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“They got into a terrible row over it. Then her father collapsed in a heap. She had Walter move him to a bed and sent for his regular doctor. In the meantime, she examined him and claimed he’d had a heart attack.”
Edwin could not help but wonder if the man pretended such to bring Rayne to heel. From what he’d learned of the man so far, he would not be surprised. He’d manipulated Rayne her entire life. And if he had pulled this stunt, it had apparently worked. “Do you know what the other doctor said?”
She shook her head. “No. It was after he left that Dr. Stevens came into the kitchen to ask for some herbs to make a tea for her father. It was while she was here that she told me she’d decided to marry Mr. Faulkner-Jones. I can’t help but think she only told me so she could say it out loud to convince herself.”
Guilt was a terrible thing, and from what Mrs. Foster just told him, it was an argument between Rayne and her father that precipitated his heart attack. Edwin refused to believe it had caused his heart attack, but that was most likely how Rayne felt.
“Can you put some of that wonderful smelling stew into a bowl? I’d like to insist that Dr. Stevens eat something.”
Mrs. Foster nodded and grabbed a bowl from the shelf over the stove. She filled it with the stew and handed it to him. “You are so wonderful for her, my lord. I would never overstep my place to suggest to Dr. Stevens that she toss over the other bloke and marry you, but that is precisely what she should do.”
She blushed, obviously realizing she had, indeed, just overstepped her position.
He grinned. “Yes, Mrs. Foster. That is my plan. I don’t care that she thinks marrying Mr. Faulkner-Jones will assuage her guilt. I love her and will not give up until Mr. Faulkner-Jones is well on his way back to wherever it was he came from and Dr. Stevens is my wife.”
Mrs. Foster placed her hands in a prayer position against her chest. “Thank the Good Lord!”
Chapter 18
Edwin entered Nick Smith’s office in his hotel. He was surprised to see Carter Westbrooke sitting in one of the chairs in front of Nick’s desk. Edwin shook hands with the two men and took the seat alongside Carter.
As soon as Edwin had left Rayne two days before, after making sure she ate the entire bowl of stew, he managed to get a promise from her that she wouldn’t do anything rash for a few days. She reluctantly nodded, and he was pleased to have at least a little bit of time to work his plan.
His heart beat a staccato as he attempted to appear relaxed. So much depended on what Nick had to say.
“Did you get any information?”
Nick leaned back and rested his elbow on the arm of his large, leather chair, cupping his chin with his index finger and thumb. He looked like the cat who had just stolen the cream. “Shall I tell him, Carter, or do you want to do the honors?”
Edwin had always thought there was something shady about Faulkner-Jones and just didn’t understand his need for a hurry up marriage to a woman he’d been betrothed to for a few years.
Carter cleared his throat. “It seems Mr. Faulkner-Jones is in a hurry to marry for two reasons.” He raised his hand and ticked off on his fingers. “First, he has petitioned for a promotion in his field of study, which is archeology. He has the opportunity to lead a new venture, but one of the requirements is he must be married.”
“Why?” That seemed like an unusual requirement for that sort of a job.
“Wherever it is that this new archeological dig will be, there is an abundance of—shall we say—ladies of the night. The dig is sponsored by a religious organization and they don’t want temptation among their scientists.”
“But he doesn’t intend to take his wife with him.” Edwin was even more confused.
“It doesn’t matter. The group leaders feel as though a married man will honor his vows whether his wife is with him or not.”
Edwin studied his hands for a minute, taking this information in, wondering how he could use it.
Then Nick took up the conversation. “However, the best part of our investigation came from some of my informants.”
Knowing Nick had numerous contacts in the underworld due to his early years on the streets of London, Edwin perked up at this comment. “Yes?”
“It seems your Mr. Faulkner-Jones has an arrest warrant with his name on it. Hence the necessity for speed to get the marriage over with. Our man needs to get out of England as quickly as possible. I believe if it hadn’t been a requirement for him to be married for this project, Dr. Stevens would have languished as his ‘betrothed’ for years.”
Edwin took in all that information in stunned silence. After a few moments, he said, “What is the arrest warrant for?”
Carter handed a paper to Edwin. “Years ago, he falsified information on an artifact that he sold to a museum. The curators found out, but Faulkner-Jones was out of the country and there was no extradition agreement between England and wherever it was he was holed up at the time. So, the warrant languishes, but if he is caught within the country, he goes right to gaol.”
Edwin sat back and let the information process. “I wonder if Dr. Stevens’ father knows about this?”
“It is our guess he does not. Based on what you’ve told me, his only interest in the matter is to see his daughter tied to her medical practice her whole life, with no chance of a normal, healthy relationship with a husband and a family. Hence, his desire to see her married to a man who will see her only a handful of times over their lifetime.”
Edwin snapped. “Son of a bitch.”
