“My servants must be above reproach,” his grace said, “my daughter’s governess, in particular. Is there any possibility that the jewels might have been planted on her?”
“But who would have a motive for doing such a thing?” Lord Brocklehurst asked.
The duke rubbed his chin. “I see your point,” he said. “But Miss Bradshaw herself had a motive, of course. You had refused to allow her to marry the local curate, I believe, and she was not to come into her fortune for at least another two years. She was eloping presumably without a penny to her name.”
“Your source is well-informed,” Lord Brocklehurst said.
“Yes,” his grace agreed. “My sources usually are if I pay them any heed. Tell me about that death. Was it murder?”
“She was threatening to kill me,” Lord Brocklehurst said. “She was beside herself with anger. Both my valet and I were concerned for her. He tried to prevent her from hurting herself, but she pushed him and killed him. He would not have fallen alone. I believe her action constitutes murder.”
“There is no chance that she misunderstood?” his grace asked. “She was, I believe, alone in the house with you, apart from the servants. In that particular room she was alone with two men. Could she have believed that you meant her mischief?”
Lord Brocklehurst laughed. “Isabella has lived as one of my family since she was a child,” he said. “She is like a daughter to my mother, like a sister to me. Except that she has come to mean more than a sister could. She has been aware of my regard for her for a long time and aware of my hope that she would be my bride. There was no chance of a misunderstanding. Unfortunately I am her guardian and had been forced on that day to the painful task of thwarting her will when it would have led her to unhappiness.”
“I see,” the duke said. “If she threatened to kill you, then, it would seem that the killing was premeditated, even though in the event she killed the wrong man. Yes, murder it is. You are quite right. A capital offense. Miss Bradshaw, it seems, is destined to hang.”
Lord Brocklehurst took a sip of his drink and said nothing.
“You came here, presumably, to take her away to prison where she belongs,” his grace said. “But one thing puzzles me. If she is a murderer and therefore a dangerous criminal, why did you not apprehend her as soon as you arrived, or at least take me aside to warn me of what a desperate fugitive I was harboring?”
Lord Brocklehurst set his drink down carefully on the table beside him. “I came as your brother’s guest,” he said. “There were other guests in residence. Naturally, Ridgeway, I did not wish to alarm everyone. I was hoping to take her away without any fuss or scandal at all.”
“And in the meantime,” his grace said, “she might have murdered my daughter and killed us all in our beds.”
“I do not believe she is deranged,” Lord Brocklehurst said.
“Only backed into a corner,” his grace said, “knowing that you have found her and are merely biding your time. From my experience of hunting, Brocklehurst, I would have to say that a cornered animal is the most dangerous animal. Of course, you must really believe what you say. You must consider Miss Bradshaw a great deal less than dangerous if you are prepared to marry her despite all. Despite the fact that she threatened your life and then killed your valet.”
“I have never had any intention of marrying her,” Lord Brocklehurst said. “At least not since she has revealed herself for what she is.”
The duke frowned. “Pardon me,” he said. “Did I mishear you a few minutes ago?”
“I did not quite know what you knew or had discovered,” Lord Brocklehurst said. “I thought it wise to agree with what you said until I knew what exactly you were trying to say to me. But how could I seriously consider marriage with a woman who would steal from my own mother and kill my man because she was in a passion with me?”
“How could you, indeed?” the duke said. “But do you not think a judge would consider the events of the past days and your admission of a few minutes ago rather strange, Brocklehurst? Do you not think that he might believe you have been offering Miss Bradshaw a deal—a change in your testimony in exchange for her favors?”
Lord Brocklehurst was on his feet. “That is a damnable suggestion, Ridgeway,” he said. “When I tell the facts as they were, no judge or jury would hesitate to convict her.”
“You will watch the hanging, of course,” his grace said. “Will you enjoy watching the noose being slipped over her head and tightened beneath her ear? Will you enjoy seeing her take the final drop?”