Page 59 of Secrets of a Duke's Daughter (The Duchess's Investigative Society 1)

Ink stained Cassie’s fingers. She scowled at the offending marks and blew out a frustrated breath. She spread her notes across the writing desk and stared at them until they became a vague blur, and the scribbled writing became even more illegible. The investigation had come to a standstill. No matter how much she wrote or how many times she re-read all she had discovered, she could not fathom what to do next. Whoever had been killed that night, it was not Theodore. That’s all she knew.

Oh yes, and the company that had benefited from the will did not exist either.

None of it helped her figure out where Theodore was, though, and time ticked away for Jane. She’d received word from her just this morning that the banns were to be read soon.

“Chastity is talking about having a meeting—the five of us.” Eleanor came to stand by the desk and peered over her shoulder at the notes scattered across the desk.

Cassie grimaced. “I am likely in for a scolding.”

Eleanor fixed her with a firm look and folded her arms. “Chastity is protective of us, you know that, but she cannot scold you when you are a grown woman. Sometimes I think you are so determined to prove you are not our little sister that you forget it is not us who sees you that way but yourself.”

“I—” Cassie closed her mouth and frowned, her argument gone.

Being nearly eight years older than her Chastity had always been brazenly protective of them—not even minding being open with her threats to others.

For the most part, it amused them, but Cassie loathed the idea of needing to be protected. She had not practiced the art of investigation for nothing. She was a grown woman, and she could do this. But could it be true that none of her sisters saw her as she imagined—young, naïve, and helpless?

Very well, she was a little naïve. She had expected to crack this investigation open within days and find Jane’s brother alive and well with ease. She’d seen her sisters discover a thieving maid within mere hours. Luke made her feel naive too but that was precisely why she needed to learn from him.

“Howisthe investigation going anyway?”

Cassie rubbed the back of her neck and rolled her shoulders. “I am certain the body was not that of Theodore.” She explained the issues of the timing and the discovery of the body.

Eleanor nodded. “Have you told Jane?”

“I was just penning a reply. The poor girl is getting frantic.” Cassie waved the letter she had received that morning.

Her sister took it, scanned the contents and dropped onto the sofa. “It sounds as though Mr. Harding is forcing her hand.”

Cassie twisted on her chair. “He is keen to have her out of the way.”

“You have considered that he is behind this, have you not?”

“I was not willing to set my sights on anyone just yet—not until I had found more—but he is not the nicest of creatures.” She shrugged. “Was I wrong to ignore him?”

“It’s hard to say. Sometimes the most obvious person is indeed the culprit. Like when Felicity Morgan went missing. It was the last person she had been with—the governess. Yet no one had been willing to consider her.”

“I remember but did you not say that was because she was a woman? No one thought her capable of such a thing.”

Eleanor lifted her shoulders. “One of the benefits of our sex is no one suspects us capable of anything.”

“Not always a benefit, though.”

She smiled softly. “No, not always, but we must use what we can to our advantage.”

Cassie plucked up her copy of the will and stared at it, eyeing the section about Jane’s house. “It is true that Jane’s cousin benefited most from this, but if Theodore is truly not dead, surely his inheritance is at risk? His cousin could come back at any moment and take it all away.”

“Perhaps he is not the cleverest of men or does not have the stomach to kill.”

Cassie let her scowl deepen. “There are always desperate men willing to do anything for coin. He could have hired someone. After all, everyone assumed it was a robbery gone wrong and they’d burned the body in a bid to disguise the accident.”

“But it seems they wanted to disguise the identity.”

“Mr. Harding is not a pleasant man, but he does not strike me as reckless. When I last met him, he was exceedingly precise.” Cassie shook her head. “None of this helps me, though. What I need is to find Theodore and he was last seen at Boodle’s. No one else can account for him after that.”

“Perhaps you should speak with some of the servants working in the area. They are most likely to be up at that time of night.”

“Perhaps.”

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