“Sir Giles kept silent over what had happened in Spain because he thought Cross and Mobray’s actions would embarrass England. But the Larsons kept quiet about their son’s suicide for the same reason. They didn’t want scandal.”
The Duke shook his head. “It’s not the same thing, my dear. It wasn’t pride that kept the Larsons silent. It was love of their son.”
“But what of their other son? David idolized his brother. If Bertel and Astrid had told the truth about what had happened to Evert in Spain instead of hiding it, maybe they could have gotten justice. Maybe David wouldn’t have felt driven to avenge his brother’s death.”
Alec frowned. “What David Larson did wasn’t justice.”
“I’m not saying that exactly.” But it was a trigger, she thought.
The Duke let out a heavy sigh. “I daresay we’ll never know.”
The window rattled again. Sam glanced at it and drained his whiskey before pushing himself to his feet. “I must take my leave.” He paused, and looked at Kendra. “Forgive me, lass. I didn’t realize that I’d be puttin’ you in danger when I sent word. I nearly got you killed.”
“I’m not going to let you blame yourself, Mr. Kelly.” Kendra set aside her teacup and rose. “I was so focused on Captain Mobray that I didn’t even realize that David had set the same trap for him as he had for Sir Giles. That’s on me.”
Sam didn’t look like he was buying it.
She added, “Besides, David wasn’t going to kill me, any more than the hackney driver or Ella.”
“They didn’t see him,” argued Alec. “You did. You could have identified him.”
She shook her head. “David didn’t want another victim. He wanted a witness.”
“A witness?” the Duke echoed.
“For Captain Mobray’s confession.” In the last three hours, she’d thought this through. “Once Mobray confessed, David intended to kill him. But I think he was going to let me go. He needed someone alive to tell the truth.”
“But he could have . . .” Sam began, then seemed to understand. “Ah. I suppose nobody would pay him any mind if he accused the captain. He was a murderer. And the way he’d gone about it, a madman too. Why’d he do it that way, lass? Putting that symbol on the dead men?”
“Survival. Willpower. Fate,” she murmured. “It’s what the Naudhiz rune stood for. I suppose it was David’s way to honor his brother. They both shared a love of Scandinavian folklore.”
Sam looked at her. “And the tongue?”
“Another kind of symbolism, I’d say. Sir Giles for either luring Evert into danger or failing to speak up. Cross knew Evert from Eton. He must have recognized him in the camp and told Mobray, and Mobray told the French soldiers.”
Alec’s mouth tightened. “They traded Evert’s life for their freedom.”
“Not only Evert’s life. Mobray killed what was left of his own men in the camp. He and Cross were already separated from the rest of the POWs, collaborating with the enemy. I don’t know if the other soldiers knew, but Mobray couldn’t take a chance. Just like he wouldn’t have let me live.” She remembered the way he looked at her after he’d stabbed David. “David wasn’t the one I had to fear—Captain Mobray was.”
“Where do you think David would have tried ter escape ter, if his plan would’ve succeeded, and he’d killed the captain and let you go?” Sam wondered, circling back to the earlier point.
She shook her head. “I don’t think he had any intention of leaving there alive,” she said. “Captain Mobray was the last of it. Once he got his confession . . .” She shrugged. “But that’s just a hunch. I can’t prove it.”
Sam nodded, and moved toward the door again. He paused there, looking back at her. “Muldoon will be coming around, lass, lookin’ for his story.”
“I can handle Muldoon.”
“Aye, lass.” A smile ghosted around the Bow Street Runner’s mouth. “Aye, that you can.”
“A moment, Mr. Kelly. I’ll walk with you,” the Duke said suddenly, and followed Sam out of the room.
Kendra smiled, turning to look at Alec. “I think His Grace is giving us a moment of privacy.”
“My uncle is a brilliant man.” Alec set down his glass of brandy and walked over to her. “I died a thousand deaths when we arrived at Trevelyan Square and I saw the fire,” he admitted, his green eyes bright as he searched her face. “I love you.”
