Devil in My Arms by Samantha Kane Read Free Book Online

amused.
    “Italy was cold and magnificent and lonely.”
    “You should have taken Wiley,” Alasdair told him.
    Hil winced as he thought of his young protégé. “I should have. Did no one keep an eye on the lad while I was gone? He’s fallen into bad habits again.”
    “Sorry, old man,” Alasdair said with a shrug. “I was busy keeping an eye on Eleanor. My eyes can’t be in two places at one time. That’s why I made him come out to Throckton’s with us for a while.”
    “What about Roger?” he asked, annoyed all over again.
    “Well, there was that pesky little new baby taking all his time, when he wasn’t attempting to establish himself in his new position as a barrister.”
    Hil blew out an exasperated breath. “Honestly, it shouldn’t be that difficult for me to leave London from time to time without all of you getting into mischief.”
    “We shall endeavor not to inconvenience you the next time you go away,” Alasdair promised insincerely. “I’ll have Julianna speak with Wiley. He has a soft spot for her.”
    “I’d hoped his worst habits had been curbed by his education,” Hil mused. “But he is still out all night and secretive about his activities.”
    “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him a saint,” Alasdair said wisely.
    “That is not how the saying goes, and I would have settled for a Devil,” Hil drawled.
    Alasdair looked surprised. “Well, then, you’ve done your job. He’s a Devil, no question. Learning to act the gentleman has made him quite popular among a certain group of ladies.”
    “The term ‘ladies’ used loosely, I assume?” Hil asked, amused.
    “Quite loosely,” Alasdair agreed. “The ladies and the term.”
    Well, that explained his late night excursions. “Tell me about Mrs. Fairchild,” Hil asked at last. He’d been resisting the urge to ask ever since Alasdair walked over, but he could still see her, now standing in the middle of the room chatting among a large group of people, Harry at her side. She was quite animated, and everyone seemed taken with her, but Hil sensed that it was all an act on her part.
    “She’s been declared dead.”
    Alasdair looked so pleased at what was supposed to be a shocking revelation that Hil hated to disappoint him. “I know,” he said anyway. “Roger told me about the inquest. Her husband claimed she died under mysterious circumstances that were the result of foul play. Not surprising really, that he got a death certificate from the coroner. What was surprising is that he produced a body. I’d love to look into that, but dare not for fear of exposing her. She covered her tracks extremely well. The question is why, after gaining her freedom so irrevocably, is she parading around Roger’s drawing room? I’d expected to find her long gone when I returned.”
    “Of course you know,” Alasdair mumbled. “Because”—he paused to glance from side to side to make sure they weren’t overheard—“by producing a dead body and then remarrying so quickly, Enderby made it impossible to denounce her for fear of incriminating himself. Originally she thought she’d have to wait much longer to emerge from hiding, until after he remarried, and then keep a very low profile, but the body changed her plans.”
    Hil looked at the lady with interest. “So that was her plan,” he said quietly. “I’d assumed she’d want to simply disappear. I know I would. Her original plan was foolish, of course. Normally it takes years to have a missing person declared dead.”
    Alasdair nodded. “Yes, Roger pointed that out immediately. But then Enderby obliged us by producing a body.”
    “If she’s discovered, there will be dire consequences for all involved,” Hil warned. “The authorities will want answers.”
    “If that ever happens, we plan to tell them that Eleanor was injured, and when she was found she had lost all memory of her life. All she had was an old letter with Harry’s name on it. Fearing for her