Murder on Charles Street - Leighann Dobbs Page 0,63

hand balling and his hat dangling limply at his side. “I didn’t kill my father!”

Katherine frowned. “Isn’t that why you came here tonight? Because you heard I had his notes, which might compromise his reputation and reveal his killer?”

Mr. Gammon turned away. “No. I came to ask…” He made a strangled sound and paced the length of the room. Almost choked, he admitted, “I came to ask after Miss Ball’s circumstances.”

Katherine opened her mouth, but no sound emerged. She closed it, swallowing to call some moisture into her mouth before she managed, “Miss Ball’s circumstances?”

He turned to her, his expression conflicted. “Yes. Her circumstances. You are her matchmaker, are you not?”

Slowly, Katherine nodded.

If anything, the confirmation seemed to chase more fear into the man. He clutched his hat in a white-knuckled grip. “I’m aware that I’m grieving the death of my father, and this is no time to seek out a wife. But…” He rubbed at his temple again. “And I’m aware that I haven’t as much to offer as the sort of man you’re likely introducing to a woman of her breeding. I have no great wealth, no title, scarcely any fame—and that only in a small circle from my surgeries.” He looked up, meeting Katherine’s gaze with a look that seemed almost pained, but heartfelt. “But, Lady Katherine, I like her a great deal. She… soothes me. That’s a quality in a woman that I hadn’t thought precious until now. Will you consider my suit of her despite my circumstances?”

Katherine had only seen a man so earnest once. That had been when Lord Annandale cornered her and asked her to commend him, rather than Wayland, to Pru. It felt like so long ago that it was laughable. But at the time, Lord Annandale had had that same smitten expression on his face. Despite his wealth and title, he’d been as uncertain of his reception. Katherine couldn’t help but soften when she faced a man so obviously in love.

Gently, she suggested, “Perhaps you ought to ask Miss Ball. She’s an intelligent woman capable of forming her own preferences. If you truly feel that way about her, perhaps she returns those feelings.”

Mr. Gammon started to jam the hat on his head before he realized that he was still in mixed company. He lowered it to his side again, seeming lost. “Yes, I will ask her, of course. But I suppose now that you brought it up, I should also talk to you about my father and those notes you have.”

A chill crawled down Katherine’s spine. Had she just given her blessing to a murderer?

His expression hardened. “Not because I killed my father, but because I must beg you not to make those papers public. If you truly were his friend, you’ll protect his reputation.”

Katherine frowned. What was he nattering on about? “I don’t understand. Someone killed your father over the details in those papers.”

Mr. Gammon grimaced, looking even more forlorn. “I believe you have that wrong.”

His words rang in the room then faded slowly before he explained himself. “Yes, my father was worried. And yes, something in those pages likely caused his death, but I don’t think it was by the hand of some nefarious murderer. I want to beg you not to make those papers public so as to keep his reputation unharmed. Because, you see…” He jammed the hat on his head like armor, not looking at her. “I knew something worried him, but I didn’t pry deep enough. Whatever it was… it must have been horrible, because I believe it caused him to kill himself.”

Chapter Twenty

“Dr. Gammon cannot have killed himself.” Of that, Katherine was absolutely certain. Her friends, gathered once more in her drawing room, did not seem as convinced. However, they hadn’t known Dr. Gammon. She had. Hadn’t he been singing life’s praises the evening she’d gone to see him? He had been so full of life and veracity, so eager to help. But he’d also insisted that she didn’t need to pay him… and Katherine had more than enough money to do so, unlike his other clients.

No. He could not have done so.

Hesitantly, Pru hazarded, “Perhaps Mr. Gammon was attempting to throw you off his trail. He might be the killer after all and was trying to allay suspicion.”

Katherine pressed her lips together and shook her head. After Mr. Gammon had told her his suspicion that his father killed himself, she’d asked dozens of questions of him in order to rule him out. “I