Georgia and Hadley Featherstonehaugh walked up and joined the circle. On being informed by Claire Savage of the topic under discussion, Georgia said, “Hadley and I were just talking about the very same issue with Mrs. Parrish and Cecilia. Consider—if one is at a house party at which the host dies, we all know what we would do.”
“We’d pay our respects and leave the next morning,” Hadley put in.
“Exactly,” Georgia said. “But Ennis didn’t just die, he was murdered, and although we all feel as if we should leave, I gather Sir Humphrey and the inspector are adamant we must remain until the murderer is caught, or at least until the day the house party was supposed to end.”
“Cecilia, Mrs. McGibbin, and Mrs. Parrish have been discussing what’s best to be done,” Hadley revealed. “I gather Cecilia is thinking of making an announcement at dinner.”
“Good,” Claire said. “It’s the uncertainty of not knowing if one is doing the right thing that’s so discombobulating.”
The conversation swung to what sort of group outings, if any, might be acceptable, both socially and to the inspector.
Sebastian bent his head toward Antonia’s and murmured, “Stroll with me. We need to discuss strategy.”
She glanced at him, curious but wary. He made sure no hint of any predatory smile showed as he ignored her wariness and offered his arm. She hesitated for a second, then with a tiny inclination of her head, she set her hand on his sleeve. Glancing at the others, she murmured an excuse, and together, they stepped away from the circle.
Slowly strolling across the room, he said, “Before we get to strategy, apropos of the Featherstonehaughs’ recent remarks, earlier, you told me Cecilia had wanted to invite you and your friends to this event. I assumed that some friendship with Cecilia was involved, but that doesn’t appear to be the case.”
“No.” Antonia paused, then went on, “As I understand it, Cecilia and Ennis were expecting the Parrishes and the McGibbins and had arranged for their visit to coincide with Connell’s stay and Cecilia’s annual house party. From what I’ve now gathered, I suspect Cecilia wanted to…underscore her and Ennis’s position in English society for their visitors. Cecilia and Georgia are connected, albeit distantly, and it’s well known the four of us—me, Claire, Melissa, and Georgia—are old friends and often pay visits together. And as our group consists of the daughter of an earl, the daughters of two viscounts, and the granddaughter of a duke now married to the grandson of an earl, we’re seen as highly desirable guests. Precisely the sort of guests Cecilia wished to flaunt.”
He’d steered her to a spot sufficiently distant from the other guests to be able to converse without being overheard. As he drew Antonia to a halt and shifted to face her, she lightly shrugged. “So Cecilia invited us, and Georgia’s mother urged Georgia to help Cecilia out, and as the rest of us had nothing else on, we all accepted and here we are.” She raised her eyes to his and cynically arched a brow. “So what about our strategy?”
He met her gaze. “There’s nothing more we can do to advance our search for the gunpowder tonight. I suggest that instead, we should concentrate on seeing if we can narrow the candidates for the role of murderer.”
She agreed with a dip of her lashes and a graceful inclination of her head. Calmly, she surveyed the gentlemen scattered about the room. “The generally accepted avenue to learning more about a gentleman than he intends to reveal is to encourage him to talk about himself, about his life.”
He felt his brows rise. “It is?”
She nodded. “Flattery will get you even further with men than it will with women. Given the right encouragement, men will prattle away quite happily.”
“I feel as if I’m seeing the ladies of the ton from an entirely new angle.”
Her lips curved cynically. “With whom would you suggest we start?”
He glanced around. “Parrish and McGibbin. I don’t see either as the murderer, but I’m unclear as to what their relationships with Ennis were based on—how closely were their business dealings intertwined?”
She nodded. “Very well. Let’s see what we can learn.”
Intrigued, and interested in observing her approach in action, as he led her to where the two older gentlemen were standing before the fireplace, he refrained from distracting her.
Antonia was relieved that Sebastian’s focus on identifying the murderer had trumped his rakish inclinations. She’d never been the target of his roving eye—never been his prey—for which she gave thanks. At least that was what she told herself.