Page 205 of The Heart You Kept

“Agitated.”

“What’s happened?”

“I’m not sure, I was just thinking that you may be able to come over, but if you’re in London⁠—”

“I’ll call him now,” he replies.

“Okay.”

“Thanks, man.”

I walk to the end of the marina as I do another check and ten minutes later my phone vibrates in my pocket, the name William lights up the screen.

“How did it go?”

“He didn’t answer.”

I twist my lips as my eyes go back to the yacht. “Thought as much.”

“Can you go in and check on him please?”

“He doesn’t want to see me.”

“He doesn’t want to see anyone, just go in and make him go to bed to sleep it off. He’ll be fine by morning.”

“Yeah, okay.”

“Call me if anything else is going on.”

“Alright.”

I make my way onto the yacht and stand at the door. “Edward.”

He turns toward me, his eyes are wild and he’s totally disheveled.

“Let’s get you to bed, hey?”

“I’m fine,” he replies, his voice is weak, broken.

But he’s not fine, his soft and sad reply is so unlike him that it only worries me more.

“I’ve got some of your sleeping pills.”

“Go away please,” he murmurs.

“Sir, I need you to go to bed and get some sleep or else as a duty of care I’m going to have to call your brother.”

He exhales heavily. “Leave me be.”

“A good night’s sleep will fix everything; in the morning you will feel so much better and we can make a new plan.”

He stares at me for a while and eventually nods, resigned.

I follow him up to his bedroom and get his sleeping pills and pass them to him; he takes them with a glass of water.

“What would I do without you, Philippe?” he says softly.

“Probably murder a lot of people.” I smile as I gesture to the bathroom. “Shower.”