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The previous hour had been taken up with having his wound properly cleaned and wrapped, changing clothes, and then giving a loose account of what had occurred since some of the guests had seen him and Caroline running after a dark-cloaked person.

He didn’t know if the bulk of the guests believed the tale, but neither did he care, for he wasn’t there to make friends.

Not knowing Caroline’s status, he made his way to the morning room, which is where the butler had said Lady Beckham was taking tea with her family.

Though he didn’t relish interrupting them, it had to be done.

But when he popped into the room, surprise slammed into him to find Caroline there ahead of him with a teacup in her hand. Both of her siblings were there as well as Lord Beckham.

It would be a bit of a sticky wicket, but he would persevere. “My apologies for the interruption, but I need to ask some questions of the viscountess.”

“ We need to ask questions,” Caroline said as she set her teacup down in its saucer on the low table in front of her then stood, shaking out the skirts of her light blue gown.

While Felix shot her a look that felt rather like relief, the viscount sputtered.

“Now? This is highly intrusive.”

Caroline fixed her gaze upon her father. “If you had risen to your duties as magistrate, the major and I wouldn’t have had to take up those responsibilities.” Then she crossed the room to stand by Felix’s side. “Do you want to take the lead?”

“For the moment.” He gave a curt nod then bounced his gaze between Caroline’s two siblings. “If you could please leave us alone with your parents?”

Debra shook her head. “Anything you can say to them, you can say in front of us. I grow weary of my enjoyment of the house party being interrupted by this stupid death investigation.”

God, what a harpy. How was it that the younger Miss Ives was so exceedingly different than the elder?

“Very well.” As he removed his notebook and pencil nub from his jacket pocket, he asked, “Lady Beckham, there have been a couple of indications that you didn’t care for the recently deceased Mr. Blythe. Please explain why.”

The viscountess huffed. She patted a strand of silver blonde hair back into place. “Quite frankly, the man was naught but a rogue. I’d had hopes he might choose one of my daughters, since we see him at events throughout London, but he wasn’t interested in either of them.”

“Ah, you wanted him because he’s the heir to a viscount?” One of Felix’s eyebrows rose in challenge.

The viscountess glared at him. “There is no shame in it. I want the best for my girls.”

“Well, you want the best for Debra ,” Caroline added with absolutely no guile in her expression. It didn’t appear she would give quarter. “You and Papa long ago gave up on my prospects.”

“Can you blame us?” Lady Beckham transferred her gaze to Caroline. “You’re nearing thirty, dear, and you’ve shown absolutely no interest in any of the men we’ve introduced you to.” She shook her head. “Now you’re on the shelf and desperate.”

“Not quite, just interested in things that have nothing to do with marriage.”

Her mother huffed. “Writing a book isn’t going to get you married.”

She’d written a book? How fascinating.

“We have gotten rather off topic.” Felix cleared his throat. “As you might have heard, we were locked in a storage room by the suspected killer we chased. Caroline has told me only three people have keys to all rooms, you being one of them. So I must ask, did you wish us harm as we investigate?”

“Of course not! Such a rude man to even ask.” The viscountess straightened her spine. “Yes, I have keys to all the rooms, but as far as I know, they are still locked in my suite.” She shook her head. “I can’t help but think you are leading my daughter into ruin, Major.”

“Hardly.” He frowned and refused to glance at Caroline lest any portion of his expression give away their intimate connection. “Simply trying to work a case that is becoming more frustrating as each hour goes by.”

“Leave him alone, Mama. He’s trying his best to do this with minimal disruption to your guests,” Caroline said as she clasped her hands in front of her.

Debra snorted. “By deliberately provoking people who have been close to Mr. Blythe?”

He tightened his grip on the head of his cane. “It is usually the people closest to someone who had a hand in their murder. Now, if we might continue this interview?” When Lady Beckham nodded, he asked, “Do you know of anyone who didn’t get on with Mr. Blythe?”

“Well, he did have a habit of using people for personal gain, both male and female, so I would be surprised if anyone genuinely liked him.” The viscountess frowned.

“However, there is one of our guests who was humiliated by him: Lady Lillian Oberon. She’d made no secret of the fact she wanted to have Mr. Lockhart court her.

According to rumor, her family’s coffers are empty and marrying a soon-to-be duke would solve that particular issue. ”

“Why was she humiliated then?” Caroline wanted to know.

