Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

Marina had no choice but to ponder in her room. She was completely and utterly frazzled. She had to close her door and windows in hopes that no one might hear her cries.

The investigation was running dry with every possible lead they tried to follow. They merely have enough evidence to suspect him of murder, but not enough for any kind of conviction. If Marina were to walk to constables with her half-empty evidence folder, they’d laugh at her. It was starting to become ridiculous how difficult the investigation was.

Then there was Nancy, someone she had loved despite her father being horrid to her. She had betrayed Nancy and she couldn’t see any prospective rekindling. The thought of having deeply hurt someone made Marina’s heart shatter with guilt, especially if it was a loved family member.

Then, of course, there was the kiss. Something she wished to say she hated and that the duke disgusted her, but she couldn’t dare get such a lie across her lips. Instead, she was fearful that she had fallen head over heels for the man she had entered a professional engagement with. If this investigation lasts a day longer, she wouldn’t be able to distance her feelings from him, then- when the investigation finds itself over, she would be crushed as he leaves her behind. It was a fate she was uncertain of how to avoid.

“Goodness, help me!” Marina yelled to no one in particular, gripping her bedsheets in frustration. Tears poured downward from her eyes, the salty taste reaching the corners of her mouth.

Then, as if some mystical figure had heard her, her crying fit was interrupted. A couple of knocks echoed from her window.

Marina was quick to wipe her tears and pull herself together before opening a single curtain. She thought it to possibly be Leilah, but then again Leilah had full access to her bedroom door. Outside, stood the duke in all his glory.

Hesitantly, Marina opened it.

“My goodness, my Lady. Are you alright?” Griffin asked, noticing Marina’s reddened eyes and puffy face. She had undoubtedly been crying, and it was hard to deny the fact.

“I’m just fine, thank you, Your Grace. My sinuses tend to get difficult this time of year,” Marina said as she pulled out a handkerchief from inside her room.

Griffin had obviously not believed her statement, but decided not to ponder on the matter. Marina was grateful for his avoidant response.

“Have you found anything, possibly anything, my Lady?” Griffin desperately asked, looking like a dog begging for a treat.

“I think I’ve merely caused trouble the last while, Your Grace,” Marina sighed, finding herself a bit uncomfortable talking to Griffin. But she forced sentences out of herself nonetheless. “One of the maids got hold of the file, and I had to explain myself.”

Griffin’s face contracted as if her words were a stab to his chest. “Goodness, my Lady, how might we ever be able to silence her?”

“It’s alright, I asked for her silence and she agreed. She even agreed to share any information she might come upon if she somehow finds any,” Marina said in attempts to save the situation. “As of now, she doesn’t know much other than my uncle being horrible, having a tea business prior, and then coming here to take the position of Earl.”

“What is with this tea business?” Griffin mumbled, thinking back to the same statement he had received from Percy this morning. “I went over to his old worker, Percy, in hopes of finding information. He also spoke of packaging tea leaves for him, as well as him just being a generally awful human being.”

“Which tea leaves did he use?” Marina asked, strange puzzle pieces starting to fall together.

“I’m unsure, my Lady. Percy is as well. He said he was handed the mixture of leaves in a bucket and had to package them for barely a scent from Josiah,” Griffin commented, the puzzle pieces not making sense in his head as in Marina’s.

“Your Grace, we need to see if we could possibly find the tea he produced,” Marina said sternly.

“I’m not really a man who enjoys supporting the businesses of those I despise,” Griffin said, disgusted by the suggestion. “I wouldn’t want a penny going towards your uncle, my Lady.”

“No, Your Grace, you don’t quite understand. If he used the Belladonna leaves that Beth explained to us, he possibly could’ve snuck tea over to our fathers. Poisonous tea,” Marina explained, a bit agitated at Griffin’s slow thought process at the moment.

Griffin’s eyes widened at the realization. Marina couldn’t pinpoint if he was in a state of anger or excitement at the revelation.

“Where might I be able to find the tea, my Lady?” Griffin asked, his knuckles turning white as he gripped onto the window sill.

“I’ll ask around here, maybe you could-,” Marina said, but was quick to stop her words when she noticed a figure reach from around the corner. Nancy, hands on hips stood facing the pair.

There was no time to have hidden Griffin from sight, but barely even a chance to explain themselves. Nancy stood staring at them for a couple of seconds, merely looking at the scene taking place in front of her. Before a word could be spoken, Nancy turned back in her footsteps.

As Marina watched as Nancy’s dress drifted back around the corner before slamming her fist into the windowsill.

“Ah!” she exclaimed both in anger and pain. “Why is everything going so wrong!”

