Page 36 of The Wedding-Crashing Duchess

“It is, Your Grace,” the constable replied. “I would prefer to give you more, although there is nothing further that I can state with certainty.”

Ronan remained silent for several seconds.

Gregory watched him carefully, and when Ronan spoke again, his voice had become quieter.

“My wife continues to look for news of the investigation,” he said. “She witnessed something that has not been explained, and has been left with no indication of whether the man she saw has been found. If there is any development, no matter how limited, I expect her to be informed.”

The constable inclined his head.

“Of course, Your Grace.”

“I do not mean that the information should appear in a newspaper first,” Ronan continued. “I mean that someone should speak to her directly.”

“I understand.”

Ronan’s gaze did not leave him. “Do you?”

The constable sat straighter.

“Yes, Your Grace. If there is progress, the Duchess of Ravenhill will be informed.”

Ronan gave a single nod.

“That will be all.”

The constable rose, bowed again, and left the room under the guidance of the waiting servant. Once the door closed, Gregory remained where he was, while Ronan looked down at the folded paper on his desk.

For a while, neither man spoke. Eventually, Gregory moved away from the mantel and returned to the chair, although he did not sit.

“You were right about one thing,” he said. “There was very little to learn.”

“There was nothing to learn apart from the woman’s employment,” Ronan replied. “The constable knows who she was, yet that knowledge appears to have led nowhere.”

“It tells us that she belonged to Phillipa’s fathers’ household,” Gregory said. “That may not explain her death, although it confirms that Augusta did not stumble upon the body of a stranger with no connection to the gathering.”

Ronan lifted his eyes, “No one said Augusta invented what she saw.”

“No, although several people were eager to treat the absence of a body as proof that she had been confused,” Gregory replied. “The discovery changed that, yet clearing your name became the end of the matter for everyone around her. Augusta was wrong about the man being you, so society decided she was wrong in every other respect as well.”

“She was not wrong about the body.”

“And you are no longer satisfied with saying only that,” Gregory said.

Ronan’s expression tightened, “I wanted information, and now I have it.”

“You also know that there has been no progress, and I suspect you will dislike telling Augusta that far more than you disliked hearing it yourself.”

Ronan looked towards the window.

“I will tell her what the constable said.”

Gregory nodded, and then he reached for his gloves, although he took his time putting them on.

“You should also tell her that you asked,” he said.

“She will know that when I explain the meeting.”

“She may know that a meeting occurred, although that is not quite the same thing,” Gregory replied. “You have a habit of presenting every act of consideration as though it arose from administrative necessity. You will say that the investigation concerned your household, or that her statement required clarification, or that your name remained attached to the incident. All of that may be defensible, yet none of it explains why you were waiting at the window before the constable arrived.”