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“I beg pardon, my lady. I’m looking for… Oh, there you are, my lord. There’s a constable here to see you.”
“A constable?”
“Yes, my lord. He says it’s quite an urgent matter.”
Evan sighed. He was going to be arrested for the publication and distribution of obscene material. “Fine. Bring him up here then. I am not leaving Lady Alexandra’s side.”
“Evan,” Sophie said, “you’re supposed to be in bed yourself.”
“For God’s sake, doesn’t anyone listen to me around here anymore? I am not leaving her side. That is final. If the constable needs to speak to me that badly, send him up here.”
Woods bowed. “Yes, my lord.”
A few moments later, Woods returned with the constable.
“I’m very sorry to disturb you, my lord,” the constable said.
At least he was being polite before placing Evan under arrest. “Yes, you are disturbing me. What is it that I can do for you?”
“There was a disturbance at your business last night.”
Evan arched his eyebrows. “There was?”
“The desk clerk at your printing house, Frank Osborne, was shot and killed. We attempted to arrest the man responsible—a Nigel Ryland.”
Ryland? Could it be? “Indeed. How did you find him?”
“Two of his men turned canary. Told us he’s the head of some anti-pornography group. They say he’s gone off his nut. We questioned a few of the employees at the printing house this morning, and they corroborated that Osborne had been printing an underground paper at the press without your knowledge.”
“He had?” So Alexandra had been in league with Osborne… Or had she? Was it possible she’d been telling him the truth? That she knew nothing about his printing business? And who had beaten her?
“Yes.”
“What of this Ryland fellow?”
“He resisted arrest and was shot dead by a constable.”
Evan opened his mouth to speak but shut it abruptly. If Ryland was dead, there was no need to inform the constable that he had kidnapped Sophie and shot Evan. Nothing could be done about it now anyway, and Alexandra might be incriminated if he said anything. Sophie had been returned unharmed, and Evan would recover.
“There’s something else you may want to know. The two men who turned him in mentioned that Osborne severely beat a woman matching Lady Alexandra’s description.”
Fire rose within Evan. That fucking bastard. He was damned lucky was already dead.
What had Alexandra been doing there? Well, it didn’t rightly matter. The man was gone, and now Evan knew who had been behind the printing disaster. Why hadn’t he believed Alexandra? His love?
None of it mattered now. All that mattered was Alexandra. The doctor had sworn she would recover. Evan prayed to God that Stanton spoke the truth.
He gazed at the woman he loved. Her swollen face and battered body pained him more than his gunshot wound—more than any wound to his own body ever could.
“Is there anything else I can do for you, Constable?”
“Not at this time. I’m sorry to have to give you the bad news about one of your employees.”
“Good riddance, it would seem.”
“Yes.”
“What of the two men who gave you the information about Ryland?”
