Page 5 of A Season for Christmas

“It is that,” Lily murmured. She shook her head, then looked at Samuel. “There is very little information coming out of Clarence, in part because there is very little family there, and Clarence’s grandmother is not the social sort. She has very few friends she has any kind of communication with. His father was more sociable, though the only reportsI can get is that there was not any great affection between father and son.”

Watching Samuel’s face as the ladies discussed the possibility of the Duke of Clarence being involved in his own father’s death was highly entertaining, despite the serious subject matter. It was also a revelation for her. As the discussion went round, it was clear all the ladies were a part of the investigation.

Why she was being trusted with all this information was unclear. She held herself quietly in the background rather than break their consciousness.

“You know, that’s a good point about his grandmother,” Mary said, tapping her finger against her lips. She and Rex, her husband and the Marquess of Hartford, held themselves slightly apart from the others rather than crowding around the map. “The Dowager Duchess likely has more information than her grandson since she was living on the estate with the previous duke… but will she speak with Mr. North of her knowledge?”

Everyone in the room looked at Samuel.

“Ah… well, I’ve never met her.” He spread his hands out in front of him. “My friendship was always with Gregory, and this will be my first time visiting his home.”

“Hmm.” Captain Browne frowned and glanced at the marquess, who sighed.

“We cannot just send a lady in to talk to her without invitation,” the marquess said. “I have never met her either. It’s possible my mother might have, but I can hardly claim a connection based on a possibility.”

Evie turned to Samuel. “Could you bring a lady as a guest?”

Unexpected jealousy ripped through Catherine at the idea of Samuel bringing a woman with him to Clarence forChristmas, so hot and fierce that it nearly took her breath away. She stiffened, freezing in place, the skin on her face hardening like a mask to keep her emotions from showing.

There was a roaring in her ears as she struggled to control herself, so loud she almost did not hear Samuel’s response—and when she did, she froze for another reason altogether.

“I could bring Catherine.” For the first time, he met her gaze across the table.

Everyone else turned to look at her as well, but the only person she saw was him.

3

Catherine

Catherine blinked, flushing as she suddenly became the center of attention. She’d been hanging back, watching and listening, but now all the focus was on her, and she had no idea what to do with it. She’d been listening as quietly as she could, taking in her surroundings and the shelves and shelves of books around her. The room was large but comfortable, the shelves well-stocked, warmed from the fireplace, and she’d been lulled into a sense of safety by both the room and the lack of attention on her.

“I…” She blinked again, shaking her head, her hands flicking at her skirts as if she could flick away the many gazes now burning holes into her. “I do not even know what is going on.”

“Ah.” Diana coughed delicately. “Yes, I do believe we skipped a step, did we not?” She gave Catherine an apologetic smile. “You felt so much a part of things, I forgot you were not, and I believe the others did as well.”

“The marquess is the former spymaster to the Crown,” Priscilla said, reaching out to take Catherine’s hand with anapologetic smile. Catherine met her fingertips, allowing Priscilla to give them a supportive squeeze before they both dropped their hands. “Evie and Anthony have taken over from him—mostly—since he was injured last year.”

“I… oh.” The information clicked into place, like tumblers in a lock, as so much became very suddenly clear to her.

“Last year, we also foiled a plot against the Crown and unearthed a traitor.” Priscilla smiled. “It was rather exciting.”

“And now we are investigating the tragedy of the dukes,” Evie interjected, tapping her finger against the map right next to the marker for Clarence. “The Crown wants answers, and we are going to do our best to find them. At the moment, we do not think this year’s events have anything to do with last year’s. There seems to be no Russian involvement in their deaths, whether it was deliberate or by misadventure. At least, no connection we’ve been able to find so far.”

“But we have not been able to fully reach a conclusion, either,” Captain Browne said, taking over where his wife left off. “So far, we have not found any evidence that any of the heirs are responsible, but there are a few like Clarence who we have not been able to mark off the list, either.”

“And with so many victims, there is a myriad of suspects other than their heirs.” Evie’s expression was a study in frustration as she scowled at no one in particular. “We do not even know if all of them were the target, some of them, or just one of them, and the rest a cover.”

“Or it could still have been an accident, though I admit that’s looking less likely,” Lily said, brushing a strand of dark hair back from her face as she sighed. “But until we canproveotherwise...”

“Clarence has been reclusive, which is not at all like him,” the marquess said. “That is why we need Samuel’s help. Montagu has also been difficult to pin down, especially as he has no close family to help us achieve access, and Hereford has been avoiding everything and everyone.”

“Though his mother has been bemoaning his lack of support to everyone who will listen,” Mary murmured.

“He’s likely recently discovered that he’s out of money,” Catherine offered up, causing everyone to turn toward her again. At least this time the focus was not so much on her as on the information she had. “The previous duke did not have a head for money.”

Something she knew because, for a while, Hereford had wanted to pay her for her services. Catherine had turned him down. She indulged her desires for her own satisfaction, not for money. There were men who enjoyed spending vast sums of money at the behest of their chosen lady, allowing her to dominate him financially rather than physically, but that had never been Catherine’s preference. Her initial refusal had not stopped him from sending her elaborate and expensive gifts to try to entice her to change her mind. Eventually, he’d happened upon Mrs. Rebecca James, who had been all too happy to accept his financial generosity.

Though she did not run in quite the same circles as Mrs. James, Catherine did hear about how eagerly the duke had emptied his coffers for her, on top of his own expenses, as well as indulging in quite a bit of gambling. From what she knew, he’d spent and spent and spent his way directly to the creditors. Rather rough ones, as the more ethical ones had closed their doors to him.

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