Who Wants to Marry a Duke - Sabrina Jeffries Page 0,11
her trial.” Grey poured himself a glass of the amber liquid and took a generous swallow, then spit it back into the glass. “God, that’s rum!”
“The major prefers rum. Something to do with his having been at sea for so long, I believe.” Thorn poured his own glass. He could tolerate rum in the absence of brandy. “And don’t change the subject. Is that why you’re looking for a chemist?”
“Precisely.”
“And you hit upon Miss Norley, of all people?”
“Yes.” Turning stone-faced, Grey set down his glass. “Why do you care, anyway? It’s my late father who’s involved, and I can ask whomever I please to do the testing.”
“But I’m assuming you want someone minimally competent in the field. Miss Norley surely has only a dilettante’s interest. So why use her instead of a legitimate chemist?”
Grey scowled. “I tried to find ‘a legitimate chemist,’ as you put it. But every one I spoke to refused.”
“For what reason?”
“Many were unfamiliar with the test Rose had developed. Some said they couldn’t get results on a body so long deceased. Others said they didn’t have the time. I suspect that’s a polite way of saying they want nothing to do with the possible murder of a duke.”
“You can hardly blame them. Dead men of great rank have live friends of great rank who don’t want to risk being dragged into a trial and might go to extraordinary lengths not to be. Which would leave the chemist who proved the poisoning in an awkward position.”
“Exactly. I even approached Mrs. Elizabeth Fulhame, a published chemist whose work is admired by others, but she has her own experiments that take up much of her time. She did, however, suggest a friend of hers—”
“Miss Norley.”
“Yes. And when I learned of Miss Norley’s experience as a chemist, I thought engaging her was my best recourse.”
Thorn sipped some rum. “The chit actually has experience?”
“You must have little faith in me indeed if you think I’d entrust this task to just anybody. Miss Norley comes highly recommended by her uncle, a well-known chemist himself, as well as by Mrs. Fulhame.”
Thorn had forgotten about her uncle, whom she’d mentioned on their first encounter. “So, a relation and another female. I hope you’re not paying Miss Norley too much for her dubious experience.”
Grey’s eyes turned the dark blue that showed he was reaching the end of his patience. “Not that it’s any of your concern, but I’m not paying her at all.”
That took Thorn by surprise. “Then why is she doing it?”
“Why do you care?” Grey leaned against the nearby desk. “For that matter, how do you even know Miss Norley?”
Thorn sighed. “Do you remember the Devonshire House ball, and how I was caught in a compromising situation with a young lady? I vaguely remember telling you that she turned me down when I proposed marriage.”
He’d been in such a temper when he’d left the Norley town house that he’d ranted to Grey about it. All these years later, he still regretted that. He didn’t like having people, even his half brother, know his secrets.
Grey’s jaw dropped. “Miss Norley?”
“The very one. Her stepmother set me up to be caught, and her daughter was the one who baited the trap.” With her knowledge of chemistry, actually. But being able to get a stain out of a waistcoat hardly meant she could do testing that would hold up in court. It was little more than a parlor trick. “Now you see why I’m concerned about your fixing upon her to do this.”
“Actually, no, I don’t see.”
“Trust me, Miss Norley’s reasons for her actions are generally suspect. For all you know, she wants to seduce you and ruin your marriage for her own shady purpose.”
Grey laughed. “Dear God, the woman certainly put your back up. You forget that I’ve met her. She hardly seems the consummate liar you make her out to be. Or, for that matter, the consummate seducer.”
“Appearances can be deceiving,” Thorn muttered, unnerved by his brother’s logical arguments.
Grey cocked his head. “I should point out that if Miss Norley ‘baited the trap’ for you, why did she then refuse your offer of marriage?”
That question had plagued his nights. Through the years, Thorn could come up with only one reason. “She thought refusing me would entice me to court her and possibly rouse jealousy in some fellow she really wanted.”
Better that than her rejecting him because she’d found him wanting during the short span of time between when she’d lured him into the library and