“I saw Chittenden’s body,” he murmured close to Hollister’s ear. “What devil’s mischief were you playing at?”
Fear twisted the young man’s face. “By God, if I knew anything about Chittenden’s death, I swear I would tell it to you.”
“Then you’ll have no objection to answering some questions about what the two of you were doing with voltaic piles.”
Hollister looked like he was about to be ill. The muscles in histhroat jumped as he swallowed hard. “It . . . It was naught but stupid games. One of our friends in the Eos Society had read about von Humboldt’s self-experiments with electricity—”
“Who?” interrupted the earl.
“Westmorly,” came the reluctant answer.
So, Locke had been telling the truth about Westmorly being involved.“Go on,” he said.
“We were curious—ye gods, that’s not a crime, is it?” The young man exhaled a shuddering breath. “So one evening after DeVere’s weekly talk on the history of science, we decided to see for ourselves what the current felt like.”
“Just the three of you?” asked Wrexford.
“Yes.” A nervous pause. “But after several sessions, Westmorly lost interest and stopped joining us—”
“Why?” he interrupted.
“He didn’t say. He just stopped coming.”
The earl frowned. “Then perhaps I ought to have a word with him, too.”
“I doubt he can tell you anything—he really wasn’t very involved.” Hollister hesitated. “Look, I, too, found the allure fading. But Chittenden mocked Westmorly as a fellow of limited imagination, and, well, I suppose I took that as a challenge.”
“Because of your rivalry over Lady Julianna?”
“H-How did you know—” Hollister bit his lip. “The truth is, therewasno rivalry. By the time we began toying around with electricity, Lady Julianna had made it clear she preferred me over him.”
Wrexford raised a skeptical brow. “Even though Chittenden had a more lofty title and a far fatter purse?” He let the words hover in the air before adding, “Not to speak of golden looks.”
“Lady Julianna didn’t care for any of that,” insisted Hollister. “She wished to marry for . . . a joining of two kindred souls. And she chose me over Chittenden.”
“That may be so,” responded the earl dryly. “But I doubt her father gives a fig for girlish flutters of the heart. The girl is an heiress.”
The young man’s breathing quickened and turned shallow. “Her parents are deceased, and she’s confident that her guardian will allow her to choose from the heart. I tell you, she informed Chittenden that she had made up her mind and his suit was unwelcome.”
Wrexford regarded him for a long moment. “So you say.” As Hollister’s gaze slid down to the tabletop, the earl continued his questioning. “Getting back to your duel by fire with Chittenden, how did it end?”
“After our last session in the laboratory, just a few days before his demise, I told him I wasn’t going to come anymore. His . . .” Hollister drew in a breath. “His fascination was growing. . . unnerving.”
“What the devil does that mean?” pressed Wrexford. “The sooner you loosen your tongue, the sooner our little tête-à-tête will be over.”
“I found his passion alarming, that’s all,” answered Hollister. “I just didn’t have any interest in being part of it.”
More evasions.The earl was fast losing his temper.
“What is it you’re not telling me, Sir Kelvin?” Wrexford flattened his hands on the table and leaned forward. “Surely, you’ve heard that I’m not a man who possesses great patience. Nor am I a man you would wish to have as an enemy.”
“If you must know, I was scared. Chittenden was making the voltaic piles more powerful . . .” The young man drew in a shaky breath. “And now, with the lurid nature of his death . . .” Another hesitation. “Murder stirs nasty gossip, and I fear if any talk gets out that associates me with Chittenden’s experiments, it will ruin my chances with Lady Julianna. Mr. DeVere is a very open-minded guardian, but no man will allow scandal to taint a young lady’s good name.”
“DeVere is her guardian?” he demanded in surprise.
“Yes, he was close friends with her family in India. Her father and mother were killed in an attack during the Second Maratha War, and their will appointed him to oversee her upbringing.” A pause. “DeVere dotes on her, but I’m sure there are limits as to how far his tolerance will stretch.”
At last, thought the earl. He sensed he was finally getting a truthful answer. Though it only raised more questions.
