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“You literally have blood on your hands,” Caroline supplied.

William’s head snapped up, his gaze filled with fury, but he quickly calmed down. “You know this house. It must have secret passageways.”

“It does,” Caroline agreed.

“Show me.”

“No, no!” Victoria stepped closer and took William’s hand, squeezing his fingers. “Not just you. Us. I am going with you.”

William looked at her with surprise shining in his eyes. Then some other emotion overtook his gaze, and he snatched his hand back. “You will slow me down.”

Victoria opened her mouth to protest again, but Caroline stepped toward her. “He is right. You need to stay here.”

“I don’t want to stay here! Our tower is safe. Nobody even knows where we live.”

“And you will be hiding out with a killer?” he asked coldly.

Victoria swallowed. “You didn’t kill him.”

William chuckled. “Do you truly believe that? Don’t answer that. It’s better that I don’t know.”

* * *

A week later…

Victoria carefully hung the handkerchief outside the window. Next, she lit a few candles and positioned them on the windowsill, ensuring the handkerchief, gently swaying in the wind, remained within the path of the soft candlelight.

She had been doing the same for the past week, yet her husband was nowhere to be found. She had stayed up all night the entire week waiting for him to come for her, but he didn’t.

“You are supposed to come for me,” she whispered into the void. “You promised to come for me as long as you’re alive.”

There was no news on Porter’s murderer, so Victoria was confident that he hadn’t been caught. Or as confident as she could be without dour thoughts intruding into her mind.

Then where the devil was her husband?

Victoria propped her arms on the windowsill and rested her cheek against her hands, remembering all the time they spent together.

She had been so annoyingly stubborn during the weeks she had lived with him. They could have made so many memories. Instead, she was angry and distrustful.

Why couldn’t she just trust him?

Because she was afraid of getting her heart broken by him once more. As a result, it had been broken anyway.

Life was unpredictable. And even though she knew they only had three months, she’d never truly believed they would separate after that. Somehow, she’d believed he would be by her side forever. Since the moment they met.

“It took me a full five minutes to fall in love with you,” he had told her once.

“It took me four.”

She’d lied to him when she’d said that. Because for her, it had been love at first sight.

Chapter 29

Summer 1741

William exited the big country house and let out a breath of relief. He had come to visit his old acquaintance who had recently joined the English aristocracy and regretted this decision immensely.

He hadn’t known that there was a house party going on. And not just any house party, but the house party welcoming the new marquess. Which meant that all of London’s fops were gathered at this house at the same time. William wasn’t surprised that he wasn’t invited. After all, Sebastian—the new Marquess of Roth—couldn’t have known where to send his invitation. And the person who’d actually organized this event was betrothed to William’s brother, the Duke of Kensington. If anyone wanted to see William here, it was not his brother.