She gave a curt nod. “It’s fast for me, and…” Oh, dear. Here she was revealing another secret to him. “I’d rather like to feel romanced before I find myself in a scandalous embrace with a man. Does that make me too old-fashioned?”
“It does not, and you deserve all of that, so hold your ground. Don’t settle for less than exactly what you want.”
“Is that what you’re doing?” she asked in a soft voice.
“I don’t know.”
There was no time to reply to the outrageous revelations, for the carriage rocked to a halt. Seconds later, the driver swung open the door and put down the steps. William jumped from the vehicle.
He offered her a hand. “Quickly, now. Remember to remain quiet unless I ask for your opinion or assessment. I don’t want my superior tossing you out before you even have a chance to gather facts… or prove yourself.”
“Thank you.” She slipped her gloved hand into his, marveling at the strength in his fingers as he assisted her down. Knowing he wished her to succeed in a journalistic endeavor sent a flutter into her heart.
Then he lowered his voice. “I would caution you to gird your loins, Miss Bancroft. The scene will probably not be pleasant for genteel eyes.”
“I appreciate your concern, but if I’m to be a real reporter, I must acclimate myself to the horrors people inflict upon each other.” Yet the fact that he’d tried to spare her sensibilities made her respect for him rise. “This is the way of the world, the world women like me are sheltered from.”
“Unfortunately, that is an undeniable fact.”
Fanny’s nerves grew taut the closer she and William drew to the crime scene. A few men stood about a woman’s body lying half-on, half-off the road, as if she’d fallen or had been pushed from a moving carriage. “Oh, dear God,” she whispered when she caught a glimpse of the copious amounts of dark blood that stained the light blue skirts of the woman’s dress.
“Steady,” William urged in a barely audible voice as they came abreast of the scene. He approached a man with a barrel chest and a stumpy neck. “Chief Inspector Pryce, this is Miss Bancroft from the General Evening Post.”
The man who was William’s superior frowned as he flicked a glance at her. “You invited in the press, and a woman to boot?” A growl had set up in his tones.
“I thought to contain the situation and give her an exclusive so we can control the flow of information and what she turns in.” He also glanced her way, but nothing in his expression indicated that he and she knew each other previously. “I can vouch for her integrity. Female or not, Miss Bancroft will do what needs to be done, and we can trust her.”
What a sweet man! Heat rose into her cheeks for a reason other than annoyance.
“Very well.” The chief inspector nodded, but he didn’t look at her or acknowledge her in any way again. He gestured to the body lying pitiful and forlorn on the road. “Constable Andrews was the one who found her.” His dark gaze flicked to a tall, lean man in a uniform she recognized from rides through Hyde Park. “He can tell you more.”
The constable nodded. He didn’t look her way, either. Obviously, women didn’t rank as important to these men, but that would give her the opportunity to observe unfettered. “I was on my morning rounds through the park when I heard the insistent barking of a dog. When I came to investigate, I found a mongrel pulling at the foot of the body.”
Oh, merciful heavens!Fanny glanced at the foot in question. It was missing a slipper. The other one was intact.
“What time was this?” William asked while she pulled out her notebook and began scribbling notes regarding the scene and his questions.
“Quarter past eight.”
William approached the body and kneeled at the dead woman’s side. “When you found her and ran off the dog I assume?” He looked at the constable, who nodded. “Was there frost on her body?”
“Not that I can remember, Inspector.”
“Ah.” He looked at her. “That means she wasn’t killed here overnight, nor was she dumped under cover of darkness.”
She nodded in appreciation.
“Thank you, Constable. That will be all.”
Chief Inspector Pryce cursed softly under his breath. “We’re garnering a crowd. If you could speed your investigation, Storme?”
“Of course. Have the constable hold the public back at least twenty feet. I don’t want the scene trampled.”
“I’ll do want I can, and I’ll even weed out potential witnesses before I go.”
“Excellent. Send on the coroner when he arrives.” William continued his investigation. Gently, he tipped the woman’s body onto her side. “No blood pooling, which means this definitely wasn’t where she was killed.”
Now that he was alone and clearly in charge of the situation, Fanny edged closer. The whole thing fascinated her. “Then where?”