AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The footmen exchanged a worried gaze, but Jarvis just looked at his pocket watch.
“I am the one who pays your wages, gentlemen,” Jarvis said. “So you better comply.”
The footmen still hesitated, but after a moment, they gently placed their master into a cold bath.
Greyson sputtered awake. “What—”
“You fell asleep in the tub,” Jarvis said, unperturbed.
“Clothed?” Greyson looked around the room, then wiped his face.
“You better put yourself together and quickly,” Jarvis said. “I have a few questions I need to ask you.”
Greyson still looked confused.
“Tell me about the girl,” Jarvis said coldly. “And do not try evading the question. You know who I am asking about. The dead girl.”
Greyson winced. “I did not kill her.”
“You invited her to a masquerade ball where she died.”
Greyson sat in a cold bath, his clothing soaking more and more with every moment. He didn’t look up, just watched the water. “I loved her,” he finally said.
Jarvis scoffed. “Like you love your wife? Or like you love Lady Carlyle?”
Greyson ignored him. “I invited her to the Kensington ball, but she didn’t show. I assumed she couldn’t leave. She said she had a… difficult relative at her house who might not let her out. A brother, I believe. So I didn’t dwell on it.”
“So you took Lady Carlyle into the study instead for a late-night tryst.” Jarvis grimaced in revulsion. “How can you say you loved her when you didn’t even bother to arrange an escort for a young girl? How can you say you love your wife when you openly frolic with other ladies every damn night?”
“You don’t understand!” Greyson shouted. He washed his face with the cold bath water and covered it with his hands. “I am doing it for her! She is weak; she cannot bear children. I am only doing it to spare her my advances. I am doing it all for her.”
Jarvis’s nose twitched in disgust. “You’re right. I do not understand.” He paced the carpet before his cousin for a moment before turning back to him. “If what you’re saying is true, and you did not kill the girl—”
“I did not kill her, I swear!”
“Then you should leave. Pack your valises, take your wife, and leave. For the seaside, to the Continent, as far away from here as possible. Because there are powerful, dangerous people looking for you, and until we find out who truly killed her, they’ll assume you did it. And they do not listen to reason. Trust me.”
Greyson nodded meekly.
Jarvis turned to leave but paused at the door. “And please do not entangle yourself with more relationships while you’re away.”
Jarvis came to visit immediately after breakfast. Olivia flew into the parlor and was ready to drop into his arms. But he stood rigidly by the window, looking out.
“Jarvis,” Olivia said carefully, her smile lingering on her lips.
He turned and gave her a soft smile. “You look beautiful.”
“Are you well? You seemed exhausted last night. Have you rested?”
“Yes, my dear, I am well.” Again, that smile. It wasn’t exactly a happy smile. It was weary and almost sad.
“Have you spoken to my father?”
Jarvis cleared his throat, then came closer to Olivia. “No, dear. And I am not going to.”
Olivia’s eyes widened. “What?”
“Unless you tell me you’re with child.”
