by Ella Edon
Jane bristled. He was merely an acquaintance. He didn’t get to tell her what she could and couldn’t do. She lifted her chin defiantly at him.
“I’m on my family’s property, Mr. Harrison. What harm could I come to out here?”
“I’m not entirely sure.” Alexander folded his arms with a wry smile. “With you, you’re full of surprises.”
Jane wasn’t sure if that was meant to be an offense or a compliment. She scowled.
“I don’t get into trouble with everything I do, and I object to you insinuating that I am trouble.”
“In a sense, you are.” Alexander barely blinked as Jane huffed. “You want things that you can never have and you’re willing to put your family’s reputation as well as your own on the line to get it.”
Even at this time of the morning, he was up for confrontation. Jane wished he wasn’t right. She clenched her hands at her sides.
“I’m not doing that again, sir,” she snapped. “I may have been childish before, as you’ve told me already, but I do know when to take a step back and leave it alone. I may not like it, but I’ll do it.”
“Your parents don’t believe that.”
“They can believe whatever they want. If Ian wants me to leave him alone, fine. I’ll do that.” It would be difficult, but Jane would respect his decision. She glowered at Alexander. “But I object to you seeing me as trouble.”
Something flickered behind Alexander’s eyes. It was gone almost as soon as Jane saw it. His jaw tightened. “You have no idea what I think about you, Jane.”
“That’s Lady Jane to you, Mr. Harrison. If you’re going to talk to me, at least address me properly.”
If he would do that, there was a chance that Jane would be able to keep him at arm’s length. Keep it formal. Although, Jane was rapidly beginning to realize that there was nothing formal about Alexander Harrison and she was struggling to stay sensible about it all.
Why did he even have to seek her out at all? Shouldn’t he be concerned with getting out of here? The storm was over, and Lord Crawley had told him to leave as soon as it was, so why wasn’t he leaving? Why was he looking at her with that odd expression in his eyes?
Jane tugged her cloak around her, suddenly feeling a shiver up her back, but one that made her body feel like it was on fire.
This gentleman was not good for her. They need to put distance between them, but Jane just couldn’t move.
“Do you really care about titles?” Alexander asked. “Do you really care if I put ‘lady’ in front of your name?”
Jane glared though her heart began to race. “Calling me by my Christian name implies that you want something more, Mr. Harrison. I know of your reputation, and in spite of your kindness towards me, I won’t be made to fall like that.”
“Like I said, you’re the last person I would take into my bed.”
Why did that hurt more than it should? Jane pushed that aside and stepped towards him.
“Why’s that? Because I’m naive? Too virginal for you? Too childish?”
Alexander flinched, but didn’t pull away. Yet, his eyes drifted over her, and Jane felt as though her body was on fire. The way he looked at her...no man had ever looked at her like she was desirable.
Wait, he desired her? And yet he was pushing her away? Jane was deeply confused.
“It’s not because you’re childish,” Alexander murmured.
“Then what is it?”
“Why do you want to know?” Alexander frowned. “Are you that eager to get into my bed that you’re willing to know why I won’t?”
Jane shoved him in the chest. “You went down that route, and I think I deserve to know.”
“Know that a rake won’t take you to bed? That’s a strange thing to want to know.”
“Damn you, Alexander!”
Jane shoved him again, only for Alexander to grip her by the wrists. His hands were cold against her warm skin. Jane gasped as something hot and intense shot up her arms. It made her legs weak and her stomach flutter. Alexander’s jaw tightened a little. Then he lowered his head, his mouth inches from hers. Wait, was he about to kiss her?
Jane found herself tilting her head up…
“It’s because you’re dangerous to me, Jane,” Alexander whispered, his breath brushing across her mouth. “You’re too dangerous for me to do anything beyond this.”
Jane was confused. Dangerous. What did that mean? She never saw herself as dangerous. Why?
Then Alexander let her go abruptly. He set her from him and turned away, striding off towards the house.
“Mr. Harrison!” He didn’t stop, moving up the slope. Jane followed him, almost slipping and landing in the mud. “Wait! What did you mean by that?”
“I’ll leave you to your walk, Lady Jane.” Alexander didn’t stop. “It was a mistake to come out here. I should have left you alone.”
“You’re not going anywhere until you tell me what you meant.” Jane slipped again and stopped. She knew she wouldn’t be able to catch up with him. “Alexander!”
Alexander stopped at the top of the slope and Jane saw his whole body stiffen, his hands clenching and unclenching. Then he swung back around.
“Look, this is not the conversation…”
He stopped, his eyes moving past Jane to a point over her shoulder. His face went pale.
