Page 22 of A Body, A Baron, and Miss Mifford (Regency Murder and Marriage #4)

There was no need for Eudora to form a reply to this wildly thrilling statement, for her lips became otherwise occupied.

Lord Delaney closed the gap between them, drew her into his arms, and captured her mouth with a searing kiss.

Eudora—who had long been lectured that she should protect her modesty at all costs—did not put up any fight to the baron’s advances. On the contrary, she rather encouraged him, melting into his kiss with a dreamy sigh.

To her surprise, her sigh was met with a low groan from the baron, who pressed her back against the wall, pinning her against the mahogany panelling with strong arms.

His kiss, which had been gentle and firm before, was now something else entirely. It was deep and passionate, rendering Eudora’s knees weak and her every sense heightened.

If given the choice, Eudora would have stayed in their embrace forever, but the baron drew away suddenly, his breath ragged.

“Forgive me,” he said, sounding somewhat pained to her ear.

Eudora, who had just experienced the most thrilling event of her life, could not understand why he sought her forgiveness.

“I should not have taken such liberties,” Robert continued, running a hand nervously through his thick dark hair, “I pray your good opinion of me is not altered in any way.”

“I find my opinion of you has only increased, my lord,” Eudora answered, unable to help herself from teasing him.

To her surprise, he gave another pained groan, glancing up and down the dim corridor. “Please,” he insisted, closing his eyes against a struggle Eudora could not understand, “Don’t encourage me—or Mrs Canards and Mrs Wickling will have something real to gossip about in the morning.”

Though she felt a stab of pity for Robert, Eudora could not help but be thrilled at the power she held over him. It was a marvel to think that such a large man would need to plead to her for clemency.

“I will return to my room, in that case,” Eudora decided, earning herself a glance of regret from the baron.

“You told me not to encourage you,” Eudora huffed, placing her hands on her hips.

“Yes, but I didn’t mean for you to abandon me instantly,” he answered, brows raised in amusement.

He reached out to take one of her hands, frowning in annoyance at finding it gloved.

“I didn’t take you as the rakish sort, Miss Mifford,” he continued, idly removing the offending glove from Eudora’s hand, “To discard a man so quickly after the act of love-making.”

“I wasn’t…” Eudora protested before trailing off as she realised the baron was teasing her.

“Please don’t tease me just now, my lord,” she replied as he threaded his fingers through hers, “I’m already somewhat discombobulated.”

“In a good way?”

“In the best possible way,” Eudora confirmed.

It was true. She felt utterly askew; her blood was heady as it coursed through her veins, her mind whirring as she wondered what would happen if she encouraged the baron further.

“The last night that we met, I ended up in this corridor by mistake,” Eudora blurted, nervous now of her own control over her desire. “And I happened across Lady Albermay and Captain Ledger.”

In a rushed whisper, Eudora described word for word the conversation she had heard between the viscountess and her paramour.

As she finished, Rob squeezed her hand in an act of consolation.

“Between this and the blood-stains on the dress,” he summarised softly, “I’m afraid it rather sounds as though Lady Albermay played some sort of role in her husband’s demise.”

“But what about the son?” Eudora questioned, grappling for any other suspect.

“Now that you mention him, I did overhear Lord Albermay arguing with a woman earlier. Something about him needing to pay her more if he wished for her to confess.”

“Surely that means something,” Eudora gasped, but the baron looked unconvinced.

“I also learned that Lord Albermay was suffering from an illness which was expected to kill him soon enough,” Robert continued, his tone grave.

“His son was aware of it, while his wife was deliberately not told. Our Lord Albermay had no reason to kill his father--not when he merely needed to wait a month or two to inherit.”

Eudora felt her shoulders sag, another die-cast against Lady Albermay.

“There’s still Lord Percival,” she remembered, “I was reading through The Complete Peerage earlier, and I saw that the Percival family is heavily invested in The Royal Exchange Assurance. On our first night here, Lord Albermay insinuated that he had deliberately burned down his glove-making factory to collect the insurance coin.”

As she finished speaking her theory aloud, even Eudora could concede that it sounded somewhat far-fetched.

“I know that it is somewhat fanciful to think that events so long ago could inspire a murder,” she continued before Robert could reply, “But when you couple that with Lord Albermay stealing Lord Percival’s intended wife, one could countenance that maybe, perhaps, it is he who is the culprit?”

“Lord Crabb did tell me that Lord Percival was seen walking the corridors on the night of the murder,” Robert told her, though Eudora felt that he was humouring her rather than agreeing with her.

“And then there’s the dead body in the woods,” she continued, her words coming out in a rush. “We cannot say that Lady Albermay is the definite culprit when we do not know if the two deaths are connected.”

“A fair point,” Robert agreed, though this time, Eudora was certain that his reply was simply good manners. Even she could see that she had gone around the world, back decades, and toward fantasy in an effort to point the finger of blame away from Lady Albermay.

“You are a loyal friend, Eudora,” Robert finally said, squeezing her hand, “I think I would be very happy in life if I knew that I had you in my corner.”

His attempt at consoling her had the desired effect, for at his words, Eudora felt a jolt of pride and a small dash of hope. Could he possibly be insinuating that he wished for her to be at his side for life?

Hold your horses, she scolded herself. It was quite the leap to interpret a small compliment into a marriage proposal—a jump worthy of her mother.

