Page 63 of Honor Unbound

“Did you tell the magistrate?” Lady Mary asked.

“Of course, but as I couldn’t see that anything was missing, I don’t know why they would care.” She dabbed beneath her eyes. “Not when there are more serious crimes.” Her shoulders began to shake.

An intruder in the house of a murdered man? Even Sir Kelsey would recognize the seriousness of it. Lady Mary shifted. “Well, we should leave you be. You must want your solitude.” Her voice had softened and she looked upon the new widow with sympathy. She patted the woman’s knee again, then stood. “If you can think of anything else, please let me know. I’m on Arlington Street.”

Mrs. Hicks nodded but said nothing.

Lady Mary hurried from the room, Marie quick on her heels. Upon exiting the house, her mistress went to the driver’s seat and spoke quietly to Ernest. “Tell Stavers to prepare a delivery for a new widow. He’ll know what to do.”

“Yes’m,” Ernest said. “She won’t go hungry for a long while.”

Lady Mary nodded to Brett and he lowered the coach steps and helped them inside, clambering in after them. Lady Mary took out the tin of food. “Why would he bring this home with him?”

Marie explained to Brett it was of the batch that should have been destroyed.

He raised a shoulder. “He wanted to be sure it wasn’t included with a lot to be sold?”

“Why not destroy it?” Lady Mary tapped her bottom lip with her thumb. “This is significant. I just don’t know how yet.”

Marie had her doubts. She leaned back, letting her arm press against Brett’s.

Exhaustion tugged at her eyes. She’d had no sleep the night before and a day full of adventure. She felt drained. She felt exhilarated.

Brett’s thigh was warm against hers. In the dark of the carriage, he trailed his fingers up and down her thigh, lighting up every nerve ending in his path.

She gazed up at him, heat suffusing her body.

And her day wasn’t over yet.

*

Even though shewas expecting it, the knock at the door still made Marie start. Before she could answer, Brett poked his head inside.

He held up a plate. “Cook made a cake. You left dinner before you could try any.”

Nerves had twisted Marie’s stomach, making it impossible to eat much of anything. Lady Mary had taken supper in her room, but the other servants had spent the meal giving them knowing looks. She knew they all meant well, but the pressure to do something, to be someone she didn’t yet know had sent her fleeing as soon as she could politely escape.

When she’d reached her room, she had taken off her boots and stockings, but sat on her bed otherwise fully clothed. Having Brett here now felt both scandalous and thrilling. “Perhaps we should tell her the truth.” She twisted her skirt in her hands. “It’s wrong to keep this from her.”

Brett settled next to her. “We agreed to wait until after this murder business was over. You know how she’ll get.”

Marie did. And that was part of the problem. Lady Mary wouldn’t approve of being kept in the dark, and Lady Mary’s disapproval was something best avoided.

Brett raised his fork. “Try it. Cake makes all worries disappear.”

Marie’s lips twitched, and she accepted the bite. It was good. All of her worries didn’t magically disappear, however. “You should ’ave seen ’ow sad she was. Mrs. ’icks. He must ’ave snored loudly. It wasn’t from lack of love that they slept in different bedrooms.”

Brett swallowed his own bite of cake. Sugar dusted his bottom lip. “You’re dropping yourh’s again. I don’t like it when you’re upset.”

No one had ever much cared before whether she was upset or not. The idea that Brett did, that he thought it was part of his job now to make her happy, did funny things to her insides. She swiped his lip with her thumb. “It’s difficult to stay upset whenyou’re here.” She made sure to pronounce thath. It was part of her job now to make sure he didn’t worry.

He grabbed her wrist before she could lower her hand. With his gaze fixed on hers, Brett brought her thumb to his mouth and suckled it.

Marie’s lungs froze. “That doesn’t seem very sanitary,” she whispered.

He released her thumb with a pop. His grin warmed her straight through. “You’re going to have to learn to share everything, including sugar-coated fingers.” His own fingers slid to the back of her gown, fumbled with the laces until the bodice went loose. His breath butterflied across her neck, raising her fine hairs.

Marie swallowed. Her body felt tight, like she wanted to jump out of her skin. She didn’t want to worry about this. Nor think about killers and poor widows. She just wanted to lose herself in this moment. In Brett. “Kiss me?” She knew from past experience that when Brett’s lips were on hers, her mind blanked of every concern.