“As you like,” Castel said. “Though it does relate to your occupation.”
Mira’s stomach twisted.
Byron nodded, standing. “Miss Blayse, if you’ll come with us?”
“This is highly unusual,” Aunt Eleanor said. “It is not appropriate for a young lady to be alone in the company of men.”
Castel raised an eyebrow. “Have you not told them the news, sister?”
Walker choked on his breakfast. “S-sister?”
Mira averted her gaze. “I was going to tell them after breakfast.”
Walker leapt to his feet, moving to her. “You’re engaged?”
She nodded.
“How long?”
“Just last night,” she rushed to say. “I wasn’t keeping it a secret from you, I promise.”
He pulled her into an embrace, with a laugh. Once within earshot, he whispered, “Byron’s been planning it for ages. This means I need to move up my own plans.”
She pulled back, grinning. “I’m so happy.”
Castel cleared his throat. “Mira?”
“Sorry.” She stepped away. “We can talk later,” she said to Walker as she followed Castel and Byron from the room.
“Who told you?” Byron asked once they were safely in the sitting room.
“I stopped by the Royal Crescent hoping to catch you there. Mary was sulking and mother was quick to inform me of your upcoming nuptials. Congratulations, by the way.”
Byron pursed his lips. “Thank you. Now, does your news have something to do with your abrupt departure on Monday?”
“Indeed it does. To get straight to the point, I left to consult the Admiralty. There is no such person as an ‘Admiral Hoddle’ in their records. I thought you might want to know.”
His statement hung in the air for a few moments. Mira’s heart raced. So Hoddle, whoever he really was, had been working with Silas, or more precisely, the thief, Enoch Hand. So many fake identities. Did everyone wear a mask?
She turned to Byron. “It’s him, isn’t it? He’s the one working with Circe.”
“It’s a reasonable assumption.” He drummed his fingers on the armrest. “What led you to investigate him, Castel?”
“The stories from his supposed time in the Navy. He said he was captain of theSerapisfor decades, yet I knew for a fact that Captain Arthur Dupuis ran the ship aground in 1884. Dupuis was suspended and then took command of theCarysfort, which happened to be my last assignment in the Navy.”
“There’s just one thing I don’t understand,” Mira said. “If there is no such person as Admiral Hoddle, how did he become Maureen’s guardian? If Sibyl Hand is telling the truth, Circe hadn’t tracked down the documents until last year, and that wouldn’t be enough time for an imposter to become Mr. Harris’ oldest and dearest friend.”
“Has Maureen mentioned meeting Hoddle before her father died?”
Mira frowned. “Not that I remember.”
Byron nodded. “We’ll need to look into the solicitor then. It’s possible that someone made a change to the will after her father died. Or after her aunt, Mrs. Callan, died, for that matter. I’ll need to contact Chief Inspector Thatcher to look into it.”
Mira’s heart dropped. “Oh dear. You don’t suppose they murdered her aunt too?”
“You mentioned yesterday that her house in London was broken into after Maureen had moved to Bath,” Byron said. “Consider this scenario: For whatever reason, it took Circe over ten years to track down where the package with the documents was sent, and sometime last year they discovered they were in the custody of Mr. Harris.”
“Excuse me,” Castel said. “Which documents?”
