CH 38

“Dead?” Ford looked straight at Duke Wilson, “That’s surprising.”

Duke Wilson raised the corners of his lips sarcastically, “Please sit down first. Talking about this, I’m afraid it will take a long time.”

Ford raised his eyebrows, smiled and sat down on the chair beside Evan. Duke Wilson’s hands clenched tightly and his eyebrows wrinkled.

“Lord Duke,” Ford spoke again, “What the hell is going on?”

Ford’s question was really understandable. He is an investigator sent by the church and the suspect had already been identified. If he dies, it will be difficult for the suspect to repay for the crime.

Duke Wilson pondered for a moment before speaking, “Mr Johnson was found dead in his bed a few days ago. At first, everyone thought it was a suicide, but now, they have begun to reinvestigate.”

“Reinvestigation?” He grasped the point, “Is there any doubt about Mr Johnson’s death?”

“It’s his widow who has doubts.” Duke Wilson said coldly.

Ford raised his eyebrows, “So it is.” He turned to look at Evan who looked slightly pale and said, “I wonder how Reverend Bruce views this matter?”

Evan frowned, he felt that Ford’s words were a bit malicious. “This matter is within the jurisdiction of Sheriff Chandler so I don’t know very much.” Evan replied politely and in a distant way.

But Ford still didn’t want to let Evan go, and he smiled as he spoke again, “Really? I heard that you helped the police solve a difficult case so I thought that you had changed your career to a detective.” (What is your problem?)

Evan turned to look at Ford, where did he hear about this?

Ford also saw his doubts clearly and just smiled, “Don’t you know? I have a very good relationship with Judge Conville of the county courthouse.”

Evan couldn’t help but grit his teeth, he’d almost forgotten that the man beside him is an Earl’s son. Although he’s working in the church now, his scope of communication is much wider than that of his miserable self.

“Really?” Evan smirked, “If that’s the case, then you should know that I only did a little bit of effort in that matter, but part of it was solved by Sheriff Chandler’s own ability.”

Ford looked at Evan and smiled meaningfully. His smile not only made Evan very uncomfortable but made Duke Wilson even more angry.

This is like a provocation to him. In his opinion, Evan is already in his bag. Although he always thinks that Evan can’t do anything with himself, he won’t allow others to interfere. So, he was acutely aware of the meaningful way Ford looked at Evan.

“Mr Ford, the purpose of your visit this time is to investigate the embezzlement of the church’s property and Mr Johnson has been proven guilty. If you want to investigate the issue of the church’s property, you should go to Mrs Johnson.” Duke Wilson was very dissatisfied with the contact between Evan and Ford.

Ford gave Duke Wilson a very surprised look. He raised his eyebrows and said, “You are right. But this matter is so complicated that it requires the cooperation of Reverend Bruce.”

His words were so reasonable that Duke Wilson couldn’t find a way to refute him.

Evan spoke at this time, “Mr Ford, you should also see that I am seriously injured now and I’m afraid that I cannot satisfy your request. But Mrs Sanders is also involved in this matter and she is clear about the matter from the beginning to the end, so you can just ask her to accompany you.”

Evan definitely doesn’t want to get along with this man for more than a second. Not to mention the emotional entanglement between the two of them before, but talking about the complexity of the current matter, Evan will never get involved.

Ford was blocked by Evan’s words and was speechless for a while. Finally, he could only smile lightly, “So that’s the case. I didn’t know about this.” He frowned as he looked at Evan and he looked a bit hurt.

Mrs Sanders was really embarrassed as she watched this scene and at this time, she hurriedly interjected, “Mr Ford, you don’t have to worry, I will assist you in the investigation of this matter. I have also assisted Reverend Bruce so you can rest assured.”

If Ford says no to Mrs Sanders, it would be strange, so he could only smile warmly, “My dear lady, of course I believe in your ability. Then, I will trouble you in the future.” After all, he was taught to be a gentleman, so he didn’t dare to say nonsense.

Mrs Sanders seemed to be very satisfied with Ford’s modest and polite appearance and she nodded with a smile.

The four of them were sitting together but three of them had pregnant thoughts about each other. Naturally, this scene would not last long. In the end, Ford blinked and didn’t want to be entangled in this scene any more. After all, he wouldn’t be leaving this town anytime soon. It is better to observe first, so he immediately bid his farewell.

Of course, Duke Wilson didn’t want to keep him any longer than he had to. He didn’t even do anything superficial and he sent him out immediately. Mrs Sanders gave the duke a surprised look for such an unreasonable behaviour but she didn’t say anything.

Watching them walk away, the noble and elegant expression the duke originally maintained finally sank. He looked at Evan who was sitting beside him in thought and spoke sourly, “What is your relationship with this Mr Ford?”

