Page 7 of Nature of the Crime
“I am Lord Burton, Baron of the Cinque Ports, and magistrate here,” he started off. “You are the Dowager Duchess of Fournier, I presume?”
Audrey nodded. “I am. My lord, I must inquire as to why I have been detained. The captain informed us a murder tookplace aboard the packet ship and that a note said I was to blame?”
“Not simplyblame, Your Grace. The note—left upon the body—stated that you were the perpetrator of this crime.”
She parted her lips on a soft laugh of disbelief. “That is preposterous.”
“I assure you, it is no laughing matter.” Lord Burton’s callous stare held her within its grasp. Good heavens, did he truly believe this ludicrous note?
She set her jaw and squared her shoulders. “I would like to see this note you speak of.”
With a cynical tilt of his mouth, the baron shook his head. “It has its place as evidence, Your Grace. You will see it in time. For now, I have questions for you.”
“I will not be answering any of your questions until my brother-in-law has arrived.” Michael would surely act as her counsel. And something told her that the baron would be less inclined to try and bully a duke of the realm.
“Ah yes, I take it you refer to the new Duke of Fournier. My condolences, Your Grace, on the recent passing of your husband.”
Though he said it evenly and without so much as a twitch of his facial muscles, she thought he sounded just the slightest bit mocking. But perhaps it was only her own secret awareness and knowledge about Philip that made her think so.
Cassie stepped up next to her. “At least tell us who has been killed. We have the right to know.”
He shifted his reptilian stare toward Cassie and took a prolonged moment to reply, “You are Lady Cassandra Sinclair, I take it?”
He had to have read the ship’s manifest to know that.
Audrey’s sister-in-law hitched her chin. “That is correct. My brother will be on his way here within a handful of hours.”
He dismissed her without comment, returning his attention to Audrey as he slapped his gloves into the palm of his hand. “I must ask that you remain in Dover. I will be holding an inquest as soon as can be arranged, to determine what is to be done.”
Her patience was quickly receding with this man. “You’ve not answered Lady Cassandra’s question. I, too, would like to know the name of the man I am accused of harming.”
“Killing, Your Grace.” The correction was accompanied by a mean glint in his eye. “It seems you have questions for me just as I have for you. Once your duke arrives, we shall both get our answers, shan’t we?” He stood taller and clasped his hands behind his back.
He was amusing himself with this interview, of that she was certain. She wished to snap at him, call him an arrogant toad, but that would do her little good. It might only please him more to see her come unhinged.
She smiled stiffly. “It seems we shall.”
“Hmm. Yes, well, I look forward to speaking to His Grace when he does arrive. Until then, I have arranged for you to be kept at Mrs. Plimpton’s inn on Liverpool Street.”
Kept. The single word alarmed her.
“Are these rooms appropriate for Her Grace?” Greer’s question caught the baron off guard. He peered past Audrey’s shoulder, to the lady’s maid, her expression stern. Carrigan stood next to her, his own dislike for the baron and for the treatment of Audrey thus far etched upon his equally stony glare.
“They are appropriate for any person being held under suspicion of murder.” Lord Burton all but sneered at Greer’s question. “You are quite fortunate, Your Grace, that last spring an insurgence of heathens, determined to free a dozen smugglers, destroyed the town’s only gaol. Those rooms, I assure you, would not be as comfortable as Mrs. Plimpton’s inn.”
Audrey could not believe the man’s gall! That he would have considered placing her into a prison underscored his opinion of her: that she was guilty. And by what evidence? Anote?
If Lord Burton had not been a peer himself, she would have presumed he held her ranking against her. But as he did possess a title, albeit the lowest of the peerage, she couldn’t fathom his reasoning for such immediate and baseless dislike.
“You are the fortunate one, Lord Burton.” Audrey tamed the shake of her voice caused by pent up fury. “For if the Duke of Fournier found me within the cell of a gaol, you would never escape his wrath.”
If the comment unnerved him, he didn’t show it. Instead, he only raised one slightly graying brow. “I do hope you make yourself comfortable at the inn, Your Grace.” He snapped his fingers, and theBritannia’s captain opened the door to the packet office. Two red-uniformed soldiers appeared. “Corporals, bring the ladies and the gentleman to Mrs. Plimpton’s. Do not let the dowager duchess out of your sight.”
With that, the baron turned on his heel and left.
Chapter
Four
