“For now we will stay here.” Minerva glanced around the library’s shabby furnishings. “The study is presentable at least, and that will do for now. Eventually, however . . .” She pictured a fine townhome on a better street, one with space for a servant or two.

“Before you spend every shilling of that ten thousand, maybe we should decide how we are going to learn about the duke’s death,” Beth said.

“I have considered that too. Such deaths normally are caused by family members. That is why the authorities looked to me when Algernon was shot.”

“Hard to get near the family of a duke. Not as if you can call with one of those new cards and announce you want to conduct an inquiry.”

“No, but one can glean much from a short distance.” She paced again, while her mind traversed the path she had laid already. “Jeremy, you have your first assignment. Learn where this duke lived, and try to loiter around the stables among the grooms. Learn what you can.”

“I’ll offer my services for spots of work if they have it. Most stables need extra at times, and the ones near here will give me references if I need them.”

And with that, Hepplewhite’s Office of Discreet Inquiries launched its first investigation.

* * *

Three days after meeting with Peel, Chase dismounted outside Whiteford House while a groom took the horse’s reins.

“You are new here,” he said, watching how the young man handled the animal.

“I started two days ago, sir.” Tall and blond, the fellow flushed from the attention. “I’ll brush him down if you like.”

“I won’t be here long enough.” It impressed him that the offer had been made. His cousin Nicholas had hired well, it seemed. There must be a host of new servants, now that the old retainers had taken their legacies as pensions.

Chase approached the door of Whiteford House. One of the oldest houses on Park Lane, it nestled amidst trees at the northern end of the street. Built as a country villa when this area was still mostly rural, and the nearby western section of Oxford Street was still called Tyburn, it sported extensive gardens. The last duke had bought the property on a whim, mostly to keep a rival from tearing it down and developing the land.

He looked up the old façade, said to have been designed by Inigo Jones. It bore the stamp of classicism that the architect had imported to England, and showed similarities to the Banqueting House in its exterior decoration. The interior had not fared as well. The last duke had a strong eccentric streak, and it manifested itself as soon as Chase walked in the reception hall.