Harriett by Rebecca King Read Free Book Online Page B

the way he carried himself gave him an air of
command that wasn’t lost on anyone within the room. He ignored
everyone, and skirted around Fred to kneel beside the body to
inspect it. When he lifted the blanket to study Minerva’s body,
Harriett quickly turned her gaze toward the tall man who remained
beside Fred.
    She
physically jumped when she realised that he was staring directly at
her. His emerald eyes were almost scouring her soul as he studied
her and she struggled not to squirm beneath the intensity of his
gaze. She understood in that instant exactly why he was in the job
he was in. If she was a criminal and this man wanted to know
something, she would tell him what he wanted to know just to get
that intensely probing gaze off her.
    She
turned to Babette, and caught sight of Charles as he slid past the
parlour doorway. The heavy thud of his booted feet as he climbed
the stairs signalled his intention to retire to bed without a word
to anyone. Rather disconcertingly, he made no attempt to enquire
what had happened, or offer Babette, or Harriett, any support
whatsoever. Harriett wondered why the man was there at all. Charles
usually got up early, headed to the bakery at the back of the tea
shop and worked there until tea-time. He returned home only to have
his evening meal and then headed down to the pub where he would
remain until bed-time. It seemed that nothing was going to deprive
Charles of his sleep. Not even the death of Minerva Bobbington in
his own front parlour.
    “ Can somebody describe what happened?” Doctor Woods asked as
he moved to kneel beside Isaac to study the body of the
deceased.
    When
Madame Humphries took a breath, Mr Bentwhistle threw her a hard
glare and stepped forward. He described Mrs Bobbington’s death with
precise, if slightly clipped words, in a voice that was calm and
controlled. Nobody offered any objection and, as soon as he had
finished, the room lapsed into expectant silence.
    Mark
struggled to focus on Mr Bentwhistle’s description. He was too busy
thinking about the woman just to the right of him. She was by far
the most captivating creature he had ever seen. For the life of
him, he couldn’t describe the tumult of emotions that had taken
over his senses. Nothing in his entire life had ever affected him
like this woman before him now. Why though? Why now? Why her? What
was it about her that attracted his attention? He knew that his
interest had nothing to do with his job. This was an intrigue on an
entirely personal level, and he no idea where it came from, or what
to do about it.
    In a
valiant attempt to keep his mind on the job, he mentally assessed
her. She was smallish in height. The top of her head only reached
his shoulder if they stood side by side, and she was more gently
rounded than the women who usually captured his interest. It
couldn’t be the mop of curly, light brown – almost blonde - hair,
or the almond shaped honey-coloured eyes that ensnared him, or the
slightly rosy cheeks that made her look so captivating that he
immediately wanted to know everything about her. There wasn’t
anything about her that looked even remotely criminal, and he
immediately refuted any notion that she may be involved in Mrs
Bobbington’s untimely death. He quickly closed out the small voice
that warned him that he couldn’t really discount anyone’s
involvement in Mrs Bobbington’s demise, not least the strikingly
attractive woman he currently struggled to keep his mind
off.
    He took
a breath and tried to force his attention back to the reason why he
was in her house in the first place. He made a valiant attempt to
turn his attention to Doctor Woods. “Any ideas?”
    The
doctor’s lips twisted in a wry grimace and he gave Mark a pointed
look. “Can I speak to you outside for a minute?”
    Mark
looked at Isaac. “Take everyone’s names and addresses. I will be
back in a minute.”
    “ I cannot say for definite right at this moment you
understand, but it looks like