Betrayal in Time by Julie McElwain

Author:Julie McElwain
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pegasus Books
Published: 2019-04-29T16:00:00+00:00

It took twenty minutes before Lord Cross finally shoved back his chair and declared that he was done. Alec and Kendra intercepted him as he stalked out of the card room.

“Lord Cross? A moment of your time?” Alec smiled at the younger man. “I am Sutcliffe—Alexander Morgan, the Marquis of Sutcliffe. This is Miss Donovan, the Duke of Aldridge’s ward.”

Recognition flickered in his small eyes. His face tightened, telling Kendra that he probably would have come up with an excuse to get away from them, if he could. “My lord, Miss Donovan,” he acknowledged with an abbreviated bow. “I am at your service.”

“Walk with us,” Alec directed, and, taking Kendra’s arm, began to move in the direction of a withdrawing room, forcing Lord Cross to fall into step beside them. “You may be aware that my uncle is looking into the death of Sir Giles.”

Cross’s mouth knotted with tension. “That is a peculiar pastime for a duke. Unless you are referring to another uncle?”

“No, he is the one. We are assisting him in the investigation.”

“What has any of this to do with me? I did not know Sir Giles.”

Kendra kept her gaze steady on him as they came to a halt in an alcove across from the card room. “Really? You had dinner with Sir Giles on Wednesday night—the night of his murder,” she said bluntly, watching the emotions flit across his narrow face. Fear. Panic. “Odd for you to do if you didn’t even know him.”

Cross adopted an outraged expression. “You are being deliberately provocative, Miss Donovan. I meant I did not know him as a close connection. And I did not have dinner with him. I joined him at his table for a moment. That is all.”

“Why did you join him at his table at all? What did you have to say to this man who was not a close connection?”

“I don’t recall. It was a trifling subject.”

“What is it? You don’t recall or it was a trifling subject?” Kendra pressed.

He frowned at her. “A trifling subject.”

She said coolly, “What would you say if I told you witnesses have reported that you and Sir Giles were involved in a heated discussion? One might even call it an argument.”

His bushy side whiskers quivered. “I can’t imagine who could have said such a thing.”

Alec raised an eyebrow at the man. “As the last person to have seen Sir Giles alive, I would think you would want to help us in our investigation, my lord, lest you give the impression that you have something to hide.”

Cross blinked four times in rapid succession. “I have nothing to hide.”

“Then you shouldn’t have a problem telling us why you sought Sir Giles out at his club to speak with him,” Kendra said, and watched Cross gaze at the doorway to the card room, probably regretting ever having left the table.

He exhaled. “It was a private discussion. He outbid me on a horse that I had my eye on, if you must know.”

“Your argument was over a horse?” Kendra didn’t bother to hide her skepticism.

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