he just speaking generally? She tried to read something from his expression, but it showed nothing.
“In any case,” he added, “I’m going with you tomorrow whether you like it or not.”
“What about your business in Leicester?”
“It can wait.” His gaze met hers, then softened. “I know you don’t believe it sometimes, duckie, but nothing is more important to me than your future.”
The kind words were bittersweet. Again, she considered confronting him with her fears. But she couldn’t, when he’d just said more to her and their relations than he had in weeks.
Very well. Perhaps she should confront Grey and Sheridan with what she’d overheard and demand to hear what they knew. And if they had evidence to go with their suspicions, she would argue for why Joshua must have done it. If, after knowing the depths of Uncle Armie’s degradation, they could still pursue Joshua, then she would urge Joshua to flee.
Because if it came to a choice between her relations—or Grey—and her brother, she would choose Joshua every time.
Chapter Fifteen
After Beatrice and her brother left, Grey suggested that Sheridan join him in the study for a brandy so they could talk privately. The door had scarcely closed when Sheridan asked, “What did you think of my cousin, now that you’ve had more time to assess him?”
Grey thrust his hands into his pockets. “I didn’t like how he was looking at Gwyn.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Didn’t you see the two of them? She was flirting with Wolfe, and he was clearly looking her over with lust.”
“Lust? I sure as hell didn’t notice that,” Sheridan said.
Grey had—he’d recognized the covetous look in Wolfe’s eyes every time the man stared at Gwyn. It reflected the same craving Grey felt every time he saw Beatrice. Which meant Gwyn was playing with fire.
As he was himself, come to think of it. Those Wolfes were a potent pair. “I’m just saying that if you’re right and the major has his eye on the dukedom, he might be looking for a wife to complete the package. Someone like our sister.”
Sheridan laughed outright. “Then my cousin has chosen badly. Gwyn is too clever to marry a penniless gamekeeper, no matter what his rank in the Royal Marines.”
“If you’re right about him and he’s trying to gain the dukedom for himself, then he wouldn’t be a penniless gamekeeper when he set his sights on her, would he?”
“The only way Joshua will gain the dukedom is if he kills both me and Heywood without anyone noticing. And that won’t happen, since you and I are going to stop him first. So it doesn’t matter how he looks at Gwyn. She’ll never marry him as things stand now. He’s not rich enough for her.”
Grey wasn’t so certain. But then he wasn’t sure he knew her at all. He hadn’t been around when she was growing up. Hell, he’d barely been around since the family’s arrival in England. And the letters from his parents hadn’t done her justice. How could they? Gwyn was in a class of her own. Of course Wolfe was drawn to her. Who wouldn’t be?
“Never mind, then,” he told Sheridan. “Perhaps I imagined their mutual admiration.” Though of course he hadn’t. “On another subject, this place we’re going to tomorrow . . . are these the same ruins you said were near where your uncle died?”
Sheridan nodded. “Did you see Joshua’s expression when Gwyn mentioned having him take her there? If ever that’s an indication of guilt—”
“He’s the one who brought up the ruins in the first place,” Grey pointed out. “He’d hardly do that if he were guilty.” Of something other than lusting after their sister, that is.
“All the same,” Sheridan said, “tomorrow we should manufacture a way to bring him right to the site and witness his reactions.”
“Not ‘we,’” Grey said. “Me.” When Sheridan drew breath to protest, Grey added, “While Wolfe is preoccupied with this excursion, you’re going to go up by the bridge and see if you can locate the pieces of the railing that fell into the river with Father. Finding them will go a long way toward confirming whether the bridge was damaged. While Wolfe is elsewhere is the perfect time—no need to answer any questions.”
Sheridan’s expression cleared. “Good point.”
“Have you searched the site of your uncle’s death?”
“I have. I didn’t see anything. But if there had been evidence of foul play, Joshua had plenty of time to get rid of it. We only made it back to England weeks after