AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He barked a laugh. “That’s it? Your proof is that I strongly denied the accusations? Good grief, Miss Fox, you need to do better than that.”
Harry held the note up between two fingers. “Who is this from?”
It took a moment for Mr. Hardwick to register that we’d picked up the discarded paper. When he did, he snatched it out of Harry’s hand. “I don’t know. It’s not signed.”
“But you have a suspicion as to the identity of the author.”
Mr. Hardwick’s only response was to glare at Harry.
“You should alert the police.”
Mr. Hardwick snorted. “Don’t be absurd.” He waved the note in the air. “This is ridiculous.”
“I would take it more seriously, if I were you. If the murderer sent it, your life could be in danger, too.”
“If the killer wanted me to pay for something he thinks I did, then I’d already be dead.” He tucked the note into the pocket of his riding breeches. “He wouldn’t challenge me to a duel, of all things. Anyway, Vernon didn’t receive any threatening letters before his death, so I don’t think this has anything to do with it.”
A teammate arrived and urged his captain to hurry along. “Everyone’s waiting for you, Hardwick. Come on.”
Mr. Hardwick pointed at Harry and me. “These two aren’t staff. They’re private investigators and they’re going through our things. Help me throw them out, will you?”
The teammate looked at me. “Both of them?”
Harry edged closer to Mr. Hardwick. With mere inches separating them, Harry’s superior height and build were obvious. “Do not lay a hand on Miss Fox.” The words were barely audible, but the menace in his tone was loud and clear.
Mr. Hardwick lifted his chin in defiance, but his hard swallow gave him away.
His teammate stepped aside and indicated the exit. “Sir, miss, if you don’t mind.”
I took Harry’s hand and we left. I didn’t let go or look back until we reached the service courtyard behind the clubhouse. “He was lying about not knowing who wrote the letter,” I said.
Harry nodded. “And probably about not knowing Rigg-Lyon doped the horses. But we only have instinct, not proof.”
“How do we get proof?”
Neither of us had the answer to that, but Harry had a suggestion for how to move forward. “Hardwick mentioned that Rigg-Lyon didn’t receive a threatening letter before his death. He seemed certain, but I think it’s worth checking with Mrs. Rigg-Lyon.” He blew out a breath, releasing the final vestiges of his anger. “I’ll fetch Victor and tell him we’re leaving.”
He went to move off, but I caught his arm, only to quickly release it. I folded my arms over my chest, tucking my hands away. “You didn’t have to stand up for me as you did.”
His jaw firmed. “Right. You can take care of yourself and don’t need me. I understand perfectly.”
“Let me finish,” I chided. “I was going to say you didn’t have to stand up for me, but thank you for doing so. I appreciate it.”
Since he merely stood there, staring at me without moving, I offered to fetch Victor. I headed into the clubhouse with Harry’s gaze burning into my back. I’d admitted my appreciation as a peace offering for incorrectly assuming he’d told my uncle about Mr. Miller. Hopefully we could now put the tension that incident had caused behind us.
Hopefully, I hadn’t made everything even more awkward.
Chapter14
Victor returned to the hotel while Harry and I traveled to Marylebone to speak to Mrs. Rigg-Lyon. We told her housekeeper that we had news about her husband’s murder and she showed us through to the drawing room. It wasn’t a lie. We did have news. Just not answers.
Mrs. Rigg-Lyon’s face was unreadable when we explained that we had more questions. It was difficult to know from her icy stiffness whether she was upset that we hadn’t found her husband’s killer, or relieved that we weren’t accusing her.
I began by telling her about the threatening letter Mr. Hardwick received. “The anonymous author of the note stated that Mr. Hardwick knew something your husband did, the implication being that he’d done something heinous. Do you know what that might be?”
Her pale face did show a measure of relief, finally. “No, Miss Fox. Vernon didn’t make a habit of confiding in me.”
“But he did confide in Mr. Hardwick?”
