“And mine,” said Kincaid.
Weston delivered a rigid smile. “Welcome to the family.”
Talk about a bloody awful welcome.
“No drinking? No gambling? No fornication? What’s left to do?” Sterling said blankly.
“I am confident you’ll find something.” Joining Weston at the sideboard, Kincaid browsed the various plates and trays before filling a crystal bowl with freshly cut fruit. He stabbed a strawberry with a miniature silver fork and raised it to his mouth. “There’s also the matter of what we discussed in regards to your pending case. Do you mind if we speak openly in front of Weston?”
Sterling gave a belligerent wave of his arm before he collapsed onto the middle of a sofa and let his head fall against the thinly padded back with a resoundingthump. “Why stop now?”
In brief, practical terms, Kincaid shared with Weston what he and Joanna had already explained in great detail to Sterling. “When the blood was first discovered in Eloise’s bedchamber, the natural assumption was that she’d been murdered and the body disposed of elsewhere. While never formally brought up on charges–”
“Not yet,” Sterling muttered as he closed his eyes and wished desperately for a nip of gin.
“–Sterling was presumed to be the killer. A crime of passion following an argument that several servants overheard. Which was why he hired me to clear his name and find therealkiller. Something that I have not been able to do, because it is my belief that Eloise isn’t dead.”
“Are you sure?” Weston frowned.
“Given that I have determined the blood found in the room belonged to a butchered pig, I am nearly positive.”
“Then where is she?”
Sterling slanted an eye open. “That’s whatIasked.”
“Her whereabouts are thus far unknown,” Kincaid admitted. “Though we’ve tracked down a few leads, Eloise remains elusive. Strange, given that she is a woman without means or a fortune to use in order to remain hidden. Which leads me to my current theory: Eloise was but a pawn is a much larger, much more deceptive game.” He paused, then finished grimly, “A game whose end goal is to completely destroy the Duke of Hanover.”
Complete and utter silence reigned.
For all of two seconds.
“Stop laughing, Sterling,” Kincaid said through gritted teeth. “This is not a time for amusement.”
“Oh, but it is.” Openly guffawing, Sterling slapped his knee and wiped tears from the corners of his eyes. “A game whose end goal is to completely destroy the Duke of Hanover,” he quoted in a deep, mocking parody of the detective’s voice. “You’ve obviously been reading too many of those American dime novels. How could someone want to destroy me when everyone adores me? It’d be like walking into a house party and dumping out the best bottle of champagne.”
“As loath as I am to stroke his ego, Sterling has a point.” Weston popped a grape into his mouth. “No one that I know holds a grudge against him and, to the best of my knowledge, his ledgers are clean at all the gambling hells.”
“I pay my debts,” said Sterling, sobering.
Weston nodded. “He pays his debts.”
“Be that as it may, Eloise’s deathwasstaged to make it appear as if she were the victim of a violent murder.” Tipping his spectacles to the edge of his nose, Kincaid scowled first at Weston and then at Sterling. “Given the timing and the location of the act, it cannot be sheer coincidence. Someone wants to cause you considerable harm, Sterling.”
“Then why not just kill me?” he asked. “That would be harmful.”
“I don’t have the answer to that yet,” Kincaid admitted. He pushed his spectacles back into place. “But I do believe that this is connected to your sister’s kidnapping. Call it a hunch, or instinct, or blind intuition. Whatever you like. It doesn’t change the fact that your life is most likely in danger, and not because of a trial that may or may not happen.”
“How can you even be sure it really was just pig’s blood?” Sterling was no expert investigator, but to him all blood–whether it be human or animal–looked exactly the same.
“Because I took a sample. And under detection of my compound microscope, the viscosity was completely different.”
“What the devil is–you know what, no,” he said with a grimace. “I’m sure I can live my entire life without completing that sentence.” Lifting the back of his hand to his mouth, he yawned into it. “I need a nap. Which means you two need to leave. Your concern for my welfare is touching. Truly. But if someone wanted to hurt me, they’re about six years too late.”
“Just promise you’ll be careful,” Kincaid said seriously. “Don’t go out alone at night, and pay attention to those around you. If there’s a person who starts acting suspiciously, or you receive word from Eloise–”
“Eloise, greedy harpy that she is, probably found another benefactor and thought it would be amusing to paint me as a villain. I’m sure she is bathing naked in diamonds at the castle of some grossly rich count as we sit here bollocks in hand.” Even as Sterling spoke the words aloud, he didn’t really believe them. Eloise had been hotheaded, impulsive, and even malicious at times. But she wouldn’t have taken on a new protector without rubbing his face in it. That would have removed all the fun.
Still, he didn’t–hecouldn’t–honestly believe that a cloaked stranger was out there plotting some grand scheme to ruin him. No matter what evidence or instinct Kincaid had to the contrary. But he did, very much, want a nap. And so he said what his friends wanted to hear.
