If You Were Mine Read Online Free PDF

necklace, the detailing of which was instantly
recognisable to both men. A solitary small stone set in a star
shaped mount, hanging from a thin chain had been given to her by
her father upon her tenth and last birthday she had shared with
him. Although the small item of jewellery was of little financial
significance, it had held great sentimental value to her. After his
death, Isobel had refused to remove it and worn it everywhere. Both
men knew that she would never willingly have parted with
it.
    Both men
turned at the sound of clopping hooves and watched a tall, gaunt
man disembark from a small curricle, before carefully picking his
way through the gravestones toward them.
    “ Good evening, gentlemen.” He eyed the slightly menacing men
warily as he introduced himself with a small bow. “Sir Hubert
Williams, Magistrate at your service.”
    “ Good evening,” Peter replied stiffly, making no attempt to
adhere to social etiquette. He didn’t care if the Magistrate
understood or not.
    Dominic
nodded brusquely.
    “ I understand you knew the woman?” The Magistrate appeared
momentarily lost for a name, and made do with a small nod in the
direction of the dark soil.
    “ Yes, she was my sister. I understand you found one item upon
her body?” Peter’s voice was harsh in the silence of the heavy air.
The Magistrate shivered warily at the underlying threat lurking in
the husky timbre of his voice.
    “ Y-yes,” visibly shaken, he hastily produced the length of
necklace that was given to him. “It was the only thing of worth
that we found that could mean something,” he lapsed into silence as
both men stared in horror at the necklace dangling from his
clenched fist. “Do you recognise it?”
    Dominic
cursed the trembling in his hand as he reached out to touch the
shimmering chain of her beloved gift, and knew deep within his soul
that he had lost her forever.
    Abruptly, he turned away. The tight knot of emotion lodged in
his throat threatened to choke him as he stumbled around the
gravestones, slipping like a spectre into the growing
mist.
    “ That’s Isobel’s.”
    Dominic
heard Peter’s husky response, but couldn’t bring himself to turn
around.
    “ Lady Isobel Davenport, my sister,” Peter’s voice was devoid
of emotion as it swirled around the graveyard. “She should be
resting in the family crypt. With your assistance, I shall arrange
for her to be relocated forthwith.”
    Dominic
fought the urge to punch something; or rather someone. He took a
deep breath and with every ounce of willpower he possessed,
attempted to keep his voice calm and impassive as he slowly
returned to them.
    “ What do you know about the circumstances of her death?”
Although his voice was quiet, the intonation was deadly. The
Magistrate knew instinctively that should he not give the man the
answers he needed, he would certainly become a ruthless
adversary.
    The
Magistrate shivered. “Nothing much I am afraid. Nobody seems to
know anything. I have extensively questioned the farmer who found
her. She wasn’t there the afternoon before, but sometime between
dusk and dawn, she -” He paused not wanting to incur the taller
man’s wrath.
    “ They dumped her,” Dominic finished for him, studying the
shorter man closely. Something warned him that the man wasn’t being
entirely truthful, and they weren’t getting all of the
facts.
    “ There were no tracks at all? Nothing? No strangers in the
village or the pub either before or afterwards?” Dominic didn’t try
to keep the disbelief out of his voice. He wanted the man to know
that he sensed something was amiss.
    Warily,
the small man shook his head. “Nothing I’m afraid, Sir.”
    Dominic
wanted to push him further, but held the words back when Peter
shifted uncomfortably beside him. He frowned slightly at Peter’s
warning look, and lapsed into sullen silence. Clearly Peter
considered the man wasn’t entirely being dishonest, but wasn’t
being completely forthright with them