Free Romancing His English Rose (Entangled Scandalous) by Catherine Hemmerling

friend after all—but she didn’t feel it was her place to do so. Therefore, she decided to proceed with the matter at hand without drawing further attention to their friends’ lack of attendance.
    Rose caught Simon’s eye and nodded. Nodding back, he cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention.
    When all eyes were turned toward him, Simon said, “First of all, Rose and I would like to thank you all for coming tonight. As some of you may know, she and I have been working on a way to prove irrevocably that Caleb killed Frederick and, through some rather ingenious research on her part”—Rose blushed at Simon’s reference—“Rose discovered a treatise describing different ways of detecting poisons, as developed by Dr. Mathieu Orfila. We had a chance to meet with the doctor and we think we may have determined a way to prove Frederick was poisoned.”
    Everyone looked back and forth between Rose and Simon, clearly encouraged and impressed by the significance of what Simon had said.
    “What exactly do you need from us?” William asked, his arm protectively wound around Hannah. It was apparent from his posture and tone that if they needed him to wrestle the poison vial from a hungry tiger, he would be more than willing to do so. He and Hannah had been through a lot recently due to Caleb Collicott and anything they could do to see justice done would be done.
    Simon looked at Rose, and with the raise of an eyebrow and a quick motion of the head, he indicated that the floor was now hers.
    Straightening, Rose took a deep breath to combat her nerves. She was not always very eloquent under pressure, but tonight was so very important and she just could not afford to let her nerves get in the way this time.
    “Well, I…er…that is, we, ah,” Rose stuttered ineffectually, before finally stopping. She closed her eyes and Simon reached over to put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Rose looked at him and then at the rest of the people sitting around her. They were all watching her attentively with understanding and patience.
    Rose had to smile. These people were her friends. She could do this. Taking one more deep breath, she tried again. “From what we understand from Dr. Orfila,” Rose started slowly, picking up confidence as the words seemed to be forming more successfully this time, “it seems that Frederick was poisoned with arsenic. Now, arsenic is easily traceable in hair and nails, but due to the very obvious complications of an exhumation”—she paused to ensure everyone understood the problems with a disinterment and judging by the number of nods she received, Rose felt comfortable continuing—“I believe our only recourse is to recreate the events of the evening.”
    Hannah’s brow wrinkled in confusion. “How will recreating the night help?”
    “Well, Simon and I believe that Caleb must have brought the poison to the dinner in some sort of vial or container and at some point in the evening slipped it into Frederick’s food or drink. That vial or container should have traces of whatever poison he used,” Rose replied.
    “So, by retracing everyone’s steps, you think we can pinpoint where and when the poisoning happened and maybe one of us will recall if Caleb had something incriminating on his person or in his hand?” William asked.
    “Yes, exactly. I know it’s a long shot, but if we can identify the vessel, perhaps Simon and I could locate it and deliver it to Dr. Orfila for testing.”
    “That is indeed a long shot, as you say. What makes you think we will be able to remember such miniscule detail now, if we didn’t catch it then?” Alexander wondered.
    Emily gave Alexander a quelling look and before Rose could even reply, she said, “If it happened that night, and Rose was there, then she will remember it. We just may have to jog her memory a little.”
    Alexander narrowed his eyes at Emily. “Jog her memory?” he scoffed.
    “Precisely,” Emily replied, glaring back at