Page 35 of The Wedding-Crashing Duchess

“I have taken an interest in you for years, and you have never made the task easy,” Gregory replied. “Most men reveal themselves through what they say, while you reveal yourself through what you insist is unimportant. The more determined you are to reduce a matter to duty, the more likely it is that something personal sits beneath it.”

Ronan gave him a long look.

“If Augusta may have been seen, then I would rather the investigation had produced something useful. Still, I cannot help noticing that you have begun taking her fears seriously, even when they inconvenience you.”

“I always took what she saw seriously.”

Ronan looked away from him. Before either man could continue, a knock sounded at the door, and a servant entered to announce the constable. Ronan moved behind the desk, while Gregory rose from his chair.

“You may remain,” Ronan said before Gregory could speak, and the constable entered a moment later.

The man greeted them with a restrained bow, and although his expression remained respectful, his eyes moved briefly between the two dukes before settling on Ronan.

“Your Grace,” the constable said. “I was told you wished to speak about the investigation.”

“I do,” Ronan replied, and he gestured towards the chair Gregory had vacated. “Please sit.”

The constable did so, keeping his hat in both hands, while Gregory moved to the side of the room and remained near the mantel.

Ronan did not sit immediately. “My wife gave a statement concerning what she saw at the Hewes engagement party,” he said. “She has heard nothing since then, and the papers have reported no progress, so I would like to know whether the investigation has produced anything that has not been made public.”

The constable adjusted his hold on the hat.

“I am afraid there is very little to report, Your Grace,” he said. “The investigation remains open, although there has been no meaningful progress.”

Ronan lowered himself into the chair behind the desk.

“When you say there has been no meaningful progress, do you mean that no one has been identified, or that nothing new has been discovered at all?” he asked.

“No one has been identified,” the constable replied. “We have not found anything that would allow us to name a suspect, and we have no information that changes the account already taken from Her Grace.”

Ronan’s expression remained still.

“Then you continue to accept that she saw the woman before the body was discovered.”

“We have no reason to reject her account,” the constable said. “She was clear about what she remembered, and the discovery of the body confirmed that she had indeed seen something in the grounds.”

Gregory spoke from beside the mantel.

“Do you know who the woman was?” he asked. “Her identity has not appeared in the reports I have seen.”

The constable turned towards him.

“She was a maid in Lord Hewes’s household, Your Grace,” he replied. “She worked at Lady Phillipa’s father’s estate.”

For the first time since the constable entered, Ronan’s expression shifted.

“She was employed there?” he asked.

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“Then Augusta saw the body on the grounds connected to the household in which the woman worked,” Ronan said, although he appeared to be speaking the thought aloud rather than asking a question.

The constable gave a cautious nod. “She was a member of the household staff, although that has not led us to the person responsible.”

Ronan leaned back slightly, and his gaze settled on the constable with a levelness that made the room feel smaller.

“You know where she worked, and you have my wife’s description of the man she saw, yet there has been no progress,” he said. “Is that an accurate understanding of the position?”