“What?” Jane turned around. “What are you looking at?”
“Look away, Jane.”
“Look away from what?” Then Jane saw what he had been staring at and her heart stopped. “Oh, my God.”
There, in the water, was a body floating face down. From the splayed fabric and the long hair, it was a woman. Jane felt her chest tighten and her throat close up. She had never seen a dead body before, and her own body was going into a panic.
“Jane?”
Jane jumped. She hadn’t realized Alexander had run back to join her. She found herself swaying, and Alexander caught hold of her arms.
“Jane.”
“I’m all right.”
But she wasn’t. Jane’s knees felt like they were going to give out, and she was struggling to breathe. Alexander eased her around to face him, cupping her head in his hands. Jane tried to take her eyes off the body, but she couldn’t. Alexander moved her head so she had to look away.
“Jane, look at me. I need you to go back to the house and get some people out here. Let your father know what’s happened and that we’re going to need to get a hold of the local magistrate.”
“He…” Jane swallowed. It was difficult to talk when her throat was constricted. “He lives on the other side of the village. It will take less than an hour to get here.”
“Good. Send for him.” Alexander glanced away, back at the body. “I’ll get the body out of the water.”
“What? You’re going in there?”
“Someone has to.”
“But...the pond’s deep. You could end up getting tangled in the weeds.”
Alexander’s mouth twitched. His touch on her jaw softened, his thumb brushing over her bottom lip.
“I’ll be fine.” Then he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “Just go, and don’t come back out. This is not something you need to see.”
Jane couldn’t agree more. With Alexander’s urging, she managed to get up the muddy slope and onto flatter ground. Then she picked up her skirts and began to run.
Alexander was freezing. That water had been far colder than he expected. Even putting his coat back on that he’d put to one side so it wouldn’t get wet, wasn’t helping to warm him up. He sat on an upturned log, shivering as the servants Lord Crawley had sent down started to put the body onto a cart, the body itself wrapped in a sheet.
The woman had been dead for some time. Alexander knew enough that she couldn’t have died the night before. She was a handsome woman, curvy and buxom with her red-blonde hair faded and matted with water and mud. From the bruises on her face and arms, from what Alexander could see, she had put up a fight before s
he died.
The servants had been shocked when they saw her. Only the most senior footman, Isaacs, was able to speak. Her name was Megan White, and she was the local midwife. Nobody had heard from her for at least a week, and everyone assumed she had gone to visit her sister on the coast.
Evidently, she had been somewhere on the Crawley estate. Where she had been exactly, Alexander didn’t know, but he was sure someone had hidden the body close to the pond and when it flooded from the storm, it had disturbed her final resting place.
The thought that a killer was close by made him shiver. His family had dealt with enough problems after his cousin Peter killed so many people to cover up the fact that he had a gambling problem and attempted to frame his brother David. That scandal was only now just dying down. Alexander had been involved in scandal before, but nothing like this.
Although he didn’t want to be involved, it looked like he didn’t have a choice.
Chapter Eight
“Alexander?”
Alexander looked up and did a double-take. A smartly-dressed gentleman in his late thirties was coming down the slope towards him. It was someone he hadn’t seen for a while, and certainly wasn’t expecting to see now. Alexander shot to his feet.
“Lee? What are you doing here?”
Lee Wilkes chuckled as he reached Alexander.
“I thought you would have known. I took over as magistrate last year after Father passed away.”
Of course, he would. Now he was the Marquess of Surrey, it came with the territory. Alexander hadn’t seen Lee since his father died the previous summer. His brother Jeremy’s friend had retreated from Society to take over the role of Marquess. From what Alexander recalled, his engagement had ended shortly after. He didn’t know why or what had happened, but suddenly Lee had withdrawn from everyone and thrown himself into his new role.
It looked good on him. Shorter than Alexander, broad-shouldered and slim with dark hair already streaked with silver, Lee Wilkes looked thinner than before. More weary, but still good-looking.
“It’s been a long time.” Alexander bowed. “Good to see you again.”
“Likewise. And it has been too long.” Lee returned the bow. Then he frowned. “What are you doing here, anyway? I didn’t think you knew the Earl and Countess of Crawley?”
“Not exactly.” Alexander cleared his throat. He wasn’t feeling as cold now, but he was still shivering. “You know my uncle Ian got married yesterday?”
“I read the banns.”
“Jane...I mean, Lady Jane…” He had to remember how to speak about Jane in mixed company. Lee might let him get away with it, but Lord Crawley certainly wouldn’t. “She was...invited, but her carriage broke down. She couldn’t get home as no one else was coming from that direction.”
Lee raised his eyebrows.
