The Wedding Pact (Marriage by Fairytale Book 3)

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  “What should I tell the butler to bring you?” the footman asked her.

  After a moment, she settled on black tea and biscuits, though she wasn’t all that thirsty or even hungry.

  He paused then said, “If I can help you in any way, let me know.”

  She offered him a nod but didn’t say anything. Right now, the only person she wanted to talk to was Julian. She had so much to explain to him. She wasn’t even sure where to begin.

  The footman left her alone, shutting the door on his way out. She felt a momentary wave of panic swell up within her, but then she reasoned that Lord Wolfe couldn’t be in the townhouse, let alone this room. There were servants here. It wasn’t like she was all alone in this place.

  She released her breath and willed her hands to stop shaking. She’d made it here. Shortly, Julian would be done talking with the detective, and he’d come in to see her.

  Since there was nothing else to do, she sat down in the nearest chair. She couldn’t understand why Lord Wolfe wanted her so badly. He didn’t know her. He hadn’t made an effort to get to know her. He could have at least sent missives while she was growing up since he hadn’t planned to come out and visit. Then the servants could have had her reply to him and send him missives. At least then, they would have known something about each other.

  But he hadn’t done anything. He’d just kept her tucked away at his estate until he was ready to marry her. And the only reason he wanted to marry her was because she reminded him of her mother.

  She recalled the forceful way he’d put her on his lap. It was so much like when he had kissed her in the drawing room. He didn’t care anything about her. He only cared about himself. After being with Julian, she knew the difference.

  Feeling much too vulnerable, she hunched her shoulders forward and hugged herself. Getting away from Lord Wolfe so she could marry someone else was the best thing she’d ever done. No wonder her mother had married someone else. She must have known Lord Wolfe was awful, too.

  A couple of minutes passed before the door opened, and the butler brought in the tray. She hid her disappointment that it wasn’t Julian and thanked him. Once he left, she picked up the teapot. As much as she tried to hold the teapot steady, she couldn’t manage it, and some tea spilled on the tray.

  She exhaled and sat back in the chair. She’d worry about drinking tea later. How was she going to explain this to Julian? Was he going to be upset she hadn’t told him about Lord Wolfe sooner?

  From time to time, she had wondered if he ever questioned the sanity of agreeing to marry her. He didn’t know a single thing about her past. He’d taken her word for it that she’d been twenty-one and unmarried. While she hadn’t lied about those things, she was now realizing just how serious the parts she’d omitted really were, especially in light of the fact that Lord Wolfe had found her and wanted to take her away from him.

  The door opened again, and this time Julian came into the room with an unfamiliar gentleman, who was holding a hat in his hand.

  “I’m sorry I took so long,” Julian told her. “This is Detective Hall. I hope you don’t mind that I brought him in here, but there’s something you can answer for him.”

  Despite the fact that she didn’t know what he wanted to her to say, Ophelia stood up and nodded.

  Detective Hall offered her a comforting smile. “I understand this has been a trying time for everyone, and probably especially for you. I’ll be quick. Your husband said he wasn’t in London Saturday or Sunday. He said you were with him at his cottage which is outside of town. Is this true?”

  “Yes,” Ophelia replied, surprised by the question. True, she hadn’t known what to expect, but where Julian was Saturday and Sunday seemed like a very strange thing to inquire about.

  “He also said there was something unusual that transpired Saturday evening,” Detective Hall continued. “He said you thought you saw someone watching the cottage during the thunderstorm.”

  “I didn’t think it. I know it.” Lord Wolfe had come out and admitted to doing it. Any notion she had imagined it had flown right out the window as soon as he’d done that. But was now really the best time to divulge that when the detective was here? Or would it be better if she waited?

  “Do you have any idea who the person was?” the detective asked.

  The answer was on the tip of her tongue, but she felt a slight resistance to giving it to him.

  Julian went to her side and put his hand on the small of her back. “I don’t wish to make you uncomfortable, but we have reason to believe someone murdered my brothers and might be coming for me. It’s possible that this murderer came to our home before or after he killed James.”

  “Yes, he might stalk his prey before taking care of them,” Detective Hall added.

  Ophelia didn’t see why Lord Wolfe would kill Julian’s brothers. His point of contention was with her, not them. “I don’t think the man outside the cottage was the murderer,” she said. “I know who it was. It was Lord Wolfe.”

  “It was who?” the detective asked as he took a step closer to her.

  Unaware her voice had grown soft, she cleared her throat and spoke louder. “Lord Wolfe. He was the man outside the cottage Saturday night.”

  Julian’s eyebrows furrowed. “Lord Wolfe? The only gentleman I know by that title is the one who wanted me to marry him and his betrothed.” His eyes widened then, and he stared at her with a silent question in them.

  Pushing aside her unease, she nodded. “I was supposed to marry him, but I didn’t want to, so I ran away and ended up at your cottage.”

  Detective Hall frowned. “When was this?”

  Julian jerked as if he’d forgotten the detective was still there. His gaze went to him. “Months ago. Back in August. But that has nothing to do with my brothers. Their murders are a separate matter.”

