“Quite so,” Julius muttered. “Come in, Havers. Let me introduce you to Lady Gregoria’s betrothed, Lord Allendale. You might ask him where he was last night.”
“Arse,” Allendale grumbled, drawing out his watch fob and checking on the time. “You will forgive me if I put you off for now, Havers. I have another appointment and I am already late for it.”
Julius knew the man was lying. “Only a moment ago, you were insisting on packing up Lady Gregoria and moving her into your home. Did you forget about your appointment then? How convenient of you to recall it now.”
“I will not stand for this. Out of my way, Havers.”
“This won’t take but a few minutes, my lord,” Havers said, blocking the doorway. “I would appreciate your cooperation in tying up all loose ends.”
“No. Get out of my way or I will file a complaint with the magistrate and have you discharged.” He shoved Havers aside and stormed out of the Thorne townhouse.
“He happens to be left-handed,” Julius remarked, frowning as he, Havers, and Greeves watched Gory’s betrothed climb into his waiting carriage and leave with all haste. “Come into the study, Havers. Let’s have a quick chat before I escort you upstairs to speak to Lady Gregoria. I must warn you, she’s had visitors all morning long and was not able to rest. Allendale was here when I returned a short while ago. He needs to be watched.”
“As do you, my lord.”
Julius scowled at him. “You are riling me again, Havers. This is my home. I can kick you out, and I do not need to make up some blatantly false excuse.”
“It is not my intention to anger you, Lord Thorne. This investigation is still in its very early stages and I cannot dismiss anyone as a suspect yet. However, if I truly thought you were involved, I can assure you, I would not be allowing you anywhere near the crime scene or permitting you access to any details of the investigation. What did you and Mr. Barrow learn from the Earl of Easton’s solicitor?”
Julius motioned for him to take a seat.
Havers did so, but unlike Allendale who was all conceit and pompous swagger, he sat tensely on the edge of the chair. “You may as well tell me everything since I am going to find out anyway.”
Julius was eager to relate that conversation. “Lady Gregoria stands to inherit an additional one hundred thousand pounds upon her uncle’s death. Everything else goes to the next earl, some chap from Virginia. The solicitor, a little weasel of a man called Reginald Mayfield, will be sending word to him today. Of course, it could take months for a response, or longer if the heir is not at his last known address.”
“And what about Easton’s wife? What does she stand to inherit?”
Julius’s mouth set in a grim line. “Ten thousand pounds and a small cottage in the Cotswolds. Not very generous, but…she would get that one hundred thousand pounds if Lady Gregoria dies unmarried or is somehow ruled to have forfeited her bequest.”
Havers nodded. “As she would if Lady Gregoria were found guilty of murdering her uncle?”
Julius let out a breath. “Yes, for certain. But why would Lady Easton be involved in the murder of her own husband? Is she not better off maintaining her status as the current countess rather than as a mere dowager resigned to a cottage outside of London? By killing him, she loses use of their townhouse, the Easton heirloom jewelry, her comfortable allowance. The stature. The town life.”
Havers arched an eyebrow. “But she stands to gain a small fortune and her freedom if she manages to dislodge that inheritance from Lady Gregoria, is it not so?”
“True, and this important detail cannot be overlooked,” Julius said.
“I am overlooking nothing right now, my lord. Be patient as I continue to gather evidence. However, you would never believe some of the ridiculous motives behind cases such as these. Jealousy, anger, greed, hatred.”
“Intense hatred to plot something so nefarious as to change Lady Gregoria out of the gown she wore at the musicale and dress her in her wedding attire,” Julius muttered. “How does this make any sense? How could anyone manage it on their own?”
“Perhaps Lady Easton had a lover to assist her,” Havers mused.
“A lover? Lady Easton?” The possibility was laughable, for the woman was a bitterly unpleasant, old crone. Still, it was not to be ruled out. “Why did she and her accomplice not kill Lady Gregoria and leave no doubt as to the widow’s inheriting the hundred thousand pounds?”
Havers shook his head. “Perhaps they thought they had killed her. That was quite a wallop the young lady took to her head, if what Mr. Barrow tells me is accurate. Then again, they might not have planned to kill Lady Gregoria but merely intended to plant clues to make it appear she was guilty of the murder.”
“Would this not be risky?”
Havers shrugged. “No more risky than doing her in along with her uncle. To kill Lady Gregoria would immediately place Lady Easton as the prime suspect. She might not have wanted us to look too closely. Is she not better off positioned as the heartbroken widow who stands to lose her position in society and elegant style of living while the greedy niece inherits a fortune?”
“I see,” Julius muttered. “You’ll need to send a man to Windsor where Lady Easton’s sister resides and find out if she truly was there. If so, when did she arrive and when did she leave? Check the mail coach ledgers, too. Even though she rode to Windsor in the Easton carriage, she could have easily returned to London by public coach and then immediately returned to Windsor the same way, no one the wiser.”
Havers arched an eyebrow. “My lord, I do not need instruction on how to do my job. I have already sent a man to Windsor, as it so happens.”
This surprised Julius. “You have?”
He nodded. “Spouses are always a prime suspect, especially a spouse who goes to great pains to prove they were nowhere in town when the murder occurred. Makes me suspicious at once. By the way, I had Mr. Barrow put one of his men to following Lord Allendale.”
