A Fatal Illusion by Anna Lee Huber

Author:Anna Lee Huber [Huber, Anna Lee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2023-06-20T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

I encountered Gage striding down the corridor toward his father’s bedchamber as I was leaving it. He slowed his steps, waiting for us to approach. His hair was still damp at his temples, and I could smell the bay rum from his aftershave, telling me he’d just finished his grooming, presumably sans Anderley, who had departed for the Bay Horse earlier. Emma cooed at the sight of her father, reaching her arms up to him.

His face lit up as he took her from me. “Good morning, sweet girl,” he told her as he pressed kisses to both her cheeks and then mine before glancing significantly in the direction we’d come. “Is he resting?” It was obvious whom he was speaking of.

“If not already, then soon,” I replied, falling in step with him as he pivoted to return toward our chamber.

“How long have you been awake?”

“A while,” I answered vaguely, not wishing him to feel guilty.

“You could have woken me.”

I reached up to grasp his arm above the elbow. “You needed your rest, darling. I’ve watched you toss and turn. It’s been an exhausting few weeks.”

“And I imagine you decided this morning’s interview would be a bit tamer without me present.”

“I admit that I wondered if I might get more information from him without you.”

He arched his eyebrows knowingly. “You wanted to test the theory that honey catches more flies than vinegar.”

“Did you just equate our daughter with honey?” I replied, attempting to divert his focus.

“I did.”

“Which would then make you the vinegar in this scenario. And your father a fly.” I tilted my head. “I would have deemed him more of a wasp.”

The good-humored look in his eyes told me he knew what I was doing. “The point still stands.”

I sighed, admitting to being caught out. “I decided that, given your father’s history of playing fast and loose with the information we need in an investigation, the use of a little persuasion would not be out of order.”

“I see. So now our daughter is the ‘persuasion.’ ”

I looked up at this rebuke to find him grinning.

“Actually, I woke with a similar thought,” he admitted. “You simply got there quicker.” He shifted his head to the side to look down at Emma, who had snuggled into his shoulder before glancing at me in question.

“Nap time,” I confirmed.

He nodded, turning to climb the stairs toward the nursery while I continued to my chamber. A few moments later he joined me, finding me standing at the window, staring out at the rain-soaked drive. A steady drizzle fell from the sky, casting a misty curtain over the trees in the distance. I’d taken a shawl from the clothespress and now hugged it around me against the chill of the day.

“What did my father have to say?” Gage asked, clasping his hands behind his back as we stood side by side. “Anything pertinent?”

“Not much, unfortunately. He admitted to hearing whispers over a year ago that the Blue Bell might be selling unlicensed spirits.”

“Whisky?”

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