So simple, she thought. And yet so complicated.
“I love you too.” She wrapped her bandaged hands around his waist and smiled when his arms automatically came around her. “Thank you for saving me. I don’t think I would have made it out without your help.”
“We made it out together.”
Kendra’s lips curved. “As I said, my lord. We’re a good match.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Writing is a solitary endeavor—sitting behind your computer for long stretches of time, both researching and writing. But the business of writing, thankfully, is not, and I am surrounded by an amazing group of people. As always, I am grateful to my agent, Jill Grosjean, for being with me on this journey, and a big shout-out to the wonderful team at Pegasus, including my editor, Katie McGuire, and publisher, Claiborne Hancock. Also, I want to thank Derek Thornton of Faceout Studio for creating another awesome cover with Betrayal in Time.
I continue to be blessed to have people in my life who not only support me, but understand when I cancel plans at the last minute so I can tackle a particularly difficult chapter. Bonnie McCarthy, Karre Jacobs, and Lori McAllister—you were with me from the beginning of this endeavor and will always hold a special place in my heart. I am also grateful to fellow writers Olga Grimalt, who helped me with the Spanish in this book, and Leslie Smith, who manages to find time in her busy schedule to organize much-needed writer’s retreats (a.k.a. happy hours). I am once again touched by the support of the nation’s librarians and LibraryReads, which put Caught in Time on their Must-Read list for July.
One of the joys of writing a mystery that is set in the past is always finding out something new about history. Some research makes it into the book (such as the nod to the real-life Duchess of Bedford, who was a well-known hostess in the Beau Monde, and is said to be the originator of the English custom of afternoon tea), and some ends up on the cutting room floor, as it were. And still other research inspires characters. The Duke’s chef, Monsieur Anton, is based loosely on the first celebrity chef, Antonin Carême, who whipped up dishes for the likes of the Prince Regent and Napoleon. Cooking For Kings by Ian Kelly introduced me to Antonin Carême—and his distrust of English footmen, who he believed were trying to sabotage him.
White’s is the oldest gentleman’s club in England, very exclusive, and its members were known to make outrageous wagers. According to an article in the UK’s Daily Mail, in the early nineteenth century, Lord Alvanley bet a friend £3,000 (roughly $300,000 in today’s currency) which raindrop would reach the bottom pane of White’s famous Bow window. It is unknown whether he won or lost the bet.
London has always been a hotbed of political intrigue, and the government—like all governments—employed spies. In fact, intelligence and counter-intelligence was quite common. I found Sue Wilkes’ book, Regency Spies: Secret Histories of Britain’s Rebels & Revolutionaries to be an insightful read.
Finally, The Morning Chronicle was a real newspaper that was founded in 1769, with a partiality toward the Whig party. It was shut down and resurrected many times throughout its history, but I found it especially interesting to discover that Charles Dickens started as a reporter for the newspaper in 1834, and used it as a platform to publish his short stories under the name “Boz.” I like to think that Dickens would have been friends with Finn Muldoon.
The In Time books are works of fiction but I make every effort to be as factual as possible when it comes to history. Any errors are mine, and mine alone.
ALSO BY JULIE McELWAIN
A Murder in Time
A Twist in Time
>
Caught in Time
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Julie McElwain has freelanced for numerous publications from professional photography magazines to those following the fashion industry. Currently, Julie is West Coast Editor for Soaps In Depth, a national soap opera magazine covering the No. 1 daytime drama, The Young and the Restless. She is also the author of A Murder in Time, A Twist in Time, and Caught in Time, all available from Pegasus Crime. Julie lives in Long Beach, California.
BETRAYAL IN TIME
Pegasus Crime is an imprint of
Pegasus Books Ltd.
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Copyright © 2019 Julie McElwain
First Pegasus Books edition July 2019
Interior design by Maria Fernandez
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available
ISBN: 978-1-64313-074-3
ISBN: 978-1-64313-191-7 (ebk.)
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Betrayal in Time Page 40