Darcy held out his hands to me. “Hello, old thing. I won’t hug you—I’d get you rather wet. Hold on.” And he removed his overcoat, looking around in vain for a servant to take it. “But why do you seem so surprised to see me? Didn’t I tell you I’d come down as soon as I could? And do you see who I brought with me? I met her at Crockfords last night, and she said she was pining for you and had something she was about to post to you, so why didn’t she come with me and deliver it in person?”

“Your shoe, darling,” Belinda said, beaming at me. “Your lost evening slipper? I retrieved it from the terrible Mrs. Tombs. I think I deserve a medal for braving that dragon. And when Darcy said he was coming down to help the heir to the Eynsford estate, I was curious to see the backwoods boy for myself.”

Darcy gave me a wink. “I might hand over the job. If anyone can educate a backwoods Australian, it is Belinda.”

“I don’t think the dowager duchess meant that kind of education,” I said as I stepped forward to kiss Belinda’s cheek. “But it’s lovely to see you both. So you just decided to come down today. Nobody telephoned you? You haven’t heard the news?”

“What news?”

“Terrible things have been happening. The duke has been murdered. Lady Irene was drugged and nearly died, and the police are on their way.”

“Good God,” Darcy muttered. “Any idea what was behind this? Are there any crazy members of the family locked away in a tower?”

“It’s not funny, Darcy,” I said. “It’s rather alarming, actually. I was the one who found the body, and he’d been stabbed with . . .” I went to say, “with Jack’s knife,” but I couldn’t bring myself to do so. Obviously it would come out in the police investigation. Until then, I was going to keep quiet.

“The duke has been murdered?” Belinda said quietly. “You mean Cedric? Poor Cedric has been murdered? But that’s too, too awful.”

I looked at her in surprise. “You know Cedric Altringham?”

She put her hand to her heart. “Cedric and I—thick as thieves, darling. That was another reason for coming down here—to surprise dear Cedric.”

“I’m more than amazed,” I said. “I thought Cedric didn’t like anybody.”

“That was only the front he put up to keep people at bay. Underneath—what a sweetie pie.”

I shook my head, trying to come to terms with Cedric Altringham being a sweetie pie. “My impression was that he couldn’t stand women,” I said. “He always had a bevy of young men around him, and absolutely refused to marry, which was why Darcy had to go in search of Jack.”

Belinda paused as if thinking. “Jack—he’s the young Australian?”

“He is.”