Why was she explaining? He had no reason to know, or care. If she had been kissing Andrew it would be none of his business.

“Then I am left to guess who the others are.” He smiled sardonically. “Only you considered how useful additional ears would be. A fine thing, isn’t it? A professional investigator stands before you, and you were more clever than he was.”

She had not confirmed that she had anyone here. If he thought to trick her into doing so, he would be disappointed. She did glow inside at his praise, though. Since she intended to make this her profession too, it was good to have another investigator call her clever.

“If I were truly clever, I would have bribed the family solicitor to spy for me. I can think of no way to eavesdrop on that meeting this afternoon short of that.” She threw the towel in the rinsing tub.

He dropped another linen into her water. “I will be there.”

“Of course.”

“I mean that I can tell you what happens. Not spy as such. Simply pass along some particulars.”

She obscured her surprise by twisting her current linen to wring it out. “Why would you do that?”

“Why not?” He watched the last linen fly to the rinsing tub. “Must you deal with that now?”

“I am due to check the fires up above. Someone else will have to rinse and hang.”

He removed his handkerchief from his pocket and opened it. He took her hand and patted it dry. Then he did the same thing with her other hand. “In the army, when work made hands so raw that the skin cracked and bled, the men would use cooking fats to soothe them. Go to the kitchen and find some. Even if you wipe it off at once, even if you attempt to wash it away, your skin will be protected and will heal faster.”

“Are you really going to tell me what happens at that meeting?”

“If you want me to. It will be no secret since so many will be there. I will pay a call tonight after you return to your house and give you the particulars.”

He had warned her not to have late callers, hadn’t he? Had said men would get ideas if they were allowed over her threshold that late. Yet here he was inviting himself to do just that.

It was no time to get delicate. Chase clearly was conducting an inquiry into the duke’s death. If he convinced the authorities it had been no accident, she fully expected additional inquiries into herself. She might not have much time to find the true culprit behind the duke’s untimely demise.

“I will leave here at nine o’clock,” she said. “If you call at ten, we will talk then.”

“There is only one condition. If I share with you, you must again share with me.”