A Discerning Woman: A Historical Romance Mystery by Sarah F. Noel

Author:Sarah F. Noel [Noel, Sarah F.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-04-17T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

During the carriage ride to Pembroke Dock, Wolf, Langley, and Bear, who had decided to tag along, discussed what little they knew of Glynda’s murder. “My observations so far are that Constable Evans is more interested in filling his belly than doing his job ably and that Squire Partridge is all too ready to clamp the most immediate suspect in irons so he can get back to the comfort of his fireplace with a glass of brandy in hand.”

Langley hadn’t met the constable, but having sat opposite the squire at dinner the previous evening and heard his intoxicated attempts to charm the dowager, he did not doubt the accuracy of Wolf’s observation. “Of course, that doesn’t mean that Mr Thomas isn’t guilty, even if it was not premeditated. Perhaps his wife came to visit him at the forge, they argued, maybe he raised his hand to her in anger and she fell and hit her head on an anvil.”

“That is quite a fanciful and detailed tale,” Wolf teased. “Have you been reading the penny dreadfuls again?”

Langley smiled at the gentle ribbing. It was as surprising to him as it was to Wolf that they had formed such a trusted and friendly bond. Maxwell Sandworth, the Earl of Langley, had never found it easy to make friends as a child or as a young man. As an adult, he had been gravely disappointed in love and had spent some time travelling the continent alone. Returning home after the death of his brothers, he accepted the duties of the earldom but anticipated living out his days as a lonely bachelor, even if that meant the title came to an end.

The last thing Langley ever imagined was that he would find himself suddenly part of this almost extended family group – particularly one that included the dowager – having formed genuine and meaningful friendships with Tabitha, Wolf, and Bear. He certainly would never have predicted that he would be the guardian and mentor to a young boy and utterly in thrall to a four-year-old girl. While there was nothing about his current situation that fit the picture of the life he had imagined for himself, he acknowledged that these people brought companionship, intellectual challenge, and joy to his life, filling a void he hadn’t even realised existed.

In particular, his relationship with Wolf, as part mentor, part older brother, was growing into a friendship that Langley cherished. Given how they had started, it was quite astounding where they found themselves just a few months later.

The ride to Pembroke Dock took under an hour, and they soon entered the bustling marine town that had quickly grown from a small village after the Royal Navy Dockyards were built there in 1814. Sailors, merchants, and shipbuilders thronged the narrow streets, and the entire town echoed with the clangs of busy shipyard work. They passed the bustling harbour filled with ships, their passengers, and crews. Just past the harbour stood the solid, stone buildings of Pembroke Dock’’s police station and lock-up.

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