Evan’s thinking was interrupted, he raised his head to look at the duke and was amused by his tangled expression, “Mr Ford was my senior when I was in public school.”

“Senior?” Duke Wilson raised his eyebrows, “I don’t think he’s just a senior.”

His tone was a little small. The small resentment made Evan’s heart move, should he still push Duke Wilson? Although the duke has a clear affection for him now, this affection is not enough for him to show his intentions, because in the duke’s world, this kind of affection is still filthy and immoral.

Evan hesitated for a while. If he did this, he could be dancing on a tightrope and he would probably be doomed. But if he succeeds, the duke would be in his bag and he could still maintain his own immaculate character.

“Senior Ford took good care of me when I was in public school.” Evan still decided to be conservative first. After all, the duke is a person of this era and his ability to accept it still needs to be learned bit by bit. Besides, the matter is also not a good thing and he must find time to beautify his dark history.

Hearing this, the duke frowned deeply. He bit his lower lip with a tangled expression in his face.

“I don’t think this Ford is a good person.” Duke Wilson said suddenly.

Evan was stunned, and then he smiled again, “I can assure you that there is absolutely nothing wrong with Senior Ford’s character. He is a gentleman.”

When the duke heard this, his heart was sour. The water couldn’t stop rushing out (??) but he really couldn’t show his hideous side in front of Evan. In the end, he could only turn his head in a fit of anger and he didn’t say a word.

Evan looked at the duke’s back and hooked the corners of his lips slightly, Very good, this matter still needs to be promoted little by little.

At this time, when the atmosphere between both of them was delicate, Edward ran downstairs. Evan was seriously injured and hadn’t seen Edward in the past few days. Now that he was able to walk a little, the duke allowed Edward to visit him.

Edward ran straight towards Evan but when he ran up to Evan’s side, he stopped carefully. He touched the back of Evan’s hand and spoke, “Evan, are you feeling better?”

Smiling, Evan stroked Edward’s head and said warmly, “Much better, Lord Edward.”

Such a simple conversation stunned Duke Wilson. Evan? His name?

In fact, he has always known but no one has ever called him like this in his presence. When he hears his name called like this, Duke Wilson doesn’t know why his heart suddenly jumped a little.

Edward listened to this sentence and then carefully snuggled into Evan’s arms, carefully avoiding his gauze-wrapped chest and just lying on his knees. He raised his head and looked at Evan without blinking.

“Evan, you’re really brave.” Edward looked at Evan with a look of admiration.

Surprised, Evan looked at Edward, but at this moment, Duke Wilson gave a light cough and said, “I have told Edward about your previous act of saving me. He is my heir and there are still some things he needs to know.”

Evan suddenly realised that the behaviour of these aristocrats to educate people is really predictable. To educate a child as an adult, if there is no accident, this child will either be precocious or collapse in the future.

“I see.” Evan smiled and looked down at Edward again, “Lord, thank you for your compliment, but I’ve heard enough compliments in the past few days and I’m at a loss for what to do.”

Looking up at Evan, Edward showed a soft smile, which was not at all the same as his usual withdrawn appearance but revealed a touch of freshness.

Evan heaved a sigh of relief. Fortunately, this child didn’t grow crooked, otherwise, he would be more difficult to deal with than Duke Wilson when he grew up.

“Okay Edward,” Duke Wilson suddenly said, “Reverend Bruce can’t sit for a long time. It’s time for you to have lunch. Go in.”

Duke Wilson suddenly found that he didn’t like his alone time with Evan being disrupted by others.

Edward gave the duke a look of grievance but he didn’t dare to refute him. He took a step back and followed the servant and left.

Evan watched Edward go upstairs, then turned to Duke Wilson and said, “Lord Duke, Mr Johnson’s matter this time is too complicated. I would like to ask you to help with this matter. The bishop attaches great importance to the image of the church and I’m afraid that there will be some changes.”

Looking at Evan’s serious look, Duke Wilson felt a little excited, this was the first time Evan has asked him for something.

Duke Wilson tried his best to restrain the turmoil in his heart, he cleared his throat and said helplessly in a low voice, “This matter is so complicated, I’m afraid it won’t be easy to investigate.”

He glanced at Evan, who frowned, wanting to see how he would respond.

Evan also didn’t expect Duke Wilson to give him a soft nail. He glanced at Duke Wilson but saw a hidden expectation in his eyes. Evan suddenly came to a realization.

“Lord Duke,” Evan’s expression was very cautious, “I’m sorry to make such a request but this matter is too important. If you can’t help me, I really don’t know who to go to.”

Evan lowered his head in frustration, but there was a secret smile on his lips.

T/N – I am really sorry guys, I’ve had a busy time and I will be busy for a while so I can’t promise that I will be consistent with the updates. Bear with me.

I still owe some extra chapters, I haven’t forgotten about that.