The Unexpected Wife - Jess Michaels Page 0,26

bastard’s murder.”

Owen inclined his head apologetically. “This is the duty I have been hired to fulfill. I would be remiss if I didn’t consider all angles. At any rate, you two have likely spent more time with at least the first and second Mrs. Montgomerys.”

“We’re using Christian names, aren’t we? I don’t want to spend every moment we’re talking trying to determine which woman we’re discussing,” Gilmore asked.

“That seems the wisest,” Owen agreed, and tried not to think of the way the name Celeste tasted on his tongue. “What about Abigail?”

Leighton opened his mouth to speak, but Gilmore slammed his glass down on the sideboard before he could speak. “That woman,” he grunted. “All accusation and glares and trying to make me feel guilty about protecting my own flesh and blood. Beautiful as she is, she is mightily unpleasant, and I will be very glad when this is all over and I never have to see that troublesome sprite again.”

The earl stared at his friend a moment. “Are you finished?”

Gilmore grunted and downed the remainder of his drink before he poured another. “Quite.”

Leighton shrugged at Owen as if to apologize for the outburst. “Abigail is the only wife I met before this unpleasantness. Ras married her nearly five years ago, and though my brother and I were strained even then, I found no fault in her.”

“No fault,” Gilmore snorted.

Owen glanced at him from the corner of his eye. As much as he groused and as much as he and Abigail butted heads, there was something in the man’s eyes when he talked about her that indicated he felt something more for the lady than just frustration and disdain. Which was an interesting development, indeed. One he would have to keep an eye on as it could ultimately affect his case.

“If you think so low of the woman, do you suspect her of having a part in the murder?” Owen pressed.

Gilmore’s eyes widened. “No, of course not. The woman may be a fly in the ointment, but she could not be a killer. She wouldn’t do such a thing.”

Owen held his stare for a moment. Gilmore was as passionate about defending Abigail as he seemed to be about his complaints regarding her.

“And what about Phillipa?” Owen pressed, so they wouldn’t become mired down in whatever was in Gilmore’s head. He marked it, of course. He would watch them more carefully together.

“She seems a decent enough lady,” Gilmore said, all his ire gone with the change of subject.

Leighton shifted. “I-I did not know her, of course, before this all began. But in the short time we’ve been acquainted, I have found her to be very…very pleasant.”

“What do you think of her traveling to London from Bath, more than a day’s travel, just before your brother’s death?” Owen pressed.

Leighton’s brow furrowed and his fingers gripped a little tighter on his glass. “She has explained it, has she not? She said that she had been trying to reach my brother for months and he had not replied. Her coming was a way to determine his health and well-being.”

Another interesting defense of one of the wives. It seemed each lady had her champion.

“And what about Celeste?” Leighton asked.

“Yes,” Gilmore added. “You spent time with her on the road, you are likely the best source of information regarding her.

Owen shifted, not wanting to reveal his attraction to the men as they had done to him. “I do not suspect her,” he said. “She has a strong alibi for her location during the murder. As for her character, like all the wives she is a strong woman.” He didn’t add he thought her the strongest of them all. That would certainly reveal too much.

“Then it seems there has been little advancement to the case,” Gilmore said with a heavy sigh. “I would surely like for this whole mess to be over.”

“You and me both,” Leighton said. “The scandal is already brewing, there is no way to keep this kind of nightmare from the ears of the ton.”

“Yes, I realize it is not easy,” Owen said.

“What can we do to help?” Leighton asked. “I want a part in this. For my family’s sake, as well as for the sake of my honor.”

“Yes,” Gilmore added. “I would like to contribute more than simply my money.”

Owen set his jaw. Normally he wouldn’t allow anyone to come near his case, let alone two of its prime suspects. But the more he allowed them near, the more closely he could observe them

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