He blinked. “Er…what?”
Kitty sighed. “You are unfamiliar with the Anglo-Mysore Wars, then?”
“Thewhatwars?”
“Good Lord, Max. It was notthatlong ago. Maybe ten years or so.” Grace frowned at him.
“Well that explains it, then. I was busy being a Corinthian.”
“Drinking and whoring?” Kitty’s expression was mildly curious.
“That too.” He sighed. “But if I might turn your obviously acrimonious discussion to the present…”
“If you must,” pouted Grace. “But I swear I’m right, Kitty.”
“We’ll agree to disagree then,” said Kitty equitably. “And I will thank you for a lively debate.”
They exchanged pleased glances as Deery entered with a footman bearing a large tray. “Lunch, sir, ladies.”
“Excellent.” Max moved to the fire, turned around and proceeded to toast his arse. “I’m chilled to the bone.”
“No luck in town, then?” asked Kitty, allowing Deery to move her chair slightly so that she could reach a plate.
“None at all,” frowned Max. “It’s not that I have no enemies, or people that wish me ill. It’s that I know who they are and none seem to have sufficient cause to do me harm. Everyone was a dead end.” He shook his head. “I did repay the ten guineas I owed Harry Chalmers, but I swear it was because I’d completely forgotten the matter. So had he, it turns out, so he had a better morning than I did, since he got something out of it.”
“Come and eat something. We’ve just begun to work on this, Max. Early days…” Grace motioned him to a seat.
They ate in silence for a while, and Max found himself quite comfortable with it.
Finally, he leaned back in his chair and sipped his tea with pleasure. “Well, it occurs to me that I shall have to order a new carriage.”
“You can certainly use mine, Max,” offered Grace.
“Thank you, and we will if we have to,” he acknowledged. “But that doesn’t change the fact that mine needs replacing. Pity,” he thought aloud. “I really liked the styling.”
“Surely the company can provide another?” Kitty glanced at him.
“I hope so, yes.”
“Max,” said Grace, putting down her teacup. “I’ve just thought of something.”
“I’m eager to hear,” encouraged her brother.
“Well, it may be nothing, but it seems that over the last couple of months, I’ve read of other carriage accidents.”
Max looked at her. “Really?”
She nodded. “Yes. As I told Kitty earlier, I read all the papers most every day. Being isolated, one does, you know.”
About to open his mouth and embark on a lecture about getting out and about more, Max thought better of it. He’d revisit that issue at another time. “And you think there have been other accidents?”
“I’m sure of it,” she asserted. “In fact, I think there was one less than two weeks ago.”
“Why haven’t we heard of them?” asked Kitty, a puzzled look on her face.
“If there were no fatalities, why would we?” Max answered. “Carriages break down routinely. It’s only when someone of import is injured or killed that it becomes news.”
“Well, front page news, at least,” added Grace. “The reports I read were small mentions quite far back in the papers.” She gave a rueful little grin. “When I say I read the newspapers, Ireally meanI read the newspapers.”
