She forced herself to think back. “There was the butler, Hotchkiss. Yet he was as old as the hills even then, and I cannot imagine he would have the stamina now to attempt extortion. As for the rest of the staff…no one stands out. Most did not last long in Wilmington’s employ, for he was a difficult master. There were several times when the approach of a maid or footman interrupted his advances and allowed me to flee. However, I don’t recall the servants’ names. Perhaps Harkness might know.”
“Harkness knows a lot of things.”
Interpreting his pensive expression, Evie shook her head vehemently. “No, James. Harkness would never do anything to hurt me. She is my family, and I won’t have her put under suspicion.”
“All right. Who else might know enough to blackmail you?”
“Well, there is Dr. Murdoch,” she said, relieved that he’d relented. “He was my stepfather’s longtime physician from London and the one who attended my mama during her last days. After Wilmington collapsed, Merrow was the first to respond to my cries for help. When he couldn’t revive Wilmington, he sent for Dr. Murdoch. I was terrified that the doctor would discover that my stepfather was poisoned. Instead, he ruled that a fit of apoplexy caused the death.”
“Did Dr. Murdoch miss the signs of poisoning?” James mused. “Or did he see them but choose to keep the knowledge to himself?”
“Why would he do that? If he suspected poisoning, it would have been easy to identify me as the culprit. He knew I was the last to see Wilmington alive. And the brandy glass was there by the body, where Wilmington had dropped it when he fell.”
“Perhaps there was no advantage in revealing his suspicions back then—the way there is now. I shall make inquiries into Dr. Murdoch. Don’t worry,” he said reading her thoughts. “I will be discreet in this. And in investigating the clue I found last night.”
“You have a clue?” She bolted upright. “Why didn’t you mention it?”
“You distracted me.”
His gaze landed on her mouth, and the lazy heat in his eyes curled her toes. Merciful blossoms, she couldn’t believe how bold she’d been. She couldn’t wait to do it again.
“I found a glove next to the wall,” he went on. “The blackmailer must have dropped it when he was getting the pearls.”
“May I see it?”
As he obliged her, rising naked from the bed to fetch the item, she couldn’t help but enjoy the show. He was the embodiment of virility: primal and elegant, rippling strength beneath taut skin. She had a special fondness for his backside, and the memory of those steely curves flexing against her calves gave her a pleasant tingle.
Smirking, he sat at the edge of the cot. “Keep looking at me in that fashion, and you’ll fill my head with more distracting thoughts.”
“Your head appears rather full already.”
Her daring quip, and the sly gaze she darted at his instrument, startled a laugh from him.
“By Jove, you are a vixen,” he murmured. “I don’t know how I could have missed it.”
She felt a bittersweet pang. “I hide myself too well.”
“You are not the only one.” He kissed her. “No more regrets, love. We shall do better from now on, and that is what counts.”
She adored his masterful yet magnanimous nature.
“As for the glove, here it is.”
She took it, shivering as she realized that the black leather had lain against the villain’s skin.
“The glove appears unremarkable.” She studied it with care. “In size, style, and cut.”
“Plain kid, of middling quality, with indistinguishable seaming,” James agreed. “The kind of glove an upper servant or tradesman might wear. However, look inside.”
She did, finding what appeared to be three letters stamped in fading gold.
“The first letter looks like a P. The second…well, what remains of it appears to have a curved bottom. O, perhaps…or even C? And the third letter…”
“M, I believe.”
She felt a frisson of excitement. “If these are initials, M could stand for Merrow or Murdoch. I don’t think I ever knew their given names, but Harkness might?—”
“We’ll ask her when we return to the manor. But for now.”
