“Ridiculous,” Julius grumbled.
Mr. Barrow nodded. “We could easily identify the outline of her body on the bloodied carpet, so I assume this is exactly the scene they intended to set. Uncle with knife sticking out of his chest and niece with her head bashed in. However, this added touch of the wedding dress makes no sense, other than it strikes me as particularly vicious.”
“Quite sickening,” Julius muttered. “As is the fact they rummaged through her wardrobe and marked all these gowns with blood.”
Mr. Barrow sighed in disgust. “Agreed.”
“Is it possible the killer’s accomplice was a woman, Mr. Barrow? Lady Gregoria’s ties were perfectly laced when she came to me, and I…well, you saw her and know her condition. Would a man have done up her laces so expertly? I have never done so and I…”
Blessed saints.
He was not about to discuss his entertainments with bed partners.
“What, my lord? Were you going to say that you have done up many laces? Yes, I imagine you are quite expert at it.”
Julius raked a hand through his hair. “I mean…one of the villains must have been a woman. Men simply do not bother lacing with that level of precision.”
“Agreed.” Mr. Barrow cleared his throat. “I have been married to my beloved for over twenty years now and have never once laced her up properly.” He splayed his fingers. “Fat hands. Pudgy fingers.”
Julius had gained experience in his rakehell days, but the ties he laced were usually fashioned in haste and never managed to turn out as meticulously as Gory’s had been done.
“Quite strange,” the Bow Street man said, frowning. “Sends a shiver through me.”
They returned downstairs and shared their thoughts with Havers who listened attentively and then remarked, “Seems these culprits felt at ease within the house, as though they knew how the Easton home functioned and were comfortable moving about in it.”
“Aye,” Mr. Barrow said. “The perpetrator was someone familiar with this residence, I’ll wager.”
Julius frowned. “If you suggest Lady Gregoria again, Havers, I am going to punch you.”
“No cause for that, my lord,” he replied, holding out his hands in a gesture that was meant to be conciliatory but merely came across as arrogant. “Have we not made some progress? We are now looking for accomplices and possibly a left-handed killer. One of them might be a female because few men would have done up Lady Gregoria’s laces so properly. Of course, nothing can be ruled out yet. The killer could have been a fastidious man.”
“And yet left such a messy pool of blood?” Julius shook his head, wishing he knew more about the investigative process.
In truth, what he saw only left him more confused.
“This might have been the perpetrator’s first murder,” Havers said. “Yet, he could have been quite experienced with the ladies. Not his first time in a boudoir.”
Julius regarded him impatiently. “What are you suggesting?”
He stared at Julius. “You and Lady Gregoria seem very close.”
“Are you out of your senses?” Julius stared back at him, scowling. “Do you think she and I planned her uncle’s murder? Then I struck her so hard that I almost killed her? I can assure you, I would have done a cleaner job of the earl’s demise. And Lady Gregoria would have done a smarter job of it. In fact, so smartly done that no one would have realized his death was even a murder.”
Mr. Barrow stepped between them. “My lord, might I suggest we move on to speak to the earl’s solicitor? I do not think anything more will be accomplished here.” He next turned to Havers. “If you dare deal this rudely with Lady Gregoria, I shall punch you myself.”
“You did not need to intercede between me and that oaf,” Julius said as they strode out of the townhouse and shouldered their way through the crowd that had now gathered. He recognized one of the Bow Street runners amid the throng, the man’s gaze intent as he gave a curt nod to his employer and then returned to studying the onlookers. “But I meant it, Mr. Barrow. I will lay him low if he does not adjust his attitude, especially when questioning Lady Gregoria.”
“He will be polite to her, my lord. He has an enormous chip on his shoulder because his grandfather was a duke.”
“That man’s grandfather was a duke?” This surprised Julius for Havers was built more like a prizefighter than a gentleman. He supposed the same could be said of the Thorne men, including himself, even though he was considered the more elegant of the three brothers.
“Havers happens to be the offspring of the youngest of four sons. He is the only one among all the men in that family worth a farthing. The other Havers men are all reprobates and drunkards. A constant source of embarrassment for him.”
Julius climbed into his carriage along with Mr. Barrow and settled his large frame against the squabs. “That does not give him the right to take out his frustration on others.”
“Understood, my lord.”
They took a short detour to call upon Lord Allendale, just as Julius had promised Gory he would do. But Allendale was not at home, or so his butler advised. Grumbling, Julius climbed back in his carriage. “The wretch was not there,” he muttered in response to Mr. Barrow’s questioning gaze. “Hasn’t been home since last night, apparently.”