  “Are you sure?” the detective asked. “Sometimes things are connected that don’t seem to be.”

  Julian thought for a moment then said, “I don’t see how there can be a connection. As a vicar, I was supposed to marry this lady to Lord Wolfe. Only, the two never showed up, and I assumed they had either decided to go to another vicar or not marry at all. I didn’t think she was the one he was supposed to be with.”

  “I didn’t tell my husband.” Aware that Julian was paying close attention to what she was saying, she added, “I couldn’t marry Lord Wolfe. He wasn’t a kind person.”

  “Did he hurt you?” Julian asked.

  “No, but he didn’t care about what I wanted,” she said. “He wanted me to do things I wasn’t ready for.” Since he didn’t seem to know what she was talking about, she quietly added, “He was kissing and touching me in ways that made me uncomfortable. He only stopped because he expected me to be his wife the next day. After that, it wouldn’t have mattered if I wanted to be with him or not. He wanted me to control me in other ways, too. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I was afraid you were going to insist I marry him.”

  “I wouldn’t have if I’d known what he was like.” He turned his attention back to the detective. “Well, at least we know whoever murdered my brothers wasn’t outside the cottage.”

  “Maybe.” The detective shrugged. “But I wouldn’t rule it out. If this gentleman is unkind, it’s possible he would murder your family out of spite.”

  “But I barely even know him, and I doubt my brothers knew him,” Julian said.

  “I’m not saying Lord Wolfe did it. I’m just saying it’s too soon to rule him out. Right now, everyone’s a suspect. Will you two be staying in London until I solve this case?”

  Julian nodded. “I can arrange for another vicar to take my place while I’m here.”

  The detective put his hat on. “Good. The easier you are to find, the better. In the meantime, make sure all doors and windows are secure.”

  “I’ll do that,” Julian replied.

  Detective Hall offered them both a goodbye then promised to come back when he had more information.
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br />   Julian waited until he was gone before he turned back to her.

  “I really am sorry,” she said. “Do you forgive me?”

  “There’s nothing to forgive. I remember how scared you were the night we met.” He cupped her face with his hands. “Lord Wolfe is considerably older than you are. He’s in his mid-forties. Did you have anyone else you could have gone to?”

  She shook her head. “It was just me and the servants at the country estate. I never had any visitors, and I hadn’t left the place after I arrived there when I was five.”

  “You took a big risk by running away. Anything could have happened.”

  “I know, but I figured whatever happened to me would be better than being married to him.” She shivered and stepped closer to him.

  He wrapped her in his arms. “But he didn’t hurt you, and you ended up with me. That’s the important thing. There’s no sense in playing out all of the situations that might have happened.”

  She suspected he was saying this more for his benefit than hers. She knew many bad things could happen, but her knowledge of the world was considerably limited compared to his. Knowing as much as she did, however, was enough to make her grateful she was with him.

  “Is there anything else I should know?” he asked.

  “I barely remember my parents. They died when I was five. My whole life has been spent at the estate with servants. Up until the time I met my guardian, that is Lord Wolfe, nothing of consequence happened. Lord Wolfe wanted to marry me because I look like my mother. He had fallen in love with her, but she married his cousin instead. I think he wanted to marry me to make up for that.”

  Though it wasn’t going to be easy, she had to tell him about her encounter with Lord Wolfe earlier that day, and she was going to have to tell him everything. Now wasn’t the time to hold anything back. She took a deep breath and proceeded to tell him the truth.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Julian had so much to think through that he didn’t even know where to begin. He’d known that whatever had brought Ophelia to his cottage had to be something bad. No lady would be riding a horse alone in the middle of the night unless she was afraid. If he knew something about Lord Wolfe, he might be able to figure out how to handle the gentleman. But he’d only met Lord Wolfe once, and that was when Lord Wolfe asked him to marry him to his betrothed.

  Lord Wolfe had seemed amiable enough. Julian would never have guessed that he’d locked away a young orphan at his estate until she was old enough to marry him. He certainly wouldn’t have guessed that he was the type to try to ravish a virgin in the drawing room or later try to abduct the same lady when he found her in London. There was no doubt that Julian was dealing with an immoral person. The question was, how far would Lord Wolfe go to get what he wanted?

  Then there was the matter of his brothers’ deaths. While Detective Hall was entertaining the possibility of a connection between Lord Wolfe and their deaths, Julian didn’t see how they were connected. What would he have to gain by it? Julian had been estranged from both of them. There was no reason for Lord Wolfe to think he was somehow punishing Julian by killing them.

  Also, it just didn’t seem like a logical plan. If he was Lord Wolfe, Julian wouldn’t bother killing the brothers. He would go directly for the husband. As Ophelia’s husband, Julian was standing in the way of Lord Wolfe taking Ophelia as his wife. But then, maybe Lord Wolfe wasn’t interested in whether or not she was married. He seemed to be willing to kidnap her regardless of whether Julian was still alive or not. Which only supported his assumption that Lord Wolfe had no involvement in his brothers’ deaths.

  But someone had been involved in their deaths, and it was up to him to figure out who that person was.

