Chapter 25

WILLIAM’S FIRST EVER courting was going rather well, he thought.

Technically , he was chaperoning. But William was certain there was a spark of something more between him and Mab that went beyond idle chatter as they watched over their respective friends, so he was counting this as a courting.

The setting was magical, and the instant his eyes met Mab’s, he felt heat rise within him. She was simply breathtaking. She had pinned her wild hair to her temples. The long tail that billowed down her swan-like neck was plaited, falling over her shoulder and finishing below her breast.

He had decided to take Emily, Benedict and Wilfred’s advice and answer her questions as honestly as he could, especially given the fact that she had been honest to the point of vulnerability with him. His stomach had hollowed when she had told him that she had let herself be caught in a compromising position with one of the servants. He’d instantly regretted agreeing to meet her, only for her to destroy the image he’d been harbouring for so long. But when she’d explained the circumstances, and particularly the servant’s attempt at blackmailing her, not to mention stealing her mother’s precious heirlooms, William couldn’t quite help but think Mab had been backed into a corner and done the only logical thing she could do. It was hardly as if she could settle it with her fists like a man could. And it was a despicable, cowardly thing to threaten to expose a lover’s indiscretions. He thought she was rather ingenious to save her heirlooms, beat a blackmailer at his own game, and dispel an unwanted proposal in a single act. And, ultimately, it resulted in her coming to the same place as him to seek a husband. William also tried his very best not to dwell on the fact that Mab had had many a tumble, suggesting that she found pleasure in the act, because an alarming amount of blood was being cyphered from his brain, and he desperately hoped that he didn’t have to stand at this very moment, as his feelings for the wildling before him would be painfully evident.

Thankfully, they moved onto the topic of how he’d ended up here, and the embarrassment of telling her that he had no money seemed to douse the fire in his blood. William had felt a wild relief when she didn’t baulk at his situation. She now knew that he could offer her no fortune, and it would be up to her if she decided that William on his own was enough for her.

Without giving away who he and his family were, he’d also answered that question as truthfully as possible. He had no blood relations in his life that, should things progress and Mab were amenable to a marriage proposal, Mab could consider as new family. Well, maybe his sister if they reconnected, which he would probably attempt after he left here.

Marriage!

He stole a glance while she was distracted by Benedict and his butterfly to look Mab up and down once more.

Martha would love her.

Mab was the most unique woman he’d ever met. He might have fallen in love with the idea of his fairy, but the moment she cut ahead of him and pulled her own chair out, leaving him standing awkwardly by her side, he’d fallen in love with the real Mab.

Madly, deeply and irrevocably in love .

He just hoped she came to feel the same about him.

William was in no way, shape or form deluded enough to think he could read a woman’s intentions from the subtle hints she gave out, but Mab had blurted out that she thought he was handsome, she hadn’t baulked at his reasons for seeking a wife here, and she’d even allowed him to skim over his experience with education – though that was a topic about which he would need to go into more detail with her down the line. And when she thought he wasn’t looking, she would run her eyes up and down his form.

He really thought that he might just have a chance with Mab.

Just before he could get too carried away, a movement caught his eye. The butterfly had fluttered off, and the young couple were standing. In a rather bold move, Benedict purposely straightened his arm at his side, allowing his hand to drift into the space between them. Tilly took a moment to deliberate. Finally, she allowed her little finger to briefly brush against his, and she turned immediately scarlet.

“I think that is our cue to leave,” Mab said with a sigh.

Did she wish they could stay for just a while longer too?

William stood and bowed deeply, taking a second longer than he should to find his confidence. When he finally stood straight again, he began, “Would—”

But Mab beat him to it. “Would you meet me again?”

William’s heart nearly exploded. “I ... yes, I would love to.”

Mab’s lips curled into a smile. “I will let you know when.”

BOTH WILLIAM AND BENEDICT made their way dreamily back to the carriage, Wilfred in tow behind the pair giving a full account of every giggle, blush and lingering glance that he could see from his position at the door.

If this was what love felt like, William was an idiot not to seek it out earlier.

Though, he guessed he would have been an idiot to have, because surely this feeling was solely Mab’s doing, and no other woman could compare to the way she made him feel.

“We are two fools in love,” Benedict declared as the pair of them entered their shared bedroom.

William flopped onto his bed, which had never felt so soft and inviting. Benedict followed suit on his own bed.

