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He was grateful Harker had the same thought and the wits to look for proof. By the time Nathan would have arrived, finding anything under Devil’s thick coat would have been impossible, and all traces of blood would have been curried away. If it wasn’t for Harker’s quick thinking, there would have been no proof it was anything other than an accident.
Though Harker could be lying, Nathan dismissed that possibility immediately. There was no reason for him to lie. Harker had spent most of his life protecting Sebastian and Nathan from their father. Nathan trusted the man implicitly.
Yes, taking Lily with him to Brentwood Manor was the wisest course. Harker could keep an eye on her when Nathan could not. He’d been floored to discover Nathan had married but had been delighted and teared up again. Apparently, Nathan’s letter to his brother on the subject had not reached the manor in time, or perhaps Sebastian had not had a chance to read it and tell Harker before he’d been murdered.
In some ways, Harker had been a father to Sebastian and Nathan, just as Mrs. Potts had often acted as a maternal figure. Nathan was glad to have been able to give him a bit of good news in the wake of Sebastian’s murder.
Getting to his feet, Nathan left his chair and crossed the foyer to where his friends were gathered in the drawing-room. They knew to leave him alone when he needed time to think. As he approached, they looked up with varying degrees of relief and sympathy. Rex, who he’d known for the least amount of time, looked the most worried.
“I have decided to take Lily to Brentwood Manor with me,” he announced.
“Are you certain?” Elijah frowned, concern written across his face. Whether it was concern for Nathan or Lily was unclear. They had been friends for a long time, but Lily had grown up next door to Elijah, and he’d known her since she was a little girl. “We can keep an eye on her here if you like. She can stay with Josie and me.”
“No.” Nathan shook his head. “I have thought it over and think it makes the most sense to bring her home with me. That will leave you one less lady to contend with during the investigations here.”
“He has a point,” Rex murmured, with a little twist of his lip. “Otherwise, if Nathan leaves, we will be outnumbered now that Evie has come out of hiding.”
“Adam could… no, never mind.” Elijah sighed. “Lily can push both my brothers around without much effort, especially if Evie backs her. I think you are right, Rex. We will have enough to contend with now that Evie is directly inserting herself into affairs.” He met Nathan’s gaze. “You leave this afternoon?”
“Yes, as soon as Lily is ready to go.” It would take all afternoon and part of the evening to reach the manor. “Harker will join us tomorrow, and the rest of the household will follow. We will close up here, but feel free to make use of the house if you need to at any point.”
“Thank you.” Elijah grimaced. “Unfortunately, it may be to our advantage to have an empty house where we can gather.”
Right now, they did not know who they could trust. It was a bad situation all around, no matter which way Nathan looked at it.
ChapterSeventeen
Lily
This week was bordering on the absurd. Lily had scoffed at penny dreadfuls Mary and Josie found so enjoyable, pointing out how ludicrous the situations were… and now she was living through such far-fetched events, she could scarcely believe it. Assassination attempts, a highwayman kidnapping, a rushed wedding due to scandal, then a murder turning her husband into an earl and herself into a countess. If it was not so tragic, she might have laughed, but Nathan’s grief was very real, even if the series of events were farcical.
Sitting in the carriage, she looked out the window to where her husband was riding. They were moving at a fast clip—as fast as the carriage would take them. While Lily was a good rider, Nathan had insisted she ride in the carriage since they would be going over terrain unfamiliar to her and likely would be arriving after dark. She was surprised he had decided she could accompany him without a fight, so she acquiesced to his request without protest.
Their friends were staying in the capital, though they would come out for the funeral.
She could tell he wished they were moving faster, but he stayed close by the carriage as they traveled, his head turning this way and that. Lily pressed her lips together as she realized he was watching out for highwaymen. God forbid they had to go throughthatagain, although she did feel a good deal safer with Nathan out there watching over their travels.
“Do you see anything, miss? I mean, ma’am… I mean, my lady.” Chastity had been nervous the moment she climbed into the carriage but had insisted on accompanying Lily to the manor. Lily couldn’t fault her maid’s bravery, but a worried Chastity was putting herself through unnecessary stress.
“Just the earl watching over us.” She gave her maid an encouraging smile.
Lily knew part of her desire to ride had been herlackof desire to be trapped in a carriage again. Like herself, Chastity relaxed, remembering they had what amounted to a guard traveling with them. Lily also suspected their coachman had some hidden talents. She had seen the glance he’d exchanged with Nathan when her husband had helped her into the carriage.
“He seems like a very good man,” Chastity said, her eyes glowing. Lily’s maid had more than a bit of hero worship, and Lily did not blame her.
“He is,” Lily agreed.
With every passing hour, she was becoming more and more certain he could not possibly have anything to do with the traitor. No matter what her correspondents had said about the smuggling operation on Talbot lands. If someone had been bringing in human cargo—spies from France—during the war, she could not imagine Nathan knowing about it, much less being involved, not now that she knew him better. Whether his father or brother was involved…
Well, she would find out. Lily did not mean to let her investigations into the traitor go by the wayside. While Nathan worked to find his brother’s murderer, she would continue her mission to uncover the traitor.
The thought the two might be connected had occurred to her, but she could not see how.
* * *
Nathan
By the time Brentwood Manor came into sight, lights glowing softly in the windows, Nathan’s nerves were shot. He had been on high alert all day, wondering and waiting to see if they would be attacked on the road. Every dust cloud from another horse or carriage had his muscles tensing.
