him at his own game after Mother leaves,” his brother commented dryly as he pulled at the cravat at his neck. “Ithink I have an idea that might work.”
Before Gideon could answer, their mother swept into the study throwing her wrap on the floor before pointing to Gideon.
“Explain yourself!” she screeched. “I have just spoken to Patience, who filled me in on your upcoming marriage to her cousin, an apothecarist who runs the business on her own. You will be the death of me!”
Gideon had no choice but to listen to his mother complain to him for the next hour. Between the two brothers, they finally were able to calm her down and get her to listen to them tell her of the wedding that would take place in Bracknell. But he wouldn’t worry his mother by telling her of the danger he and her future daughter-in-law might encounter. Perhaps whatever plan Asher had in mind might solve everything if they were lucky.
Chapter Thirty
It had beenover a week since Gideon had left to return to London and Violet was anxious that perhaps his godmother’s husband hadn’t agreed to giving Gideon a bishop’s license to marry. After hiding away in her parents’ house since he’d left, Violet had felt caged and couldn’t stand the confinement any longer. After arguing with both her father and brother, and reluctantly leaving her mother in tears from worrying about her daughter’s welfare, Violet returned to work at the apothecary.
It wasn’t without restrictions, however. Her brother escorted her to their shop and remained the entire time. She felt that perhaps they were overreacting. Maybe she wasn’t in danger. Yes, someone had thrown a brick, but they didn’t know for sure the fire in her home had been set. Perhaps that had been a coincidence, and they didn’t need to watch over her like mother hens. She was a grown woman and perfectly capable of taking care of herself! But she had agreed upon their condition only after they reminded her of the promise she had made to her future husband.
Husband… she had hoped that by this time of this week she would have been a married woman, maybe even happily so, though they hadn’t fully declared their love for one another. But such emotions lay just beneath the surface in her heart and she had a hunch that Gideon felt the same. Another vision of his muscular chest as he lay abed swiftly passed through her mind causing her face to flush with heat. What awaited her in their marriage bed could only be something she had always wished for: a doting husband who showed her the way to what true love must be. She could barely wait for their wedding night together.
What was detaining him so long in London? She couldn’t help herself from worrying over every possible scenario, including that he had changed his mind. She shook her head out of such thoughts and knew she was being ridiculous. Gideon had already gained her trust. Now was not the time to doubt any portion of what had begun between them, especially since she would be marrying the man as soon as he returned to Bracknell.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a person lingering at the glass door to the apothecary. When she saw who it was, she gasped and stepped back from the counter, her hand lingering upon her heaving chest.
“Good heavens!” she exclaimed in fright.
“What’s the matter, Violet?” her brother asked, rushing from the back room to her side.
She squeezed her eyes shut and then opened them again; the man who had possibly been stalking her at the front door was gone. “I think I just saw Major Dawkes.”
“Bloody hell,” Owen cursed and moved to look outside. The bell jangled as he opened the door and looked both ways up and down the crowded street.
She watched him start walking toward the right but any further movement was restricted from her view since the main window had yet to be replaced. She stumbled her way to her chair by the stove and slid down into it before her legs gave out. She had never thought ofherself as so weak but someone burning down your house tended to make even the strongest person lose their confidence in themselves.
The door opened again and Violet held her breath. A loud whoosh left her once she recognized Owen’s return.
“The damn bastard outran me and I lost him in the streets,” he muttered coming to rest his arm around her shoulder. “Are you well, Violet?”
She turned up her face to meet him and couldn’t suppress a shudder. “How am I supposed to answer that when someone is possibly out to kill me?”
He pulled over the vacant chair and took hold of her hands. “We don’t know for certain that your house burning down wasn’t just an accident.”
She frowned, knowing in her heart this was no accident. “There are just too many misfortunes all happening at once for it to be anything other than something planned.”
“If this is the case, we’ll catch the culprit. We already have the constable looking into the matter.”
She gave a heavy sigh. “I’ll feel better when Gideon returns. My nerves are shattered worrying about what is taking him so long. Do you suppose the bishop declined the license for us to marry?” she asked.
“I’m sure you’re worrying over nothing, at least where your future husband is concerned. Why I’ve never seen a man go to such lengths to make amends to a woman in my life. That man cares for you, Violet, and I don’t think anything would stop him from gaining whatever he desires, including you,” he said with a wink.
