Page 76 of Wolfhaven

She didn’t completely unpack. Her trunk stayed in the cart. They were still leaving. But there were two things they needed to do before they could depart.

First, bury Marina’s baby.

Secondly, search the Cogswell’s cottage.

Both tasks felt too heavy to tackle tonight. Especially given the relentless rain.

They hadn’t yet decided whether or not to report the couple’s death to the authorities. That would undoubtedly cause a headache for all three of them. Gareth vowed he wouldn’t let the police blame her and Gran for their deaths. But she knew he wasn’t in control of that.

They debated the subject all through dinner before concluding that they needed to find out what was in the Cogswell’s cottage before making a decision.

“I’m afraid to find out,” Hazel said.

“You can stay back while we investigate.” Evaine felt torn. She wanted to know what had driven the groundskeeper and his wife to such extreme behavior almost as much as she dreaded finding out.

“No,” Gareth said firmly. “We stick together.”

“Does that mean we’re sleeping in the same room again tonight?”

He cast her a quick sidelong glance. Evaine quirked one eyebrow. If he thought she was falling right back into bed with him after everything that had happened, the duke had another think coming.

“I think it’s for the best,” Hazel said. Relief crossed Gareth’s features.

“Honestly, I’d rather not be alone,” he said.

“Agreed.”

“But I don’t know if I can sleep without knowing what’s inside that cottage.” Evaine stabbed her cooked potato and took a bite. None of them had any appetite for the leftover venison. The deer meat was too associated with Vernon Cogswell. They’d made the last of the ham stretch between the three of them.

“I confess I can’t either.” Hazel sighed.

“I suppose we had best mount an expedition after dinner, then,” said Gareth.

They finished their meal in silence.

After dinner and washing up, Evaine lit the hurricane lamp and they unlocked the rear kitchen door. The rain had slowed to a drizzle.

“I can’t believe I didn’t see it sooner,” Evaine stared at the empty hook where her red cloak had hung, and gone missing from.

“What?” asked Hazel, puzzled. She tugged her wool shawl around her thin shoulders.

“This door leads to the garden. I assume the Cogswells had some kind of skeleton key that worked in every lock in the house. It would have been so easy for Bess to sneak in and snatch my cloak from the hook.” She had suspected, but this afternoon she had heard Bess confess to stealing the garment.

“Won’t be happening ever again,” Gareth promised. He held the lamp in one hand and his cane in the other. Although fatigue was etched visibly in his features, there was a brightness in his eyes that hadn’t been there before. Warmth. Especially when he looked at her.

Flutters in Evain’s abdomen. She still had not decided whether or not to forgive him for the way he’d chosen to frighten her off. It would have been easier to believe he was possessed by his father’s spirit.

Perhaps he had been, in the moment. She was never going to know the full truth.

One thing she did believe was that he had been truthful with her about Marina’s murder. She had made mistakes and hurt him, too. Not physically. She was not proud of the way she had verbally kicked him at such a vulnerable moment.

They had seen one another at their worst—and at their best, too. She wasn’t sure what to do with that.

“What do you think we’ll find in that house?” Hazel asked as they trekked through the weed-filled garden to the groundskeeper’s cottage. No smoke rose from the chimney. The squat, small house was perhaps sixteen by twelve feet and made of half stone, half-timber. No elegant modern living quarters for the Cogswells.

“Not much. The building dates to the sixteenth century. I doubt much has been changed in the three centuries of its existence. Plumbing might have been installed at the same time it was put into the main house. It’s equally possible that my father would have considered such the expense unnecessary.”

“As long as it isn’t full of dead animals.” Hazel shuddered.