Suzette blinked at Christiana’s question, a little confused as to where it had come from. They had spent the morning having quite useless and unhelpful interviews with the staff in the hopes of learning something that might help determine who the blackmailer was and who had poisoned George. The task had been a complete waste of time so far and after the last interview with one of the upstairs maids, Suzette and Christiana had come down to the office and somehow got on the topic of the men, and then Lisa and the books she read.

Christiana had been scandalized that Suzette had read the banned book about the prostitute, Fanny, but had been positively horrified at the news that the book was actually young Lisa’s and that she had read the book as well. Exasperated, Suzette had pointed out that Lisa was nearly twenty, no longer a child and should already have been settled with a husband and having children. Suzette really had no clue how that had led to Christiana’s question about their father punishing himself.

“Yes,” she said finally, her mouth tightening with anger at just the thought of the man whose gambling had both landed Christiana in her miserable marriage with Dicky and was now forcing Suzette to marry as well. That anger showed in her voice as she snapped, “And so he should. I was actually feeling sorry for him, but then he went and did it again.”

“That may not be true,” Christiana said quietly. “He may not have gambled at all.”

“What?” Suzette glanced at her sharply.

“Richard said there are rumors that Dicky had befriended a certain owner of a gaming hell reputed to drug its patrons and fleece them,” Christiana said quietly. “He suspects it’s possible that is what happened to Father.”

The air slid out of Suzette’s lungs in one sharp whoosh at these words and her mind was suddenly filled with memories of the morning she and Lisa had arrived in London. Biting her lip she said, “When we found him at the townhouse, Father kept saying he was sorry, and he didn’t know how it had happened, that his memories were a jumble and he didn’t even recall how he’d ended up at the gaming hell, just waking up there both times to learn he’d gambled us into ruin.”

Christiana breathed out a little sigh and said, “He probably didn’t gamble at all.”

“Oh God.” Suzette dropped weakly back in her chair. “I was so cruel to him the morning we arrived in London. I said some awful things.”

“It is understandable under the circumstances,” Christiana assured her. “How were you to know Dicky may have drugged him to bring about his downfall?”

“Damn Dicky!” Suzette sat upright again, anger sizzling up her spine. “If he weren’t already dead, I think I’d kill him myself.”