from saying could fill volumes. But that doesn’t mean you should stay silent.”
“Very well.” Christabel squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. The transformation — from tentative girl to confident lady — was shockingly sudden. “I have been the worst kind of fool. But when I stopped being a fool, I realized that I know who your highwayman is.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
“What? How?” Ellie asked, stunned to the point of incoherency.
“Yes, I know it’s unlikely,” Christabel said. “When would I have ever met someone new, let alone someone who might be a highwayman? I should have known from the very first that he was after something other than me…”
Ellie cut her off. “Don’t tell me Norbury was pursuing you?”
Christabel’s mouth dropped open. “Who? Norbury? That dull prig you’ve somehow become friends with? Of course not.”
In another conversation, Ellie might have taken umbrage at Christabel’s characterization of him — but now was not the time. “Then who? Because Nick is downstairs preparing to accuse Norbury of attempted murder.”
“Norbury?” Christabel asked again. She bit the side of her lip, considering. “If that were true, I would certainly be happy to know it.”
But before Ellie could respond, Christabel squared her shoulders again. “It’s not Norbury. I believe it is a man named Stephen Edgewood.”
“Who?” Ellie asked.
Christabel sighed. “This conversation is going to take long enough that Folkestone might shoot Norbury long before we’ve finished it. He knows who Edgewood is, I think. I searched Edgewood’s papers and found letters about Corwyn, Claiborne and Sons. He must have been a former employee. The papers indicate that Folkestone fired him in India eight or nine months ago.”
“Where did you find his papers?”
“In my house.” Christabel twisted her fingers again. “He came six weeks ago, after having sent a letter to Mother asking if he might visit. He claimed that he was her third cousin. I was suspicious at first. There was no reference to him in Debrett’s description of the family, and I couldn’t find him in the family Bible. But Mother — well, you could tell her that Prinny was her second son and she would agree with you, just to avoid admitting that she had forgotten it. She was more than happy to welcome a visitor who claimed to be her cousin. And once I met him…”
She trailed off. Her pale face suddenly turned to fire.
Ellie’s heart broke for her. “Has he been there all this time?” she asked gently.
Christabel nodded. “Fool that I was, I thought he was staying for me. He certainly made it seem that way.”
“He could be, you know. Just because he happened to arrive before these suspicious events doesn’t mean he has anything to do with them.”
“It was a dream,” Christabel said. Her self-deprecating shrug made Ellie want to kill the man herself. “After the shooting last night, I went home. Edgewood had begged off the fireworks, but he was nowhere to be found when I returned. But I must have known all along that something was wrong, because I took the opportunity to search his papers. It was easy enough to do. His valet has run off, so no one was there to guard his things. And the combination of those letters, and the fact that his valet had always seemed more like a sailor than a polished gentleman’s man, made me wonder if the valet was your dead highwayman.”
“Did you ask him about this?” Ellie asked.
Christabel’s look said that Ellie’s question was one of the stupidest ideas she had ever heard. “I was besotted, not idiotic. Who do you think would save me if Edgewood decided to kill me for meddling?”
Ellie grimaced. “Of course. We must tell Folkestone before he kills Norbury. He will apprehend Edgewood, if Edgewood is indeed the killer.”
Christabel stood and started to retie her bonnet, as though her visit had been a mere exchange of pleasantries. “I’ll leave you to it, then. Thank you for your help.”
“Come with me,” Ellie said. “Folkestone will need a description of Edgewood to decide whether he might be the killer.”
Christabel frowned. “I want nothing more than to be left out of this and forget he ever existed.”
“I know. You don’t have to say a word about how you know Edgewood. Pin the blame on your mother for letting him stay with you. She won’t be able to refute it.”
Christabel’s grin was almost wicked. “Mother was right. You are a detriment to my character.”
Ellie smiled as she escorted her out of the room. But when Christabel couldn’t see her