“It’s not that,” he hastily assured her. He rubbed a hand over his face, wishing he didn’t know what he knew, but there was no help for it now. He did know, and he had to do whatever he could to make things right, no matter the consequences. “You see, I had a disturbing visit with a client today.”

“I knew something was wrong the minute you walked in,” his mother murmured.

“So did I, but I thought you were just annoyed with us about the séance,” Elizabeth said.

He shook his head. “Well, normally, I might mention that I had a visit from a client who sent their regards to Mother, but of course I would never mention the purpose of that client’s visit with me.”

“Because it’s all confidential,” Elizabeth said, nodding her understanding.

“But today I had a visit from a client, and I feel I must share with you the purpose of her visit, so I can’t tell you who it was.”

“And of course, we’ll never mention it to anyone,” Elizabeth promised, raising her hand as if to swear an oath of silence.

He couldn’t help smiling at that and somehow resisted the urge to kiss her for being so earnest. “This client came to ask me to release a very large sum of money to her so she could invest it.” He quickly explained what Mrs. Darlington had told him about the investment. “But the most astonishing thing she said was that she knew this was a sound investment opportunity because her dead husband had told her so himself.”

Both women understood the implications immediately. “Did she tell you she had consulted a medium?” Elizabeth asked.

“I naturally questioned her about that amazing claim, especially after our conversation last night, and she admitted that she had. She refused to tell me the medium’s name, but when I suggested Madame Ophelia might be the one, I could tell from her reaction that I had guessed correctly.”

“Oh dear,” his mother said. “Obviously, Madame Ophelia is not content with cheating little old ladies out of their last pennies.”

“And who knows how many other people she has already cheated?” Elizabeth mused. “Did you give this lady the money she asked for?”

“No. Fortunately, her husband named our law firm as executor of his estate and we manage the trust, so we can refuse her request if we think it is ill-advised. I already spoke with the other partners, and they agreed with me not to release the funds. But we discovered while discussing it that another client had asked for and received a somewhat smaller amount because it didn’t raise much of an alarm at the time. The partner involved hadn’t been concerned, but now he thinks he might not have gotten all the information.”

“So we really need to do something to stop this woman,” his mother said.