Chapter 51

*** Fitz POV ***

I quit London soon after sending the book. Like a magnet, or homing pigeon I found myself circling around the various estates around Tarrick Hall. It was potentially dangerous. So far, we had conducted our secret affair without discovery. By all account the Duke was practically senile. It seemed safe enough to take on a role at the inn, stabling and preparing the horses.

Sadly my smart grey suit has been packed away and disbanded for now. I return to the world of white shirts and braces. It is honest, hard work. It is just not going to fund a getaway to Ireland like I had hoped.

It was a busy enough night, many gentlemen dining and playing cards in the cosy firelit inn. My blood froze when I spotted Edmund himself. I almost didn’t notice him, so radically different was his appearance. Withered and emaciated. Almost skeletal as the gap around his shirt collar gaped. He must be waiting for retailoring as his suits were ill-fitting, the gaps where his body used to fill w