When she opened her eyes, she was lying on a sofa in a strange office. William sat alongside her, studying her carefully. “Are you all right, Amy?”
She attempted to sit up, but he touched her shoulder to keep her from rising. “I think you need to give yourself a little time.” He handed her a cup of water, which she sipped.
“What happened?” Her head was pounding, and she wasn’t exactly sure how she had come to be lying on a sofa in an unknown office.
“You fainted.”
She shook her head. Goodness, that wasn’t a good idea with her head hurting. “I don’t faint.”
“Yes. You do.”
She looked down. “Who unfastened my dress?”
“I did.”
“Why?”
“To let you breathe better. If it wasn’t totally improper, I would have cut the strings on your corset too.”
“You wouldn’t dare!”
“I said I would have, not that I did.”
“That was James Harding, wasn’t it?” She thought she had heard William identify the man, but since her hearing had taken leave at that moment, she wasn’t sure.
“Yes.” William put his hand behind her back and helped her up. “It was him. But there was something odd about it.”
“You mean there is something odder than being found floating in the river?”
William reached into his pocket and withdrew some papers. “These were found on his body, inside an envelope. They’ve been drying out, but the ink has been washed away. Tucked in with the papers was my business card, which was why the police contacted me to identify the body.”
“What is odd about that?”
“I can’t say for certain, since the writing is gone, but I have a feeling these are papers James was to deliver for me a couple of weeks ago regarding a business deal. I’m almost sure these are the contracts I signed, because I remember tucking my card in with the papers and putting them into an envelope that looked very much like this one.”
The door to the office opened, and the young man who had escorted them to the morgue stuck his head in. “My lord, how is her ladyship feeling?”
“I am better, thank you,” Amy said, fastening the top of her dress.
“Then there are two police detectives here who wish to speak with you.”
Taking a glance at her, William said, “Very well, since Lady Amy seems to have recovered from her faint.”
“I don’t faint.”
“I will be right back with them,” the young man said, then closed the door.
She smoothed her hair back and adjusted her hat. “We were several flights down to the morgue, yet from the window over there, it appears we are on the ground floor. How did I get up here?”
William raised his brows. “How do you think?”
“Don’t tell me you carried me?” For some reason, she felt quite uneasy with the idea of William carrying her up three flights of stairs. First because she really needed to shed close to a stone, and second because it seemed—strange. It appeared he was quite a bit stronger than she’d thought.
Before she could dwell too long on that, the door opened again, and William and Amy looked up. They both groaned as two detectives stepped into the office. Why in heavens name were they to be plagued once more by the men who had harassed them months before during Mr. St. Vincent’s murder investigation?
“Well. Look who is here identifying another unexpected dead body.” Detective Marsh grinned and slapped Detective Carson on the shoulder. “None other than his lordship, Lord Wethington, and his cohort, Lady Amy Lovell.” He strolled into the room and stood before them, his hands firmly planted on his hips. “Who did you kill this time?”
CHAPTER 5