Page 18 of Nature of the Crime
She ignored the goading remark. Hugh did as well and turned to her. “Did he question you when he was acting as Mr. Ricci? Ask you anything about yourselves?”
She heard his unspoken meaning: had Vaillancourt asked anything aboutPhilip?
“Of course, he was very amiable,” Cassie answered for them. “He inquired about our home, our family, but he was only being courteous. Carrigan seemed to like him immensely.”
That her driver had gotten along with Mr. Ricci had put Audrey at ease. Ever watchful and cautious, Carrigan was a man of few words. His trust—and distrust—were more evident in how he looked at a person or opened a door for them. He’d seemed to treat Mr. Ricci with cordiality.
No, not Mr. Ricci.Bertrand Vaillancourt. He’d been hired by someone. To do what? Follow her? Leave her a warning note in her Paris hotel room?Intercept correspondence?She took in a sharp breath as the notion came to her. My god, for how long had this man been following her? And she’d failed to notice. Her own incompetence was humbling.
“What contact did you have with him after Rome?” the baron asked.
Audrey grimaced, her tolerance thinning. “I’ve already said: none. We did not see him after that.”
“And it was just coincidence that he boarded theBritanniaas well?” Lord Burton asked, though it was more sarcasm than a true question.
“I don’t think it is coincidence at all,” she replied anyway. “If someone hired him to follow us, it would account for his presence on the packet ship.”
“Where he was murdered,” the baron reiterated.
She tossed up her hands, overwhelmed. “Perhaps whoever hired him was upset when he had nothing of importance to share.”
“Or perhaps you did not want Vaillancourt to share what he discovered, so you silenced him.”
Michael had had enough. “How dare you malign the dowager duchess in such a manner?” he bellowed.
The baron scoffed. “If Vaillancourt was investigating her, and now he is dead, that is even more incriminating. Already, her name is the one written on that note.”
“You are being shortsighted,” Audrey said, although she was slowly coming to determine that it was willfully done. “Can you not see the possibility that the person who killed Vaillancourt was the one who wrote that note?”
He gave a vile answering grin. “Yes, I do see that possibility, Your Grace.”
Hugh eased in between her and Lord Burton. “How can you not even consider another person was involved? Now that we know Vaillancourt was a hired inquiry agent, it stands to reason the person who hired him should be suspected.”
“We know nothing of the sort,” he replied coldly. “I only haveyourword that this man is who you say he is, and forgive me, viscount, but what would you not say to protect the woman you care for?”
Stunned, Audrey pushed forward, wanting to scold the baron for accusing Hugh of being dishonest. But then she hesitated. How had he known about Hugh’s romantic feelings for her? Hugh’s hand came down gently onto her arm, as if to dissuade her from saying anything further.
“If you are satisfied, I ask that you now take your leave,” the baron continued, smugly. “We need to bring the body to the nave for the inquest.”
That he had not thought to bring it there for her viewing and instead had led her into this dark, dank crypt proved that he wished to unnerve her. It was as though he was personally affronted by her, and she could not grasp why.
They didn’t linger. The sooner Audrey could quit the baron’s presence, the better.
The guards, along with Hugh and Michael, walked them back up to the nave, then outside, to the front of the church. The skies were overcast, with gray clouds out to sea as far as the horizon. And yet, it was balmy and pleasant compared to the crypt.
“That man is odious,” Cassie said, disregarding the listening ears of their guards. She pulled her pelisse closer around her as Michael’s driver, Peters, wrapped in a thick wool great coat and scarf, opened the carriage door. “Why is he so determined? It’s almost as if he has a personal vendetta against you.”
“I have no idea why he would. I’ve never met him before now,” Audrey replied, though she felt the same way as Cassie. The baron clearly believed her guilty and now seemed determined to manipulate the evidence to support his view.
“If I recall correctly, Vaillancourt had a wife,” Hugh said. “I’ll send an express letter to Sir Gabriel before we attend the inquest. He can inform her of her husband’s death, and perhaps she knows about his last inquiry and who hired him.”
“I’ll come with you to the posting house,” Michael said. “Genie will be waiting to hear what has happened.”
As Michael handed Cassie into the carriage, Audrey touched Hugh’s hand. “Vaillancourt’s satchel looked to be under the bench,” she whispered.
Hugh stepped closer and leaned toward her ear. “I saw. Sir will be by the inn soon with something for you.”
Michael extended his hand for Audrey next, his gaze sticking on Hugh a moment. He then met Audrey’s eyes and arched a brow. She ignored the gleam of suspicion as he handed her up.
