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“Damn.” The curse exploded from Elijah’s lips as he threw his napkin onto the table beside his mostly empty plate. He caught Josie’s startled gaze and grimaced. “My apologies, Josie. Just…” His voice trailed off, and he sighed, shaking his head. Glancing around the room, he got to his feet. “I will go now.”
“Now?” Josie could understand why he wanted to verify Evie’s information, but why the rush? The men exchanged glances, piquing her ire, and she narrowed her eyes at them. There was something they knew they did not want to tell her. “Why do you have to go now? Why can he not wait? Surely, they will not bury him so quickly.”
“Not bury, sell.” Elijah corrected, startling the other gentlemen with his candidness. Joseph staunchly disapproved, while Adam and Uncle Oliver were more hesitant. She blinked as she took in Elijah’s statement. “St. Bartholomew’s is known for selling bodies that go unclaimed, and it’s very possible our Frenchman will be sold.”
Her mouth popped open in shock and horror before she managed to recover herself. If she reacted too strongly, Elijah might not tell her about such things in the future.
“They will sell him?” She was proud of how even she kept her voice, as though she was asking after a horse, not a person.
“If we do not get there to claim the body first, yes.” Elijah stepped away from the table, giving them all an apologetic look. “I will go now.”
“Take Joseph with you,” Uncle Oliver said, relieving Josie of the worry Elijah would go out alone, but still…
“I want to come, too.” Josie delicately placed her own napkin down.
“No.” Elijah met her narrowed gaze. “There is no need. There will be nothing you can do there, and considering the man I met the other night was in good health, it is likely he died violently. That is not something you need to see.”
Josie opened her mouth to argue, then closed it again. Joseph, Adam, and Uncle Oliver were staring at her. Elijah had worded his objection carefully, not indicating she could also identify Jacques—and truth be told, he was right. There was no reason for both of them to go. He could identify the man without her.
Since Elijah had taken the time to reasonably lay out his objections, Josie would show him she could be reasonable as well. Besides, giving in now would give her more ammunition later to join him when she was more interested.
“Very well,” she said stiffly, granting him the concession and giving him a significant look to ensure he noted how cooperative she was being.
Elijah
“I cannot believe Josie wanted to see this.” Joseph stared down at the battered face. It was Jacques, recognizable despite the beating he’d taken before his death.
The St. Bartholomew’s orderly coughed from his place in the corner, and Elijah elbowed his brother. The orderly was already agog, probably wondering why two members of thehaut tonshowed up out of nowhere to see an unclaimed body. They did not need to fuel his curiosity.
“She did not want to see this,” Elijah muttered. “She did not want to be left out. There is a difference.” Joseph snorted but did not argue.
Jacques’ death had been hard. He had been beaten and eventually strangled, then his tongue had been cut out. One could only presume his talking to Elijah had been discovered and punished, especially since he had divulged information he was not supposed to have disclosed.
Or maybe just talking to Elijah had been enough?
Then why had he been given a story to tell if someone came asking questions?
Frustrated, Elijah stared at the corpse and wished he could ask Jacques a few more questions, wondering if the man had information he’d held back.
However, there was nothing more for them here.
“Come on.” Although he felt a small pang of conscience leaving the man there on the slab, it was enough he stopped by the orderly. He arranged to pay for a proper burial for Jacques rather than allowing him to be sold to the anatomists or end up in a pauper’s grave. The man had been helping a villain, but he had not seemed dangerous on his own. He had unknowingly gotten mixed up in the wrong business and paid dearly for it.
“Now what?” Joseph asked, trotting at Elijah’s heels, his brow furrowed. “That’s another lead dead. Somehow, this villain always knows our moves.”
“Yes.” They had a leak somewhere. “I need to talk to Mitchell.”
He had already directed Mitchell to look into the men Jacques had recently gambled with, hoping they could backtrace the steps to the person to who he’d owed his debt. Elijah did not have any other avenues to investigate at the moment. Now, he could have Mitchell ask around about Jacques’ death as well. As much as he wished he could do so directly, the kinds of men who would have the answers he sought would answer Mitchell far more readily than they would him. He might send Adam around as well.
This was one of those instances where his upright reputation worked against him.
Unless he went disguised, but his mind balked. He foresaw a fight with Josie and was not sure he had enough arguments martialed to keep her out of things. Besides, if there was someone on the inside, going out in disguise would be even more dangerous than going out as himself.
Thugs who would hesitate to attack a member of the nobility would think nothing of attacking someone dressed like one of them. Though Anthony and Nathan would be up for accompanying him, he was better off in the ballrooms, where both the French and Russian delegations were. He had spent too much time trying to trace threads among the villain’s henchmen rather than searching for him directly.
“Do you think this will impact the wedding?” Joseph was hesitant about asking, but Elijah did not judge him. Though they were hunting a traitor, which was of utmost importance, it was so people could live peaceably, get married, and have children without having to worry about their futures. Which made the wedding just as important in its own way.
They were securing futures worth fighting for.
