The Lady By His Side(44)

Crawford reached out and lifted a paper onto the blotter. “I’ll be interviewing all the staff this afternoon, and in particular, checking the male guests’ alibis. With luck, someone will have seen something that doesn’t fit with the picture we’ve had painted for us thus far.”

Antonia murmured, “Sadly, you might not get much joy. At that time of evening, any staff in the front of the house would have been clearing the dining room, while the majority of the staff would have been in the servants’ hall or kitchens. It’s not a time staff are generally about, wandering the corridors—not unless someone has rung for something.”

The inspector stared at her, then humphed. “We’ll see.” He looked at Sebastian. “So how did you two get on with your old gentleman?”

“He was in and spoke with us.” Sebastian reached into his coat pocket for the letter from Wellington. “He has a better understanding than most of the likely implications of Ennis’s last words.” He handed Wellington’s letter to Crawford. “He clarified what my focus needs to be in this matter and gave me his support”—he nodded at the letter—“as you can see.”

The inspector unfolded the sheet. The instant he saw the letterhead, his eyes flew wide. He scanned the letter.

Peering across, Sir Humphrey glanced over the document, which amounted to a thinly veiled blanket order to whoever was presented with the letter to render all assistance to Lord Sebastian Cynster, Marquess of Earith, in whatever manner he required. Sir Humphrey humphed. “I wondered if that was whom you had in mind. Clearly, His Grace views the matter seriously.”

Sebastian nodded. “He recommended that I”—he glanced at Antonia and smoothly amended—“we leave pursuing the murderer to you and the inspector and concentrate our efforts on locating the gunpowder. As he pointed out, learning how much of the stuff is involved will help define the target, and the target, in turn, will help identify who exactly is behind this.”

“But obviously,” Antonia put in, “seizing the gunpowder and nullifying the danger should be our first priority.”

Crawford humphed and handed the letter to Sir Humphrey, who glanced swiftly over it, then handed it back to Sebastian.

“It seems,” Crawford said, “that we each have our tasks laid squarely before us. You two search for the gunpowder, and Sir Humphrey and I will pursue this murderer.”

“Agreed.” Sebastian tucked Wellington’s letter back into his pocket. “Apropos of that, we need plans and local maps—plans of the house and associated structures, the layout of the grounds, and a map of the estate.” He glanced at the framed map on the wall behind the desk, then looked around. “Did Ennis keep any maps and plans in here, do you know?”

Sir Humphrey glanced at the shelves and cabinets. “I don’t know, but let’s see.”

The four of them rose and quickly searched through the various shelves, cupboards, and drawers.

“Here it is.” From a drawer beneath a set of bookshelves, Antonia drew out a map of the estate, a smaller version of what was displayed on the wall. “But this just shows the estate’s fields—it doesn’t show the house in any detail.”

Sebastian took the unwieldy map from her and held it up so they could examine it. The other men gathered around and studied it, too.

“It doesn’t show details of the grounds, either,” Sebastian said. He looked at the shelves they hadn’t yet searched. “Let’s see if we can find anything else.”

Ten minutes later, they’d scoured the office, but had unearthed no further maps, plans, or diagrams.

“Perhaps it’s not surprising that’s the only map here,” Sir Humphrey said. “Although Ennis occasionally used this room, it was more the domain of his farm manager, who wouldn’t have any need for plans of the house or grounds.”

“True.” As he rolled up the map, Sebastian looked at the inspector. “Can we search the study? I see you still have a man at the door.”

“More a precaution in case there’s anything there we’ve missed.” The inspector waved to the door. “Come and I’ll have a word with the constable. I don’t mind you two going in and searching, but I don’t want him thinking that it’s therefore all right to let anyone else in. But while you’re looking for your plans, you could do me a favor and search again for anything that might point to the murderer.”

Two minutes later, Sebastian followed Antonia into the study and closed the door on the interested constable. Antonia halted in the middle of the room. Her gaze had gone to the desk, and there it remained.