Page 71 of Murder in Highbury

She widened her eyes. “Why, George, I am simply an innocent bystander, remember?”

He pushed his ledger aside and folded his hands on the desk. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“You are the most irritatingly perceptive man I have ever met,” she wryly replied.

He sighed. “Emma, what have you been doing?”

“Nothing terrible, dearest. I just happened to stumble across an interesting piece of information that may or may not have anything to do with Mrs. Elton’s murder.”

He narrowed his dark gaze. “How, exactly, did youstumbleacross that information?”

“Harriet and I paid a condolence call to Mr. Elton this afternoon.” She frowned, momentarily diverted. “George, I’m worried about Harriet and Robert. Robert is jealous of Mr. Elton. That’s ridiculous, but for the fact that Harrietdoesseem to be feeling sentimental about Mr. Elton, which is rather alarming.”

“I confess to little interest in the Martins’ domestic affairs and advise you to show a similar disinterest. As you recall, your judgment in that regard has been somewhat faulty in the past.”

“But Harriet came right out and told me they were having problems. How can I ignore that?”

“Most couples, on occasion, do rub up against each other.”

“We don’t.”

“That remains to be seen,” he sardonically replied.

She ignored that. “I think you should talk to Robert. Give him some advice on his dealings with Harriet, one married man to another.”

“That would simply embarrass the poor fellow, and he would certainly guesswhyI was speaking to him.”

She crinkled her nose. “I suppose you’re right. In that case, I will do my best to emulate Mr. Knightley levels of disinterest.”

“Mr. Knightley would be grateful. Now, may we return to the discussion of the information you stumbled across?”

“Would you like to finish your work first? I don’t mind waiting.”

He smiled. “It will take only a few minutes longer, and then I can give you my full attention.”

Emma rested her elbows on his desk and propped her chin in her hands. It was silly of her, but she enjoyed watching him work. George was such a remarkable man, in his own understated way. He handled the details of their rather complicated life without the least bit of fuss. More importantly, he loved her with a steadfast love that she still found entirely remarkable.

After a few minutes, he closed his ledger and glanced up with a quizzical smile. “Emma?”

“I was thinking that I must be the most fortunate woman in Surrey.”

“And why is that?”

“Because you married me.”

“The good fortune is all mine. I still marvel that you could love me after listening to so many lectures over the years.”

She sat up straight. “Then I hope you will remember your good fortune when I tell you what I found out today.”

Or, rather, abouthowshe had found it.

“I’m not going to like this, am I?”

She waggled a hand. “I’m not sure. What do you know about Dick Curtis?”

His frown indicated he was a bit thrown by the question. “Why?”

“I’ll tell you momentarily. Do you know him?”