“Thank you, my lord,” she answered, glad he could not read her thoughts—for she was sure he’d run a mile. “I suggest that we continue our investigation but brace ourselves for the possibility that the outcome will not be to our liking.”

“A capital proposal,” Rob replied, lifting her hand to his lips and kissing it gently.

The only proposal of the night, Eudora reminded herself sternly as her heart took flight within her chest.

The air between them became still and tense, and Eudora wished the baron would kiss her again. She could see from his eyes, dark with wanting, that he felt the same way.

“I had best return to my bedchamber, my lord,” she finally said, her mouth dry.

“Of course,” he answered, offering her a curt bow of goodbye.

Not wishing to end their meeting on such a formal note, Eudora stepped toward him and, on tip-toe, kissed his cheek.

Then, before she could become embarrassed by her boldness, she turned on her slippered feet and fled.

The excitement of her encounter with the baron meant that Eudora nearly skipped the whole way back to her room. She was longed for the quiet of her room, where she could spend the rest of the night mulling over every minute detail of the encounter.

Alas, her plans were scuppered when she opened the door to find Emily waiting for her.

“What are you doing here?” Eudora asked her sister, who at the exact same moment exclaimed, “Where have you been?”

“I asked you first,” Eudora rushed in an effort to avoid the question.

Emily rolled her eyes in response, not at all taken in by Eudora’s distraction.

“I came to tell you something terribly exciting,” she said, patting the bed in an invitation for Eudora to sit beside her. “Freddie said that Lord Delaney told him—under strict confidence—that he has been attempting to woo you but hasn’t been having much luck.”

That explained the marquess’ earlier behaviour, Eudora realised. Though Freddie’s asking Mrs Mifford to act as musical entertainment was more of an attack on romance than an encouragement, she thought with a smile.

“I must remember never to share a confidence with Freddie,” Eudora answered dryly. She was not ready to share her news with her sister just yet, for it still felt unreal to her.

“Is that my glove?” Emily asked, her brow drawn into a slight frown, “Why are you only wearing one?”

Unfortunately for Eudora, she was not at all adept at deception. As she realised that the other glove was probably tucked inside Lord Delaney’s coat pocket, her ears turned red, and her cheeks flushed.

“You kissed him!” Emily exclaimed, excitedly jumping from the bed, “Tell me everything. Was it romantic? Do you think you’ll be married before the spring?”

“He hasn’t asked me to marry him,” Eudora whispered, indicating that her sister should hush. Emily’s shouting was enough to wake the whole household. The last thing Eudora wanted was for her mother to overhear that she’d kissed Lord Delaney—she’d force Papa to marry them both before breakfast.

“He will,” Emily was certain, “Freddie said he’s never seen him so besotted.”

Eudora flushed again, delighted by this piece of gossip.

“I imagine that once the snow thaws and we can leave, Lord Delaney will take up residence at his home in Henfield. It’s only a short carriage ride to Plumpton when the roads are good.

You’ll be close enough to visit often but not so close that Mama will call every day.

And you’ll have to spend time at his seat in Bloomsbury, but Oxford is said to be beautiful, so we’ll all visit. Oh, isn’t it exciting!”

Eudora, who had only just learned that the baron owned a home nearby, was a little startled to hear that Emily was now expecting her to live in it.

When she wasn’t in residence in Oxford, that is.

It was hard for Eudora to imagine herself married to and living with Lord Delaney when it still had not yet sunk in that they had kissed.

Emily, perhaps sensing that her matrimonial plans—which were worthy of Mrs Mifford herself—were overwhelming her sister, gave a small giggle.

“Forgive me, I’ve turned into one of those married ladies who do nothing but plot and plan other people’s marriages.”

“At least you’ve an awareness of the affliction,” Eudora replied before adding, “Please don’t tell the others about this.”

By the others, she meant Mary, who was tenacious once she got an idea into her head.

“Oh, they’re all far too distracted by the murder to bother with matchmaking,” Emily answered glibly.

“Do they seem any closer to discovering the suspect?” Eudora asked, attempting to sound nonchalant. It was not her desire to solve a murder that was at stake now; it was Lady Albermay’s very life—murder was a hangable offence.

“Freddie said that Ivo is keeping tight-lipped about it all,” Emily answered, much to Eudora’s relief.

“We might never discover who did it,” Eudora shrugged. “Perhaps it will be one of those mysteries which is never solved. Now, enjoyable though I find your company, Emily; I really am quite tired and would like to go to bed.”

“Yes, Freddie will send out a search party if I don’t return soon,” Emily agreed, not at all put out to be so unceremoniously ejected. “Good night, Eudora. I expect your dreams will be very sweet.”

With a wink unbecoming of a marchioness, Emily took her leave.

Once she was gone, Eudora changed quickly into her night-rail and crawled under the blankets, delighted to discover that the chambermaid had left a foot warmer under the covers.

Despite her wish to relive her every moment with Lord Delaney, it was Lady Albermay who played on her mind as she drifted off to sleep.

She just can’t be guilty, Eudora thought. Something had to come up to change the course of the investigation.

And the next morning, something did.

“There you are,” Lord Delaney called as Eudora came down the stairs for breakfast. He strode across the entrance hall to meet her at the bottom step.

“Whatever’s the matter?” Eudora whispered, painfully conscious of his hand on her elbow.

“One of the maids has gone missing,” Robert replied, “They found a pool of blood in her bedroom. We think there’s been another murder, Eudora.”