“I am capable of dealing with such as he. You, however. . . Watch for him, do you hear?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Elise smiled. “Dolores visited Agnes after the dinner while I prepared her for bed. Dolores intends to quiz the solicitor sharply tomorrow. She also shared the opinion that of all of them, if anyone harmed the last duke, it was probably either Kevin or Chase Radnor, since both of them are of questionable character.”
“Did she say why she believed that?”
“Regarding Kevin, it had to do with his common interests. All that mechanical experimentation. Not even real science, she said. He might as well be a factory owner, she said.”
It was not Kevin whom Minerva wanted to hear about. She slowed her steps a bit, to make sure Elise had enough time to explain the rest. When she did so, she heard a sound behind them. She looked over her shoulder. Nothing.
“As for the other Mr. Radnor, she said everyone knew the army threw him out. They let him sell out his commission, but the whole of it was highly suspicious and for her money he had probably been spared a public scandal only due to the duke’s interference on his behalf.”
“No doubt she had an opinion on why it happened too.”
“She began saying something about that, when Agnes interrupted with a very firm ‘We do not talk about that lest we give the scandal wings.’ I was surprised that Dolores indeed stopped talking and left soon after.”
Minerva wondered about the specifics that had remained unspoken. If it could cause a public scandal and if the family did not even refer to it, something serious had happened.
They reached the last lamp before Mrs. Drable’s home. The door showed in the dusky light beyond. Elise climbed the steps when they arrived. “Wait and I will have the footman escort you home.”
“No one is about and it is only another six buildings down the street.”
Elise looked up and down the lane before touching the latch. “Tomorrow morning, then.”
Once the door closed behind Elise, Minerva continued on her way. Again she thought she heard a sound behind her. A soft footfall. She did not look back this time. Instead she worked the tie of her knit reticule, and extracted the two long hatpins that she had woven into its side. Grasping them like the daggers they could be, she walked up the steps toward her door.
As she did so, a figure came out of the shadows. It stood ten feet away but did not advance. She looked at the silhouette, then turned to it. “You.”
“Yes, me.”
“You make too much noise. It is a wonder you can follow anyone in secret.”
“I did not care if you knew I was there. The other woman, however—”
“She had no suspicion.”
“Then I succeeded.”
She jabbed her pins back in the knitting of her bag. “Why are you following us?”
“I wanted to ensure no one interfered with you.”
“Do you worry about Phillip accosting women on the street? I hope he is not so stupid as that. I promise I will not kill him if he importunes me again, but I would make sure he regrets it.”
A low laugh. “I’m sure you would.” He moved a few steps closer. “I also was curious. What did you think of the family?”
“I have not had the pleasure of meeting all your relatives, so I have formed no opinions.”
“You have not met them all, but you have observed them all.”
He knew she had watched them in the drawing room, it seemed. That surprised her only because he had not stopped her from doing so. If he were the one who had closed the first panel, he had chosen not to close the second for some reason.
“Come in. We can hardly discuss this out in the street.” She set her key into the lock.
No sound behind her. She glanced over to see him still standing in the same spot.
“I should not—”
“Are you worried about my reputation?”
