you.” He turned to make his escape.
“Radnor.”
He turned.
“You are very clever.”
Since that did not sound like a compliment either, Chase just left.
* * *
Minerva paced. Chase was now three hours late. He had warned her, but she still experienced an agony of impatience.
They had planned a full afternoon that with each passing minute became less likely to be realized. First, they were going to look at carriages she might purchase. Then, she intended to return to Madame Tissot and order some new garments. Visions of fine wood and brass, of soft wool and silks had danced in her head all morning, only to be dashed when Brigsby arrived with the news Chase would be delayed.
“Look who is here,” Beth had announced, bringing the manservant to the library without ceremony. “Mr. Radnor’s valet.”
“As I have explained, I am not a valet, even if those are among the duties I execute. Nor am I here as the manservant I am.”
“No? Then why do we have this rare honor?” Beth asked.
“I am here as one of Mr. Radnor’s agents.”
Beth burst out laughing. “Minerva, he is one of Mr. Radnor’s agents now. Aid him in his inquiries, do you? I’ll believe that when I see it.”
Brigsby ignored her. “Miss Hepplewhite, I have come with a message. Mr. Radnor will be delayed some hours. An important matter, an urgent one, claimed him just moments before he was to leave his chambers to come here.”
“Don’t sound like an associate to me,” Beth said. “You sound like a messenger.”
“Messengers are not entrusted with such as this, that pertain to important inquiries. Only agents are.”
“Call it what you like, I know a donkey when I see one.”
Brigsby did not miss that Beth had come close to calling him an ass. Minerva thanked him and sent him home.
Now she waited. Something was happening. Something important. She would go mad if Chase did not come soon to tell her what it was.
He did not arrive until close to six o’clock. He let himself in before she reached the door. He took one look at her and raised both hands in a calming gesture. “All is well. I was called to the Home Office. The official finding will be an accidental death.”
“That is not possible. We both know—”
“That will be the official finding, Minerva. I am not inclined to argue the point. Are you?”
The owner of Hepplewhite’s Office of Discreet Inquiries most definitely wanted to challenge this finding. The woman who was once suspected of murder realized it was a gift. With no one looking for the person responsible for the duke’s death, no one would decide she was an excellent suspect.
“Do we simply pretend it was indeed an accident?”
“For now. Should other information present itself, however, I am duty-bound to pursue it.”
“For now might last forever, I suppose.”
“It won’t, trust me.” He fell onto the divan and pulled her down into his lap. “For now, however, I am setting it aside. I have other things occupying my mind, and distracting me from inquiries.”
“You will save all your lists and notes and such, I hope. Just in case they are needed.”
“Only if you save yours.”
She laughed, because they both knew she had no notes. She pecked his nose with a kiss. “What has been distracting you?”
“You have. My entire performance on this inquiry has not been up to my own standards because of you. I think about you all the time. I desire you constantly. Had that not been happening, you would have never bested me when it came to learning Kevin was not in France, for example.”
“So you say. I wonder if you are not using me as an excuse to salve your pride that I did best you.”
He kissed her, but his mouth smiled in the middle of it. “Perhaps.”
The kiss lingered long enough that her blood sparkled. “It is too late to purchase a carriage or wardrobe.”
“We will do it tomorrow.”
“That leaves us with nothing much to do now.” She kissed him again. “How ever will we fill the time?”
“With a necessary conversation.”
“That sounds serious.”
“It is, but hopefully not in a bad way. I have been thinking about us, and our inquiries, and our different methods. You do not want a formal partnership, but we can form an alliance that is not formal. There will be times when you will want a man to speak with someone, for example.”
“Such as another man?”
“There will be some who will never take your questions seriously, and there will be others who