“It’s possible,” the Duke admitted.
Mr. Martin nodded as he picked up his teacup, then looked at the Duchess. “You grace, please tell me what you remember from last evening,” he said, before he sipped his tea.
She shrugged. “It was like any other ball. Lots of people to talk to, lots of gossip flowing. I had made one round of the ballroom. Took me about an hour, as there were so many people to greet, and spinsters and wallflowers to introduce to eligible gentlemen for a dance. Then, of course, ensuring the staff were watching over the refreshments and no young bucks adding more spirits to the punch bowl.”
“Has that happened before?” Mr. Martin asked.
“What?”
“Guests adding more alcohol to the punch.”
Lady Malmsby laughed. “Yes. Oh, yes—though not for many years. It was near time for the first supper seating and some guests were gathering near the ballroom entrance to go downstairs upon Mr. Harold’s announcement. I remember the Spaniard left the other musicians as they played a last piece before they took a break. He walked slowly, leaning on his cane. I wondered at his pain for standing so long as he played his flute. Gwinnie had arranged food and drinks for them in the small guest parlor next to this one,” she said, pointing toward the front of the house.
“When Mr. Harold announced the first seating, I watched the people go down the stairs. Bella, I saw your brother, then. He was escorting Miss Beddlington downstairs. They appeared to be discoursing easily together.”
“They have known each other for many years. I think she has given up on him coming up to scratch. My brother is oblivious. She is probably a good match for him. She is sweet, but not overly bright.”
Lady Malmsby ruefully smiled and nodded in understanding.
“Had Captain Melville reached the bottom of the stairs when you heard the gunshot?” Mr. Martin asked.
“I don’t believe so,” Lady Malmsby said.
“Thank you, your grace,” Mr. Martin said. He set down his teacup and turned to Lady Blessingame. “My lady, are you ready to tell me about your actions from last evening?”
“Yes.”
“I understand from Mr. Nowlton that you had words with Lord Candelstone last night.”
She nodded. “Yes, much the same as you saw this morning in his room. He wants me to return to doing cryptography work, and I do not wish to do that. I feel he is searching for some lever to use to force my compliance. He does not believe I meanNo. I told him to leave me alone.”
She put her teacup down and sat straighter. She stared off across the room, unseeing.
“I decided Mr. Nowlton needed to learn we had been misled and lied to three years ago, and we shouldn’t blame each other for what occurred. We had words on the ballroom floor, which I’m sure people saw, then I drew him away to talk privately in the Duke’s old study, where you were this afternoon with Lord Lakehurst and the Duke. I had left the letters I received from the solicitor in that room and I showed them to him, asking for him to read them. He didn’t want to believe me—”
“It wasn’t that,” protested Aidan.
“Yes, it was,” Bella said, glancing at him. “Ignorance was—in many ways—less painful than the truth for either of us. We were coming to terms in our discussion when my brother burst into the room, expecting to find an orgy.”
“Oh, surely not!” protested Lady Malmsby, laughing a little.
“I think he did, being Andrew,” Bella said with a shrug. “When I found out Lord Candelstone had sent him to find me, my anger ignited fireworks. I came at him and pushed him. I ‘m ashamed to admit I might have slapped him if he hadn’t caught my hands. I was that angry. When he stopped me, my emotions overwhelmed me and I burst into tears and threw myself back in the chair. No matter what I did, Lord Candelstone has somehow been there to ruin my peace.”
“It was when I saw Lord Candelstone would not let up on Bella that I knew she hadn’t lied. I vowed then to get Candelstone out of her life,” Aidan told the others.
“I told Captain Melville to stay with her until I could send someone to her. He was told to not speak to her. To just be there. I came back to the ballroom and found Gwinnie. I asked her to go to Lady Blessingame and stay with her until I returned.”
“And that is when you went in search of your brother-in-law, as you related earlier to me?”
“Yes.”
“Lady Blessingame, what did you do? You did not stay in that room, did you?”
“No. I felt I wanted—no, Ineeded—to calm down.” Bella paused. “I had cried too many tears over the past two days. The memories made me cry, and I needed to rise above them. I refuse to be chattel to my past,” she said decisively. She took a deep breath. “I took the servants' stairway to the ground floor to walk in the garden, thinking fresh air would revive me. And it did. I didn’t see anything out in the garden save for a cat slinking among the bushes. I think it was Oscar. I stopped by the fountain and looked up at the stars, willing my body and soul to calm. Then I heard the gunshot.”
“You didn’t see anyone or anything out of the ordinary in the garden.”
She shook her head. “Nothing.”
