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Feeling like he needed to speak with someone who understood his dilemma, he tapped on the ceiling of the carriage and instructed his driver to take him to Amy’s house. Hopefully she would be home and could offer some peace of mind just by being herself.
He spent the ride trying to clear his mind of the session he’d just gone through with the police.
Stevens greeted him and opened the door to allow him entrance. “Yes, my lord, Lady Amy is at home and was expecting you. Her ladyship is in the drawing room.”
He made his way down the corridor and stepped into the drawing room, feeling a sense of peace just being there. Amy hopped up from the settee and hurried over to him, wrapping her arms around his middle. Startled, he pulled her closer, and his eyes shuttered as he held her, his chin resting on her head.
They said nothing for a full minute, the sound of his heart pounding in his ears, then slowly returning to normal. Finally Amy pulled back, and he immediately missed her warmth and the scent of lavender that always surrounded her.
“Was it terrible?”
He thought of playing the cavalier and making light of it, but then realized he wanted her to know the truth. He didn’t want to hide this from her. Or anything else, for that matter. What that meant, he didn’t have the energy to analyze right then. He looked down into her deep-green eyes, full of caring and something else warm and inviting, and said, “Yes.” He closed his eyes and tucked her against his body, resting his chin on her head again. “It was terrible.”
CHAPTER 21
Three days later, William arrived back at Amy’s house in the early afternoon to escort her to the Pump Room. She hadn’t seen him since the day he’d been interrogated by the police. He’d told her he would be busy for the next few days, gathering whatever information he could to give to his solicitor and barrister.
He’d sent a note to her saying that he needed a break and a distraction and suggested an outing to the Pump Room and then maybe a walk in Victoria Park. While he was busy with his issues, Amy spent her time making a list of all their suspects. She’d added Mrs. Ethel Burrows from the ledger to her original list of Mrs. Whitney, Patrick Whitney, Miss Gertrude O’Neill, and Mr. David Montrose.
Five suspects. All with a reason to kill Mr. Harding. They’d yet to find Mr. Montrose. William had checked his clubs, and he and Amy had attended the Assembly dances since all of this had started, and so far Mr. Montrose had not yet made an appearance.
Although Mr. Lemmon had admitted to William that he’d had issues with Mr. Harding and they’d found his file among those hidden at Harding’s home, they hadn’t yet decided to add his name to the list, since he’d seemed to be more interested in getting his barrister to straighten out the mess Harding had caused with his finances.
William had stayed away from the book club meeting the night before, and Amy had to admit the gathering had seemed rather dull without him. A few members had asked after him, and she’d only said he was engaged in business matters.
Apparently no one had heard about the police considering William their top suspect, for which she was grateful. It had been difficult for her the year before when the police had assumed she’d killed her ex-fiancé and everyone had inundated her with questions.
Tomorrow was the Assembly again, and maybe they would be lucky this time. Amy had asked around at morning calls—which she viewed as a sacrifice to William’s well-being—and finally someone had heard of Mrs. Burrows. She apparently owned a small millinery in the center of Bath.
Maybe before she and William returned home from their trip to town, they could find the millinery shop, the Hat Box, and speak with Mrs. Burrows.
The door to her bedchamber opened. “His lordship has arrived.” Lacey walked into the room. “You’ve done your hair yourself. Why did you not summon me?”
Amy shrugged. “You were busy with something else. Why? Does it look bad?”
Lacey studied her mistress. “It could be worse. Let me adjust your hat so that it might hide part of it.”
“I guess that means yes, it does look bad,” Amy mumbled, as Lacey directed her to a chair and began to fool with her hair and hat.
“Don’t take too long. I don’t want to keep Lord Wethington waiting.”
“Oh my.” Lacey grinned and continued to fuss with her hair.
Amy stood. “I don’t know what you mean by oh my, but I think you’ve done enough with my hair.”
She grabbed her reticule and left the room. William waited for her at the front door, chatting with Stevens. He turned and gave her a wide smile that set off some strange sensations in her stomach.
“Good afternoon, my lady. You look wonderful.” He gave a slight bow.
Amy turned to face Lacey, who was just descending the stairs, and merely raised her eyebrows. Apparently William didn’t think she’d made such a mess of her hair.
Once they were settled in the carriage, Amy withdrew the list she’d compiled that morning. “I have names here that we can investigate.”
William raised his hand. “I appreciate your work on this, but for this afternoon, I prefer not to speak of anything having to do with Harding’s death, my pending arrest, the suspects, and my friends Detective Marsh and Detective Carson. Let us just enjoy the day out.”
Although she was anxious to share her information, she understood his need for a respite. He must have spent a great deal of time worrying and searching for information since the last time she’d seen him.
“Yes. You are correct. The sun is shining, it’s a beautiful day for February, and we should discuss nothing but happy, joyful things.”
