Death of a Duchess by Nellie Steele (the beginning after the end novel read TXT) 📗

“Very good, Your Grace,” Buchanan responded with a nod. “I shall leave you and check back first thing in the morning. If you require anything at all overnight, wake me at once, Your Grace.”

“Thank you, Buchanan,” we both said in unison.

I sipped at my warm beverage as he exited the room. I glanced to Robert, who fixed his gaze on me. “How are you?” he inquired.

I sighed before answering. “Given the circumstances, I am all right.”

“This is becoming dangerous. You could have been killed tonight. As much as it pains me to say this, I must insist that you give up on your project.”

“No!” I objected.

“Lenora,” Robert lectured, “when I made the request of you, I did not realize the danger your life would be placed in. Had I not been there, you would have fallen to your death!”

My brow furrowed, and a shiver passed over me as I recalled the harrowing experience. Time would ease the shock I felt, but Robert remained correct. I easily could have lost my grip and tumbled to my death below, as his first wife had only three years prior.

While the thought disturbed me, I remained resolute in upholding my end of the bargain, if for no other reason than to satisfy my own curiosity. Robert, however, remained unsatisfied with the arrangement and continued. “I will not take the chance with your life. This ends tonight, Lenora.”

“I will be more careful in the future,” I promised. “But to give up seems unnecessary.”

“If your reluctance stems from our arrangement, put it out of your mind. You owe me nothing.”

“Neither do you,” I countered. “However, my reluctance does not arise entirely from failing to uphold our arrangement. There is something odd here, and I am determined to get to the bottom of it.”

“At what cost, Lenora?” Robert chided.

“I agreed to be more careful, so, with any luck, no cost. Still, as dangerous as the incident tonight was, something about it seems off.” Again, my brow creased as I parsed through everything in my mind.

“What do you mean?” Robert questioned.

I shook my head before attempting to explain. “Annie wasn’t the one pushing me toward the window. In fact, she remained in front of me until I reached it. After I pitched over the windowsill, I glanced up and Annie stood over me.”

Robert’s eyes glistened with tears that he blinked away before speaking. “I am so terribly sorry, Lenora,” he whispered. I took his hand in mine, giving it a squeeze.

“I am not. I do not believe Annie intended to harm me.”

“Did she help you when you were dangling from the tower window? Could she have?”

“Yes, she could have, but when you burst through the door, she disappeared. In essence, she didn’t have the chance.”

Robert remained silent for a moment. “I realize how difficult this is for you,” I added.

Robert clasped a hand over mine. “I understand my Annie is no more. What is left is a shell, acting out in a desperate attempt to make sense of her fate.” We remained silent a moment more before Robert continued. “You mentioned Annie did not push you. What are you suggesting then? That it is not Annie causing these disturbances?”

I shook my head again. “No. I am not certain. I do not detect any other presence but hers. However, I do not believe she intended to cause me harm. In fact, moments before we heard your voice on the other side of the door, I thought I had gotten through to her.”

“If you detect no one else, then the danger must be a result of Annie’s presence,” Robert argued.

“No,” I disagreed. “While the occurrences of this evening may have been of Annie’s doing, I believe she did not intend to harm me as much as she was trying to communicate something to me.”

Robert did not respond for a moment and I finished my warm drink, inching down under the covers.

“You should rest,” he instructed.

“So, we are agreed that I shall continue, correct?” I queried before conceding to sleep.

Robert raised his eyebrows at me. “No, we are not agreed. I remain unconvinced that harm was not the primary intent of tonight’s incident. However, you need rest. We may continue the discussion in the morning after you have been seen by the doctor.”

“I do not need a doctor,” I insisted.

“We shall not take a chance that you do and do not realize it. Now rest, dear.”

I nestled my head on the pillow behind me. “You do not need to stay.”

“I refuse to let you out of my sight,” Robert responded. “So, I shall stay to ensure your safety through the night.”

“Thank you,” I murmured as I closed my eyes. My mind parsed through the events of the evening again, though I worked hard to push them from my mind. Yet I couldn’t escape the notion that there was more to the story. That tonight’s dangerous game was not a threat and contained no murderous intent, but that it was designed to impart some information.

As I struggled to fall asleep, details of Annie’s death paraded through my mind. I had inquired about the circumstances in the days following our wedding. Buchanan provided answers to most of my queries.

It was a temperate day in mid-April when Annie had met her terrible fate. Robert had been out riding late in the morning before lunch. Edwin arrived to speak with him. Finding Robert out riding, Edwin stepped out for fresh air. As he walked, a scream broke the silence. He rushed in its direction, finding Annie’s broken body on the ground below the turret.

She wore a red dress that day, which became bloodied and filthy in the fall. Edwin carried Annie to the house, and a doctor was summoned, but the injuries Annie sustained killed her instantly. Nothing could be done to save her. She had passed before Edwin happened upon her. Robert had fallen to pieces when he learned of her death, locking himself in his room for days