Now that he was closer, I could see that the resemblance wasn’t quite as identical as I had first thought. For one, the viscount was older than my husband would ever be, with deep furrows across his brow and the beginning of jowls on his still admittedly strong jaw. But most notably, he lacked Oliver’s spark, the infectious zest for life that had immediately drawn me to him. Rather, the viscount exuded a sober air that perhaps was expected of a man in his position and with his responsibilities.
He cleared his throat, and only then did I realize I had been staring at him rather rudely. “Thank you for agreeing to meet me on such short notice,” he said. “I understand you had an … eventful evening.”
“You know about that?” I had assumed this summons was to do with Tommy and had not even considered the timing. Perhaps Mother’s nerve tonic had addled my mind more than I thought.
“When a peer of the realm is shot, word does get around rather quickly,” he said dryly. “I was at my club last night when I first heard the news and was further shocked to learn thatyouwere involved.”
I lifted my chin at the disapproval in his gaze. “It was regrettable that someone was injured, but his lordship was pointing a gun at me at the time.”
“So I heard,” he said, arching a brow. “You and Mr. Dorian, the writer.”
His words practically dripped with disapproval, but I simply held his gaze. When it became clear I had no intention of elaborating any further, the viscount huffed. “I didnot ask you here to remonstrate with you, Mrs. Harper. I am only trying to understand how on earth the mother of my heir found herself in such a frankly scandalous scenario.”
Though I saw no need to explain nor defend myself to this man, I didn’t like what he was implying. “I was investigating the murder of Charles Pearson. Surely you must have heard about that?”
He frowned. “Of course. But why were you involved at all?”
“Because my sister was the one who found him, and I was worried that she would be falsely implicated in his murder. Mr. Dorian is an acquaintance of mine and agreed to help. Eventually, I began to suspect that Lord Linden was involved, and last night I confronted him.”
The viscount’s frown deepened. “Surely, you did not.”
“I most certainly did. He confessed to everything and then attempted to shoot Mr. Dorian. Luckily, the police had arrived by then, and the inspector stopped him with a bullet.”
The viscount stared at me in bewilderment. “Good lord. But you could have beenkilled,” he said in outrage, as if that had somehow escaped my notice.
“Yes, I know. Luckily, it did not come to that.” The viscount continued to stare at me in shock, so I pressed on. “You should also know that while I was investigating the murder, I learned some things about Oliver that I had hoped you would be able to shed some light on.”
He immediately shifted in his chair, and his face went blank. “Oh?”
But I wasn’t at all fooled by his bored tone and scoffed, which seemed to catch him by surprise. I gathered he was used to people always deferring to him. I leaned forward and held his gaze. The butterflies were entirely gone now. This man had answers. And I would not leave this room without them. “I know he was illegally exporting artifacts while he worked at the embassy in Athens. The baron confirmed itlast night. That was why he retired so suddenly and why we moved to Corfu.” The betrayal I had felt when I first put the pieces together was not as sharp and piercing as it had initially been. Now it was more like a dull edge of disappointment. “Because it wasn’t safe for us to return here,” I continued. “He had made too many enemies. And you used your position to help cover it up.”
The viscount gave me a hard look. “You’re wrong.”
“He was your brother,” I said. “I understand that you were protecting him—”
“No,” the viscount barked. “That is not atallwhat happened. Frankly, I expected you, of all people, to know the kind of man you married.”
I sat back in my seat. That accusation stung. “I certainly thought I did, but what else am I to think?”
The viscount took a breath. “I apologize. I shouldn’t have said that. And I know that it must have been a difficult thing to learn. I told Oliver many times that he should have been more honest with you—”
“Honest with me aboutwhat?” I could not control the surge of anger flooding my veins. I was so tired of being kept in the dark by men who thought they knew better.
“Oliver was a spy, for lack of a better word,” the viscount said plainly. “He worked for the embassy, that was true. But he also took on other projects for the Foreign Office as needed. He wasn’t illegally exporting artifacts. He was infiltrating a black-market ring of powerful collectors across Europe who were exploiting loopholes in the existing laws regarding the export of antiques.”
It felt as if someone had struck me on the head. “Oh,” I breathed. “I … I had no idea.”
The viscount gave me a grim smile. “Yes, I know. Oliver was recruited when he was first hired by the Foreign Office. I told him he shouldn’t have married you because of his work, but he said it couldn’t be helped.” I glanced away atthe knowing look in his eye. “Your father found out later and was livid, naturally. But somehow Oliver convinced him it would be all right. And perhaps it would have been, if he hadn’t died,” the viscount added softly.
When I looked back at him, he was staring past me, lost in thought. “What happened then? He was discovered?”
The viscount shook his head. “Oliver uncovered the identities of the British participants, and the powers that be decided it would be far worse if their identities were unveiled. For diplomatic relations and public morale,” he said in a mocking tone.
“You mean because one was a baron and the other a knight?”
Lord Linden and Sir Armstrong-Hughes.
“Among other illustrious fellows, yes. Anyway, Oliver didn’t much care for that decision and was determined to expose them. Eventually, your father and I managed to dissuade him, and it was politely suggested that he retire instead.” The viscount let out a long sigh. “Oliver never really forgave me for that, I’m afraid. Not that we were on the best of terms anyway. But he genuinely wanted to do good in the world and hadn’t realized he was only a pawn in a much larger game.”