“She is just wonderful!” Benedict announced to the ceiling before flopping over and staring at William. William turned to face his friend. “I told her everything. I couldn’t help myself. I told her about the accident and how I might not be able to have a family, though that is something I would give my right arm for, and I had completely forgotten that she had a son until she told me again. And we spoke about Keir – that’s her son – at length, and now all I can picture is how happy my parents would be if I came home not just with a wife, but with a son as well!”

William couldn’t help but smile at the young lad.

“And how did it go with Mab?”

William sighed dreamily. “She asked to see me again.”

Benedict grabbed his pillow, howled with delight into it, and threw it at William’s head, all while kicking his legs excitedly in the air. “She wants to see you again!”

“Yes,” William said blithely, the fever of Benedict’s excitement beginning to rub off on him.

“You will need to plan something romantic with her! I was thinking of asking Tilly to have dinner with me, but that might be a bit mellow for Mab. I bet she would just love something more intimate ... How about a night-time picnic looking up at the stars? I’m sure there’d be a telescope knocking around. You could put candles everywhere and blankets and cushions. It would be so romantic!”

“I think you’re getting a bit carried away there, Benedict. Besides, Mab said she would arrange it, so we’ll probably just do something sensible, like have afternoon tea again.” Though William couldn’t help but imagine how Mab would look like sitting under the stars, surrounded by candlelight and ...

Dear God, he had to stop himself from thinking any further, especially when he wasn’t alone with his thoughts.

William’s salvation – if one could call it that – came in the form of a rap on the door.

“Come in!” Benedict practically sang.

William’s smile dropped the moment he saw Charles’s shrewd eyes peer around the door.

“Perhaps I should come back another time,” Charles mumbled.

“Benedict already knows that you approached me and what you alluded to,” William said, the airy tone of his voice gone.

Benedict crossed his arms and nodded.

Charles glanced tentatively between the pair. “Very well.”

The large man took a step inside the room, a wad of papers wrapped in a strap of leather tucked under his arm, and crossed to the chair by the fire that William indicated. William took a seat opposite him, while Benedict flanked William from behind, standing with an unusually severe look on his face, his hand gripping the top of the oxblood-red Queen Anne chair William sat in.

“I should probably start at the beginning,” Charles said. “I am a private investigator. People hire me for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes it’s to find stolen objects, other times it is to find those that have gone missing. What I specialise in, however, is solving murders.”

William’s brows furrowed. He had gone over every possible explanation as to what Charles could have meant by his statement on the terrace last night, and Charles being a private murder investigator had not been one of them.

“A murder investigator?” William asked, perplexed. Benedict, who had lost all semblance of intimidation, leaned in beside him, as intrigued as William.

“Indeed. I have a case that, for a long while, had me stumped. I’m ashamed to say that I lied my way to get into here with the intention of interrogating you.”

Benedict sucked in a scandalised breath.

“A case? What case?” William asked.

“Why, the murdered viscount, of course!”

“What murdered viscount?” The last William had seen of his brother, he was perfectly well, if one were to discount the broken nose.

“Your father,” Charles scoffed.

“My father?” William said at the exact same time Benedict said, “His father?”

“Yes, your father. Did you not find it strange that he was completely healthy one day, and the next, he was writhing in pain, dead within forty-eight hours?”

“I had thought it was a result of wishful thinking,” William mumbled. “Besides, a doctor had said it was gripping of the stomach.”

“No. He was murdered. And, truth be told, I had thought you’d been the one to do it.”

William’s mouth opened, but no words came out.

“That’s why the investigation took so long. You had all the motives and the opportunity. But there was always that little niggle at the back of my mind that said things didn’t quite add up when it came to you.” Charles wagged his finger at William. “Which is why I haven’t handed my report in.”

“Handed your report in to who?” William asked.

“Lady Catherine Sinclair,” Charles said. For the benefit of Benedict he added, “ nee Blackwater.”

“Your sister?” Benedict choked out, grabbing hold of William’s shoulder.

“Yes, William’s sister. She contacted me at the beginning of the year to enlist my services. She had no love for your father but had always thought he had been murdered. I told her that the likelihood of a murder being solved after so much time had passed was next to nothing, but she was adamant that I look into it.”

“Why? After so long had passed? And how was she to know he’d been murdered? She had already been married off and left the estate.”

“All very good questions, each of which I will answer as the story unfolds because, believe me, lads, this is one hell of an unbelievable story. In fact, I have to say that I ought to write a novel out of it, as it is full of twists and turns that even I had a hard time believing if it wasn’t for the fact that so many things fell into place.”

“I’m glad that the murder of my father has amused you so,” William said tersely.

Charles ignored the comment and continued, “Well, I guess I’ll start at the beginning.”