  The next morning after breakfast, the doctor and detective came by. Not wishing to give Ophelia more to deal with than she could handle, Julian sent her to the den while he spoke with the gentlemen in the drawing room.

  “You’re right about your brothers being murdered,” Dr. Westward said. “I examined both bodies, and I found remnants of the same poison in their bodies. They both drank laurel water. Whoever did this probably put the poison into a drink. My guess is that the second brother, James, drank the poison right before he went down the stairs. There are no signs of a struggle, so I doubt he even knew what happened to him.”

  “What times would you say they died?” Detective Hall asked.

  “Late at night,” Dr. Westward said. “My guess is that they drank the poison in their bedchambers after retiring for the evening. From there, it was just a matter of time before a servant found them and reported their deaths.”

  “Do you think one of the servants did it?” Julian asked.

  Dr. Westward shrugged. “I have no way of knowing who did it. The person would have to have access to a cherry laurel plant. The murderer is extracting the poison from the leaves. Do any of the servants have a cherry laurel plant?”

  Julian shrugged. “I’ve never heard of such a plant, let alone seen one.”

  “Well, I suggest taking a look through the servants’ quarters and see if you find such a plant,” Dr. Westward said. “The plant has evergreen leaves that are dark green on top and pale underneath. These leaves are three to eight inches long and are thick and shiny. Sometimes they’ll have little white flowers with five petals on them.”

  Detective Hall nodded. “At least we know what we’re looking for.” His gaze went to Julian. “We should look for this right away. It’s possible the murderer already hid the plant, but I doubt they would be expecting us to look through their rooms. If we act now, we’ll probably catch them by surprise.”

  “Let’s do it now,” Julian agreed then turned to the doctor. “When will my brothers be ready to go to the family mausoleum?”

  “I can have their bodies delivered there this afternoon,” Dr. Westward said.

  “I’ll visit the cemetery later today to pay my respects,” Julian said. “Thank you for coming by.”

  Once the doctor left, Julian and Detective Hall searched through all of the servants’ rooms. Since the detective didn’t want Julian to tell them what they were looking for, or why, Julian kept quiet on the matter. Their search, however, came up empty. They found no plants anywhere.

  After they were finished, Detective Hall pulled Julian aside into the drawing room and whispered, “Be careful. Just because we didn’t find something, it doesn’t mean the servants are free from suspicion. For the time being, I would only eat and drink things that aren’t prepared in this place.”

  “I understand,” Julian said.

  “If anything new comes up, send for me right away. In the meantime, I’ll see what I can find out from the people who knew your brothers, and I’ll see what I can learn about Lord Wolfe. Search the ledger to see if your brothers had any debts. It’s not uncommon for money to play a role in murder.”

  As soon as Detective Hall left, the footman hurried into the room, but he didn’t talk until he reached him, and when he did, his voice was quiet. “Your brothers were murdered, weren’t they?” he asked.

  Julian nodded, but he didn’t dare reveal any more than that. He had to remember that every servant in this house was a suspect. They were far more likely to have a role in the murders than Lord Wolfe did.

  The footman clasped his hands together and shook his head. “I knew it. Deep down, I knew there could be no other explanation, but it’s still a shock.”

  “I have a lot to do right now,” Julian said, figuring the less interaction he had with the footman at this point, the better. “The detective gave me a lot of things to do.”

  “Of course. I won’t get in your way. Just remember to be careful. I don’t want the same fate to happen to you.” The footman offered a quick bow and then left the room.

  Julian didn’t know if he could believe the footman or not, though he did seem sincere.

  After standing quietly in the room for a minute, Julian ran his fingers through his hair and exhaled. There was
much to do. First, he had to check through the ledger and find out if his brothers had any debts or, perhaps, underpaid a servant who sought revenge. Then he had to make sure Jonah and James had been properly buried. And then he had to make sure he didn’t eat or drink anything prepared in this place. He supposed he could have his meals with Didimus and Serena or Lewis and Marcy. That would take care of things on that end.

  But first, he would check the ledger, and that was in the den with Ophelia. Ready to tackle the tasks ahead of him, he left the drawing room.

  ***

  Julian stood in front of the family mausoleum in the cemetery. Jonah and James had been laid to rest, but Julian didn’t experience any kind of peace. Finding out his brothers had been murdered left him with a sick feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. Who poisoned them? And, more importantly, why?

  He had checked through the ledger twice, and nothing in it gave him any answers. His brothers had been diligent about paying the servants a fair wage. They hadn’t taken any debts. They’d managed their money with considerable care, and in a short amount of time, they had acquired a small fortune. Their murders made no sense to him.

  “Is everything as you wish, Your Grace?” the caretaker of the cemetery asked Julian as he walked over to him.

  Julian nodded. “You may close the door to the mausoleum now.”

  The caretaker did as he said, and even though there was nothing else to do here, Julian remained standing in front of the large structure. The weight of the world pressed in on him. There was so much he hadn’t been able to resolve with his brothers, and he’d never get the chance to try again. First, Jonah died, and then James died. That left only him. Their parents were in the mausoleum with his brothers. All were laid to rest.