“Yes, my lady. He presented his card. Sir Jeremy Danville from London. He said it was urgent.”

“Thank you, Hamilton. Please put him in the morning room and tell him that I’ll be down as soon as I can.”

“Very good, my lady.” He gave a slight bow and went to back away, then turned to me again. “Strange men turning up at the crack of dawn. Will this be an ongoing occurrence, do you think, my lady?”

“Let’s hope not,” I said, laughing.

I washed, dressed and went downstairs. Sir Jeremy looked as if he was suffering from the effects of taking the night train. There were bags under his eyes and his hair wasn’t quite as perfectly groomed as the last time I had seen him. He stood up smartly as I came in.

“Lady Georgiana. I’m so sorry to disturb you at this early hour, but I took the night train as soon as I heard the news.”

“I’m so glad you’re here,” I said. “Would you like some breakfast or should we go somewhere where we can talk privately?”

“A cup of coffee would be most welcome, but I think we should talk as soon as possible. Time may be of the essence.”

I ordered a pot of coffee and some toast to be sent to Binky’s study then ushered Sir Jeremy inside.

“You heard about the unfortunate shooting death, of course.”

“I arrived on the scene just after it had happened,” I said. “Well, now we have conclusive proof of your suspicions, don’t we? Somebody was obviously trying to kill the Prince of Wales and mistook Hugo Beasley-Bottome for him from behind.”

“Is that what you think?” Sir Jeremy asked, looking at me strangely.

“What else should I think?”

“Did BB get a chance to speak with you? Did he share any suspicions? Because it’s my feeling that someone shot him deliberately because he had found out something important.”

“Hugo, something important?”

“So he didn’t have a chance to share his suspicions with you? I thought it would be easier if he were staying at Castle Rannoch.”

“Oh no,” I said as light dawned. “Are you trying to tell me that Hugo was the contact you placed up here?”

“Of course. I assumed he would have had a chance to speak with you by now.”

“Oh, dear,” I said. “He did try, several times, but I thought, you know, he was just being fresh. He came across as a young man with an eye for the ladies. I thought he was just trying to get me alone for—entirely different reasons.” I could feel my face turning red.

Sir Jeremy sighed. “As you say, ‘oh, dear.’ He did tend to play up the young wastrel image, didn’t he? He thought it was the perfect cover. ‘Everyone thinks I’m a harmless, spoiled idiot,’ he used to say.”