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“Of all the times to be interrupted….”
“Maybe it was a good thing.” Victoria adjusted her skirts to put them back into place. “After all, we shouldn’t let ourselves get so carried away.”
Rafe stared at her.
“When two people have such passion for the other, you think that should be stopped?”
“I….”
Victoria didn’t know what to say. She felt embarrassed for saying it. Now Rafe was staring at her like he couldn’t believe what she had said. That had come out wrong, and now Victoria didn’t know what to say.
She was saved from saying anything more by the door opening, and Manning ushered in a tall, stocky-looking man in his twenties, his ash-blond hair cut short with a trim moustache. He was a handsome, dashing-looking gentleman, especially in the red uniform he wore. Victoria recognised the uniform. He was a soldier.
What was a soldier doing here?
Rafe went around the settee and approached him. The soldier gave him a bow.
“Lord Blackmore. I was not expecting to see you back in England.”
“Things have changed.” Rafe held out a hand and grasped the other man’s arm. “How are you, Millinchip? Manning said you went and served in the army against the French. I didn’t expect that of you.”
“Well, it felt like the right time. So, I decided to go for it.” Millinchip looked past Rafe towards Victoria. He arched an eyebrow. “Lady Victoria? I wasn’t expecting you to be here.”
“It’s a long story,” Victoria said quickly. “Unless you’ve heard of the story already.”
“I heard something about the two of you, but I still don’t quite believe it.” Millinchip looked back at Rafe with a frown. “Manning said you wanted to talk to me about…that day. About what I remember.”
“Is that a problem for you?”
“I did try to testify for you back when it happened, and your father wanted it as well. But nobody would listen to me.” Millinchip lifted his chin as he straightened up. “I know you didn’t kill Lord Hayward.”
Victoria stared. Had she heard him correctly?
“You saw who killed my brother?”
“No, I didn’t. But I know it wasn’t Lord Blackmore.”
“How can you be so sure?”
Millinchip glanced at Rafe, who gave him a nod. Millinchip sighed.
“I was one of the beaters for that hunt. I had ended up falling back because I needed to collect a pheasant that had fallen into the undergrowth by the river. It took a while for me to get it out. While I was catching up to everyone else, I stumbled on Lord Blackmore on the ground.”
Victoria stared. Rafe frowned.
“You found me unconscious? I don’t remember that.”
“I wasn’t there when you woke up. But I did come across your body. Your rifle was out of reach, and you were lying face down. For a moment, I thought you were dead. But when I checked you by rolling you onto your back, you were still breathing.” Millinchip moved away from Rafe, looking at Victoria. “That’s when I heard the shot. It was very close by, and I heard a thud. I went to look, and I found your brother.”
“You found his body? But Gregory said he found the body.”
“Obviously, he’s not going to pay attention to a simple servant like me. I was at Lord Hayward’s body first, and....” He grimaced. “Forgive me, Lady Victoria, but there was nothing I could do.”
So, did that mean that Rafe hadn’t killed her brother? Victoria felt like she had been thrown into the sea with a weight tied around her waist. She felt like she was sinking, and she couldn’t swim away.
“What happened then?” Rafe prompted.
“The next thing I knew, your cousin came charging out of the clearing. He let out a howl and dropped his rifle before pushing me aside and falling beside Lord Hayward. He was hunched over his cousin, practically lying on top of him as he wailed. The old Earl and Lord Mowbray came out. Then….” Millinchip frowned. “Then you appeared, my lord. And you looked different.”
