Rosse grunted, and continued tugging on his lip as he considered and rejected paths of inquiry. “You’ll be safe enough at White’s. You may not like this, Noble—I know you want justice for your boy—but I think we should finish up with this first problem before starting on one five years old.”

Noble looked obstinate, and it took Harry until the pair had reached White’s to convince him that to divide their attention and forces would be foolish. “After all,” he pointed out as they handed over their hats and sticks, “you lose Carlisle as your main suspect if Nick is correct and there’s a second man involved. I’d be willing to wager it’s this man who is behind the attacks on you and the threats to your lady, rather than Carlisle.”

“He’s tried to convince Gillian I am an ogre,” Noble protested. He hated to give up the idea of McGregor as villain but had to admit it was looking less likely with each passing day.

“All he’s tried to do is warn her against what he believes is your vicious temper. Gillian told me last night that he believes you murdered Elizabeth most foully and are going to do the same to her.”

Noble looked startled. “By God, I’ll thrash the…she didn’t believe him, did she?”

Rosse nodded to an acquaintance, was pleased to see that no one cut his friend, and headed for his favorite quiet corner. “No, of course she didn’t, but she did point out that all he’s ever tried to do is to protect her from you.”

“So she thinks,” Noble said darkly and glowered at his boots.

“About that night, Noble—I know you don’t want to talk about it, but have you told Gillian what happened? What really happened, not what Carlisle is sure to have told her what he saw?”

“There wasn’t time,” Noble answered. “After I spoke with Nick, Gillian thought it was best to fill his mind with happier thoughts and took him off to the Gardens.”

Rosse adjusted his spectacles. “I can imagine what Carlisle told her he saw—I had the devil of a time pulling him off you. I thought I was too late after I heard the pistol shots and found you in a pool of blood, with Carlisle’s hands digging into your throat.”

Noble grimaced and rubbed at his neck. “I couldn’t speak for weeks. Thank God you were staying with me then.”

“It wasn’t a pleasant time for you,” Rosse said easily. “You needed a friendly face around that dour ancestral pile. I never did find out why Carlisle was there that night—did you?”

“Yes. He showed me a note from Elizabeth, saying she’d overheard me plotting to kill her. He had come to play knight-in-shining-armor to her maiden-in-distress.”

Rosse blinked carefully, noting the anger in his friend’s voice. “Do you mean…she arranged to have him there?” His mind raced on, quickly leaping over false impressions and jumping to the logical conclusion. “Was she arranging for you to take the blame for something? Something to do with Carlisle?”