Fallen Hero (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 3)

“Everybody knows she is an eligible, single female, and all alone in the world now. Everybody knows Frederick Miniver. He isn’t liked very much. It caused quite a stir amongst the locals when they heard he was going to live here. They are talking about her recent loss and how much it will change her life to be all alone. Understandably, people realise she will have to marry for protection, and someone to keep a roof over her head. They just don’t want Frederick Miniver to be her husband.”

“Me? Marry Frederick Miniver? I shall certainly do no such thing,” Elspeth bit out. “What do you think I would do, sell myself to the likes of you or Frederick Miniver, who is my cousin by the way, just to keep a roof over my head? You really think I would be that desperate? I would rather die.”

She slammed out of the house without a backward look leaving Aaron to stare blindly at the door. He knew then that getting her to accept him as a husband was going to take a considerably long time, and it was time he didn’t have right now. While he and his colleagues had left the Star Elite, or as good as, they all expected Sir Hugo to contact them soon with a more amenable suggestion toward how they could have a life and continue the work they all did for the Star Elite. He would then have no choice but to leave for London.

Thankfully, until then, Aaron and his colleagues were free to do whatever they chose, wherever they chose.

“I think you need to take that as a bold declaration that the lady is not interested in your offer and would rather die. Given her vehemence, and the fact that she is going to move out of here, but only to live in more salubrious circumstances with her husband, which is not Frederick Miniver by the way, I think you have no cause to call around here again, do you?” Oliver mused thoughtfully.

Rollo lifted supercilious brows at him. “Who is she going to marry then?”

Aaron bent down and grinned at him. “Me.”

Rollo went still. He looked at Aaron, then at the men around the kitchen. “Look, who are you? Is she in some sort of trouble? Is that what the villagers are talking about?”

“No, she is not in any kind of trouble. Why would you think she is in trouble? Why would anybody think Thomas was in trouble before he died?” Aaron asked.

“He was just acting oddly, that’s all,” Rollo scowled.

“How? Was he fearful of something? Distracted? Angry? What gave anybody any suspicion Thomas Lincoln had a problem?” Oliver bit out, his voice harsh and clipped.

“A couple of people said they called out to him when he left the village that last morning only he didn’t answer. He didn’t even bother to look up and just rode straight past on his horse,” Rollo replied.

Aaron nodded thoughtfully. “That doesn’t mean the man was in any kind of trouble.”

“You know how gossips are,” Rollo huffed with a shrug.

“I know you have to stop talking about things if you don’t have any facts to support your suppositions,” Aaron snorted. “God, these places never change. They are full of narrow minded, spiteful people who are a rule to themselves.”

Aaron stared hard at Rollo as he spoke making it perfectly clear that he meant men like Rollo, who looked outraged, but only for a moment. He swiftly realised he was at a distinct disadvantage sitting amongst so many mean and burly men and retreated into sullen silence while he waited to see what the tall, decidedly powerful men around him would do.

“I think it is time for you to go,” Aaron warned seconds before he hauled the heavier man out of his seat as though he weighed no more than a feather.

Rather than shove him out of the back door and into the garden where Elspeth was, Aaron propelled him out of the front door and put him physically onto the path at the front of the house like one would put out the cat. Once the man had been deposited on the side of the road, Aaron brushed his hands off and turned around to return to the house only to find Oliver standing in the doorway. Oliver pointed at something in the road behind him. When Aaron looked over his shoulder, he groaned when he saw Frederick Miniver marching determinedly down the street toward the house with a small, terrified looking man scurrying along behind him.

“Well, well, well, here comes the cat, and the mouse,” Aaron murmured.

Rather than wait for the newcomers to reach them, the men slammed back into the house. Aaron slid the bolt closed on the front door for good measure then made his way back into the kitchen.

“Go and get Elspeth into the house, please,” he asked of Oliver, who nodded and hurried through the property.

“I think you should come and take a look,” Niall murmured from the doorway to the study.

Aaron lifted his brows and followed his colleague back into the room. Niall nodded to a pile of papers he had unearthed from beneath the desk. He had slid the desk to one side and pulled the rug back. In the exact spot where the desk drawers had sat was a narrow gap, no wider than the width of two floor boards, within which sat several rolled pieces of parchment.

“This is one Hell of a hiding place,” Aaron sighed.

“I haven’t touched anything,” Niall said.

“There might be more of these in the house,” Aaron replied. “We need to look for that money.”

“Three thousand pounds is a heck of a lot of money to hide, Aaron,” Niall replied.

“Maybe Thomas suspected he was in trouble, knew he was not likely to live, withdrew the money from the bank and brought it back to the house so Elspeth could find it. It would be more than enough for her to live off. She could even purchase a new house for herself with it if she was forced to leave here,” Phillip suggested from the doorway.

Aaron nodded. “Maybe Thomas knew the house would have to go to Frederick. Rather than risk Frederick becoming her financial guardian or husband and getting his hands on the money, maybe Thomas made sure Elspeth would get the money directly.”

“What was Thomas up to that led him to believe he was going to die?” Oliver asked from the doorway.