“Hey, wait!” Griffin exclaimed before Marina could throw another punch at the windowsill. He was quick to wrap one large hand over Marina’s in an attempt to prohibit her striking another blow.

“She most likely thinks the two of us are in some loving, secretive meeting or something. As far as I’m aware that’s not an illegal case,” Griffin said softly, trying to gain Marina’s attention before she freaked out further.

“You don’t understand! She already thinks of us as suspicious and if she somehow heard a word, we were speaking I’m as good as dead!” Marina yelled. A part of her wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, but she yelled in a whispered tone to prohibit more problems from walking around the corner.

“That’s not quite possible, my Lady. In order for her to have heard anything from that distance the two of us would have to been screaming at one another,” Griffin said, still desperate to calm her down.

“Your Grace, our evidence is slim, Nancy is highly suspicious of us and I don’t have much time left before my uncle puts me out on the streets. Your Grace, I don’t intend to come as harsh, but the fact is if this investigation leads nowhere, you’d be just fine. I, however, might find myself homeless with no house or future,” Marina hissed. She felt bad that she was taking out so many emotions upon Griffin, but who else could she turn to?

Griffin opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but was quick to retract his tongue. All Marina was left with was the face of guilt, making her feel more guilty than she had before.

“My apologies, Your Grace. I didn’t mean anything badly toward you,” Marina mumbled, knowing she was doing the right thing but deeply inside she still wanted to scream. At anyone or anything.

“It’s alright, my Lady. I completely understand,” Griffin replied, giving her a sad smile in response. The two stood in silence with one another, until a knock appeared on Marina’s door.

Without a goodbye, the knock caused Griffin to jog away. Marina was quick to close her curtains before yelling “Come in!”

The door opened, Nancy stepping a foot inside. Her cheeks glowed a shade of red, a shade Marina couldn’t describe as anything positive. Nancy was angry.

“Nancy,” Marina mumbled, a part of her wanting to try convince her cousin that she hallucinated it all, that nothing was suspicious in any sense. But it was far too late now.

“Look,” Nancy spat out. “I know you and your little duke are up to something and I need an explanation. I won’t be leaving until I’m satisfied.”

“Nancy, I know what you just saw looked strange, but we find it so difficult to see one another and…” Marina started defending herself, but was quick to stumble over her words.

“You know nothing about difficulties of seeing one another!” Nancy spat. This silenced Marina quickly, even causing her to take a step back. She knew Nancy was referring to Frederic and her own’s inability to see one another.

“What are the two of you busy with?” Nancy asked again. Marina couldn’t help but feel slightly fearful of her cousin in the instance, her eyes piercing through Marina like a sharp knife.

“Nothing, Nancy! I don’t know what to tell you!” Marina laughed, trying to appear genuinely startled by unexpected questioning. “If it’ll make you feel better, I could say that the duke and I are planning on starting a dairy farm where I milk the cows daily.”

“Oh, stop it!” Nancy yelled, clearly annoyed at Marina consistently avoiding the question. “If you don’t want to tell me that’s quite alright, but I’ll find out soon enough!”

Nancy started to laugh. “Break the engagement with your little duke, or else I’ll discover your schemes and take it all over to my father.”

Marina felt a numbness cover her entire body. Her worst fears were slowly starting to come true. She was unsure how Nancy would dig up any information on her but she trusted her cousin when she said she would. Worse yet, if her uncle where to find out alongside his daughter Marina could be described as a lamb to the slaughter.

“Alright, Nancy,” Marina smiled, still in attempts to make Nancy feel like she was imagining it all. Yet, inside she was slowly crumbling from the thought.

“Alright,” Nancy coldly spat, taking a few prolonged seconds to stare her cousin deeply in the eyes. Marina felt like those very eyes might cause her life to be cut short.

Nancy scoffed one last time, following with a laugh of disbelief. She turned around, closing the door behind her as she left.

Marina looked at the closed door for what felt like a few minutes, before slowly starting to slide her back down the wall. She barely had the strength to cry, finding herself only able to stare at the void in front of her. Once she’d be able to pull herself to her feet, she had one last thing she had to do

“Your Grace,

I apologize for the letter you are about to receive. I have been thinking a lot during the past few days, and I believe it would be best for us to part ways from one another. I can blame it on anything you did, but wholeheartedly on myself. I am not ready to face the consequences of our courtship, thus finding it most beneficial for both parties if I end it. I end this courtship with a sore heart, however, as I dearly enjoyed the moments we spent together. You were a great companion and I hope you find a better fit than I had been.

Yours sincerely, Marina Bosley.”