“So, you decided to volunteer to be her escort home? When you don’t live anywhere near Surrey?”
“I had some time to kill before I headed up to London.” That was partially true. Alexander crossed his fingers behind his back. “The storm stopped me from leaving, so I spent the night.”
“I see.” Lee still looked skeptical. “I didn’t think you were here for courtship and Lady Jane is the only woman of courting age in your social circle.”
“You know that’s not what I do.”
“I do know, and Jeremy despairs at you all the time.”
“When did you last speak to him?”
“We write often.”
Alexander rolled his eyes. He could only guess what his brother had been saying. Jeremy certainly didn’t mince words, especially with his disapproval.
“Jeremy is not my keeper, and he knows better than to put a leash on me.”
“I’ve told him that, but Jeremy’s determined to reel you in when he takes charge of the household.”
Alexander snorted. He knew that all too well. Thank God he would never become viscount, not when his cousin Geoffrey had the title and he had issue.
The cart with Megan’s body on board was being pulled away. Lee glanced back up to watch it go. Then he turned to Alexander. His expression said this was no longer a catch-up moment. It was business. Magistrate Wilkes was at the forefront.
“Who found Miss White in the pond?”
“I did.” Alexander swallowed. “And Lady Jane.”
“Lady Jane?” Lee’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “And what were you two doing out here?”
“Nothing like what you’re thinking. She was walking out in the gardens by herself, and it’s still a bit like a marsh out here. I got concerned.”
“You got concerned? Over a lady?”
Alexander glared. Lee was more tolerant about his behavior than Jeremy, but that didn’t stop the older gentleman’s skepticism and teasing.
“I’m not allowed to show concern for someone?”
“Of course you are. But, that’s not really something I associate with you.” Lee folded his arms, tilting his head to the side. “She’s not going to be your next mistress, is she?”
“Absolutely not.”
That was said a little too quickly. Alexander held back a wince. He shouldn’t be wanting a woman like Lady Jane Malcolm. He should keep as far away as possible, but now this happened, and putting distance between them was going to be impossible. Lee’s expression said he didn’t believe him, and Alexander couldn’t blame him for that.
“I hope you’re not,” the magistrate murmured. “Lord Crawley would be furious and skin you alive if you did take her to bed. Jane Malcolm is not to be touched.”
Alexander knew that already. He wasn’t about to push it to find out. His resolve may not be strong, but his mind was made up.
If only it would stop wandering.
Lee walked to the edge of the pond, stopping when his boots started to sink into the mud. He stared out at the murky waters, hands behind his back.
“So, you saw Miss White floating in the pond, and you decided to go in and get her out?”
“I did.” Alexander resisted the urge to move from foot to foot. “I wasn’t going to leave her floating out there, was I? And Lady Jane was distressed.”
“Did she see who the victim was?”
“No. I had already told her to go and fetch the servants. She didn’t come back with them.”
Alexander waited. He had gone over the story with Lee, and the gentleman was astute. He seemed to be asking all the right questions, although he seemed rather skeptical of Alexander’s explanation as to why he was there. Alexander knew he suspected something else going on regarding Jane being at the family wedding, but he wasn’t saying anything. For now. Chances were, he was waiting for Alexander to slip up.
Lee was good at making people drop their guard around him. Alexander had no idea how he did it.
Lee turned back to him with a frown. “Did anything look suspicious to you when you pulled her out?”
“Other than she had been dead for a while, no.” Alexander shuddered. He had never seen a dead body before. “I don’t know if she was in the water or buried nearby and was washed out when the pond flooded last night, but she has been dead for some time.”
“I see.”
That didn’t make Alexander feel any better. Lee knew him. While he knew that his reputation was not exactly stellar, he had to know that Alexander wouldn’t do anything as violent as committing a murder. Still, from the way the Marquess of Surrey was watching him, Alexander wasn’t so sure. It had been some time since they had last seen each other, and God only knew what his brother had been telling Lee about him.
“Did you know Miss White?” Alexander asked.
“I did.” Lee sighed and ran a hand over his face. “She’s probably helped all the women in the area give birth in the last twenty-five years, my mother included with my younger siblings. She was a loving, kind person. She didn’t suffer fools and told you whenever you messed up.”
“Very well respected?”
“Extremely.”
Alexander thought back to when he pulled Miss White out of the water and brushed her hair out of her face. She was thin and looked like she had been unwell lately, but her face was devoid of any wrinkles. She had a clear complexion, even after being in the water for some time. If Alexander hadn’t known better, Miss White could very well have been sleeping.
Except for the clear finger marks around her neck. Alexander shivered.