Her sister took up the story. “I heard the on-dit when we were still in London.” Amusement twinkled in her eyes.

“Apparently, at a spring ball well before the news broke about Mr. Lockhart being a duke’s heir, she stumbled upon the man she assumed was Lockhart—but in reality it was Blythe parading as him—in a parlor, locked in a scandalous embrace with a maid, and they had various items of clothing removed. ”

“Ah, so then it’s true that Mr. Blythe was willfully pretending he was Mr. Lockhart, even when the two men hadn’t agreed to switch places,” Caroline said in a sing-song voice as if she were trying to put the pieces together. “It’s no surprise then that everyone is confused.”

The viscountess stood. “If that is all, Major? I’d like to return to my tea.”

“Yes, of course.” Oddly, the two men remained silent, but he suspected at least one of them knew something. Directing his gaze to Caroline’s brother, he asked, “Mr. Ives, you’ve not voiced an opinion. What do you know of Mr. Blythe’s character? ”

Andrew shrugged. “He was a right proper bounder. Everyone knew it. And he didn’t seem to care he was dragging Lockhart’s name through the muck.

Whether it was on purpose or by accident, it doesn’t matter, but far too much was in the offing for Lockhart if the powers-that-be didn’t approve him inheriting the title. ”

“Excellent. Thank you.” Felix scribbled a note into his book. “You are all free to return to your own devices.”

At that moment, Lord Beckham cleared his throat. “The morning of the murder, I went on an early morning ride, as per usual when I’m in Maidstone. When I returned my horse to the stables, I heard the sound of angry, raised voices.”

“Between whom?”

“Blythe and one of the grooms.”

Caroline gasped. “That is the second time someone said that. What did they argue about?”

“I couldn’t say since I didn’t linger, and I didn’t care besides.” Then he vanished back behind his newspaper.

“Thank you. The investigation continues.” As he moved toward the door, she followed him.

“Caroline, do not be late for dinner!” her mother called after them. “I’ve arranged for you to meet two more eligible men!”

“I fear Mama won’t give up until I’m wed to the first man I might not find too objectionable, even if I don’t want marriage at all. At least not right now.” The annoyance in her voice tugged a grin from him.

“Once the house party is over, her attention will turn to Debra’s Season, so hold out a short while longer.

” He led her through the corridors until they escaped the house once more through the ballroom and out onto the terrace.

Already, decorations were going up in anticipation of the closing festivities.

“Where are we going?”

“To the icehouse.”

She groaned. “Please don’t make me look at the corpse again. I’ve only just had tea.”

“We aren’t going in. Besides, I finished my letter to his family this morning and gave it to the butler to send in the next outgoing post. It will be at least a week before they send someone to retrieve him.

The ice will only preserve the body so much, so we’ll need to have him put into a pine coffin for containment. ”

“That sounds… disgusting.” She gave in to a shiver. “No disrespect intended.”

“None taken. We will all return to the ground at the end of our lives.”

“That’s a rather dim view of things, especially when the whole purpose of my mother’s house party is to find matches for her children.” A trace of bitterness entered her voice. “She won’t admit to it, of course, but having three children unmarried makes her an outsider within her social set. ”

“She is only concerned for you and your siblings. Same as how my mother acts… when she remembers she has two children.”

“What do you mean?”

He shrugged. “My mother is oftentimes a selfish individual. Currently, she resides in Bath, because that is what she wishes, and she has friends there, but she demands that Felicity wait hand and foot on her, so my poor sister makes the trip to and from London quite often, and with Helena in tow.”

“Your mother never comes back to London? Surely, she could stay with either of you. Er, I assume you have a residence?”

He chuckled. “I rent a modest townhouse in Mayfair, yes, but my mother would rather have us dance to her flute.” Emotions made his chest tight. “Until I told her no.”

“Ah, because you were too busy hiding behind your false leg.” It wasn’t a question.

“Perhaps.” It was far too easy to talk with her. “I assumed my life was over when I received the prosthetic and lost my position with Bow Street.”

“Well, then, consider this. If you solve this case satisfactorily and bring a killer to justice, you could always offer your services as a private investigator.”

The idea tickled him. “I don’t know. Inspector Bright does a good enough job with that; I wouldn’t want to add competition.”