“I think he wanted to make sure I did not misunderstand why he was doing it.” He did not have to explain, and cursed himself as soon as he did. Damnation, the mood in this chamber was putting him at the disadvantage, not her.

“Perhaps some of the others found out anyway. Someone may have hoped he passed away before a new testament was signed and encouraged that eventuality to take place.”

That was his thinking, when he allowed himself to consider a relative at all. How much better if it turned out to be one of those women getting a fat inheritance. Like this woman here.

The notion did not appeal to him nearly as much as it had when he stole into Minerva Hepplewhite’s house, looking for evidence of just that. The night and the mood probably had much to do with that. Come morning he would see clearly again, and realize she was still his best suspect.

“Did you tell any of them?” she asked. “Because if you did, then that person may have told another, and so forth.”

“No, I did not.” Yes, damn it. He had warned Nicholas.

“Commendable discretion. Unfortunately, that puts you quite high on the list.”

“Almost as high as you?”

“Oh, not nearly that high. High enough to be a person of interest to any inquiry, however.”

Meaning hers, he assumed. If it were afternoon and he were speaking to her in an office and the light were not so low and flattering to her face, and the night did not emphasize that they were alone, he might have turned the tables on her, and posed his own questions. He might have reminded her that few had as much reason to want the duke dead as she did because few had benefitted as much.

Only the mood right now did not require that, or even want it. Suspicion was not what simmered in him, causing a pleasant heightening of awareness of her sultry relaxation. She had done nothing forward or untoward, but he was well on the way to being seduced anyway. He could not tell if that was her intention, or if she even knew what was happening.

What would happen if he went to that divan and reached for her? Their connected gazes, the quiet conversation, the silence of the night all begged for something besides this talk of possible murderers.

Her lips parted slightly. Her gaze warmed as if another lamp had been lit behind her eyes. Her examination of him turned both cautious and curious at the same time.

She sat upright and returned her feet to the floor. “I think you have what you came for.”

“Hardly.”

His allusion was subtle, but she heard its implications. Her expression firmed just enough to discourage that line of thought. He had not held out much hope. It would be a bizarre liaison under the circumstances.