“Then we should burn incense to the goddess of chance.”
“And a comment like that confirms it.” He tugged at the bow in her bonnet ribbons to loosen it and remove the obstruction to a gently satisfying kiss.
The light was fading on the short winter day, and they paused so the carriage lamps could be lit. That made the countryside beyond their glow seem darker, and Kitty was relieved when they entered the outskirts of London, and especially when they reached the lamp-lit streets.Soon after that, they were home, and Sillikin was giving Kitty an ecstatically wriggly greeting.
“Yes, yes,” Kitty said, fondling her. “I’m sure you’ve had wonderful adventures and not missed me at all.”
Braydon said, “I hope a decent dinner’s preparing, Edward, and can be served soon. We dined poorly on the road.”
“Yes, sir. There’s a message, sir.”
Kitty glanced over.A message on Sunday?
She had to straighten so Henry could take her cloak. “Perhaps your jaunt was pleasant otherwise, ma’am?” Henry asked.
“It was certainly interesting.” Kitty would have liked to say more, but the fifth viscount’s adventures were definitely better kept to as few people as possible. As, probably, were the contents of the message Braydon was reading.Sidmouth again?
“From Sir Stephen Ball,” Braydon said. They went into the library and closed the door. Sillikin came with them, but she could keep secrets.
“‘Took an opportunity at church to speak to Sussex,’”Braydon read out. “‘He wishes to speak to you.’ So I don’t escape that duty, after all, but it can wait until tomorrow.”
“Will he, too, urge you to cease investigations?”
“If so, it’ll be an interesting indication.”
“That Sussex was behind the plot?” she asked. “He’s sixth in line.”
“The explosion could have disposed of two of his older brothers, and the Regent is unwell. That would leave only York and Cumberland in his way, both of them in marriages that are unlikely to provide offspring.”
“If that’s the situation, would Sidmouth and the Regent want the matter forgotten?”
“What purpose would be solved by making a public scandal of it?”
And what steps might be taken to avoid that?Kitty wondered.
“Perhaps you shouldn’t obey the summons,” she said.
“Why not?” He must have guessed her concern. “No, Kitty, that would be too Gothic.”
“We’re talking about a royal duke. In the past he would have been able to throw you into the Tower.”
“But no longer. He can’t even vent spite on me. I can’t be deprived of employment or evicted from my title, unfortunately. I need no royal favors in the future, and I certainly don’t pine for an approving word. That’s one reason Hawkinville involves a number of gentlemen of independent means.”
He seemed certain, so Kitty let her fears subside. “And perhaps ladies?” she said.
“I shouldn’t have put that idea into your head.”
“But you did.” She put a hand on his chest. She needed to touch him, even through layers of clothing. “I enjoyed unraveling the mysteries of the fifth viscount’s affairs, and I did well, didn’t I?”
“It mostly unraveled itself,” he pointed out, but he’d covered her hand with his.
“Once we visited Edgware.” She crept her hand upward. “Which was my idea.”
“You do have a nose for the important detail.”
She touched his nose. “So?”
But there was a knock at the door. By the time Edward came in and announced dinner, they were decently apart. As they went to the dining room, she remembered the reality of their situation. It would be a long time, if ever, before she could investigate any mystery, unless the crime took place at Beauchamp Abbey.
