‘Why worry? He’s dead, isn’t he?’ Juliet responded airily. She sat down with far more grace in front of the vanity table mirror and regarded her image thoughtfully. ‘So we’re in clover.’

But her brother was already shaking his head. ‘I’m not so sure about that,’ he said sullenly. ‘And we definitely need to do something about Patsy.’

Juliet turned her attention away from her preening, and looked at her twin thoughtfully. She’d long since learned to respect Jasper’s brains, along with his ability to get what he wanted. And since she wasn’t exactly a slouch in either of those two departments herself, a bond of mutual respect had built up between them over the years.

Although she was also rather fond of her twin, in a detached sort of way, she was even fonder of her own skin. So after a moment’s thought, she had to concede that he had a point. ‘I agree,’ she admitted coolly. ‘We’ll have to play Patsy very carefully. She such a dunderhead, and we could be in hot water if she blabs.’

‘Oh, she won’t blab,’ Jasper predicted with a savage smile. ‘She might be a bit of a nitwit, but not such a nitwit as that, surely? She’ll keep her mouth shut if only to keep her own neck off the chopping block. Won’t she? You know her better than I do.’

Juliet considered Patsy Arles thoughtfully. ‘Well, she’s not particularly bright,’ she admitted. Not that that needed to be laboured, really, since she’d been so easily manipulated by them into doing their dirty work for them; her lack of intelligence went without saying. ‘But she is needy, bless her, and she does so adore me. And she could easily adore you too, if you’d just put some effort into it,’ she added meaningfully.

‘Oh no, I don’t want to have her hanging around my neck like a love-sick calf,’ Jasper protested.

‘It might be a good idea though,’ his sister advised. ‘Just until the heat dies down. A woman in love will never snitch on her man, and all that guff,’ Juliet added, yawning widely.

Jasper scowled and kicked at one of his sister’s shoes that was lying, discarded on the floor near his chair. It skittered across the floor and rolled to a stop near the bed. ‘I don’t like it that she hasn’t called,’ he said flatly. ‘I would have expected her to call in a bit of a flap by now, wouldn’t you?’

For a moment, Juliet thought about that, and sighed. ‘Yes, I agree. The silly little chump must have been having kittens afterwards.’

‘My feelings exactly,’ Jasper agreed. ‘So I’d have thought that her first instinct would be to come and unburden herself to you and beg you for help. So why hasn’t she?’