“Yourself?” suggested Candelstone.
“Me! Why me?” she asked.
“Revenge for the Spanish Envoy?”
She looked at him, horrified. “No one knows about that!”
“I do, and if I do, others can.”
“What’s this about a Spanish Envoy?” Mr. Martin asked.
Candelstone laughed. “She killed him.”
* * *
“Lord Candelstone!”yelled Bella. She surged to her feet. “How do you know that? Yes, I shot him; however, I don’t know if he died,” she said.
The door to the dressing room opened.
“I shot him with a similar gun to the one that shot you,” Bella continued. “I might have killed him. I’ve been afraid that I’ve killed him, but I don’t know that for a certainty, and that has haunted me for a year.”
“You did everyone a favor,” Candelstone said dismissively. “The man deserved to die. You know he killed Sir Harry, don’t know?”
“Yes,” she said in a quiet voice. “And the other two men with them as well. He told me in Brussels when he tied me up.”
“See. He deserved to die,” declared Candelstone. He clasped his hands together on top of the counterpane.
“If you knew all this, why did you send me to Brussels to spy on him?” Bella asked.
Candelstone shook his head. “I didn’t send you there just to spy on him. Your cryptography skills were needed there. Having you available to monitor the Vizconde was a plus.”
“You knew he would play with me because of Harry, didn’t you? That he would eventually want to conquer me. Did you not care that those actions could put me in danger?”
He snorted. “Nonsense. I knew Harry trained you.”
Bella’s eyes widened. “And Harry died!” she yelled.
“It was a risk, yes, but if all went well, I achieved two objectives. Decipher French communications and neutralize Carrasco-Torres. I considered that a potential double win.
“But what about me? You have no feeling for anyone, do you? No sensibility as to the feelings of others, or that you might put them at risk.”
“I had a plan.”
“You, my lord, are a monster!” Bella declared.
She ran out of the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.
Aidan Nowlton went after her. Mr. Martin grabbed his arm and shook his headno.
“She will need time alone,” Mr. Martin said. “There are more questions for Lord Candelstone. We need to figure out who the intended person might be, as they still may be a target. And we need to go over the guest list. Lord Candelstone, I’d like you to go over the guest list as well, to see if you see any names that might have a grievance with you or anyone else.”
“I can get the list from the Duchess’s secretary,” Aidan said. “Most likely he has the correct list, including regrets and notes on who did not show, but who responded,” Aidan said.
Mr. Martin nodded. “That will be good.” He looked up at Lord Candelstone. “So why were you following Lady Blessingame?”
“I wanted to talk to her.”
“About what?” Mr. Martin asked, his pencil poised over his notebook again.
