As the butler left, Thel put his hands on her shoulders. Only then did she realize her hands were shaking.
“I’m overreacting,” she said.
The constable probably wanted to record her statement regarding the man who had attacked her at the ball. She’d read enough detective novels to know the police always questioned the victim first, while the incident was fresh in their mind. The longer one waited to interrogate a witness, the more likely their fears were to transform meaningless details into nefarious portents. A slight rustle in the trees became a sign of a pursuer approaching, the earthy smell of moss became an odor of decay. The click of a lock engaging became the fall of a hammer in a pistol, pressed against the back of her head.
She shuddered. It had taken months of introspection to separate fact from fiction in her own memories and silence the voice in her mind that insisted she should have fought harder or screamed louder.
“I could send him away,” Thel said.
She stepped closer and allowed him to wrap her in his arms. The strength of his embrace chased the ghosts of her past away and allowed her to think clearly once again. She could not retreat from the constable. It would make her look guilty.
She gathered the shreds of her control and lifted her chin. “I’ll talk to him.”
###
Olivia breathed in the gentle scent of mint rising from the delicate, porcelain cup, then took a sip. The hot liquid soothed the inside of her cheeks, sore from constant chewing. The constable sat across from them, holding a matching cup in both hands. He wore a domed hat and a brown uniform, with a black stick and a whistle hanging from his leather belt. He was a young man, hardly older than Constance, and his face bristled with the beginning of a beard.
“I apologize again,” the man, who had identified himself as Mr. Daniel Smith, said. He drank from the teacup and then picked up a scone and bit into it, scattering crumbs onto his uniform and the floor. “Procedure, you understand.”
“Of course,” Olivia said automatically, even as she wondered why Mr. Smith was not behaving the way the detectives in her stories did. He was far too nice, given the crime. Perhaps Constance’s attacker had confessed, and Mr. Smith had been sent to deliver the good news.
The constable withdrew a leatherbound pad, flipped it open, then looked at her. “What is your relationship with your attacker, Lady Allen?”
Relationship?
That was an odd way of putting it.
“I had never met him before tonight,” she said.
Mr. Smith plucked a pencil from his pocket and scribbled something down. “You confess to meeting him tonight?”
She didn’t like the way he’d phrased that. Judging from Thel’s scowl, he felt the same.
The interrogation, if that was what it was, was not proceeding the way she’d expected. Tricking a suspect into confessing was a common tactic but was usually prefaced by far more probing questions.
“He was speaking to Lord Lowell’s daughter,” she said. “When I approached, he quickly departed. I chased after and upon catching up to him, the man assaulted me.”
Mr. Smith held up a hand. “Lady Allen, I believe we are referring to different matters. This man who assaulted you tonight, is he the same person who has accused you of murder?”
Her mouth went dry. “What?”
Suddenly, she understood. He had been trying to lull her into a false sense of security before dropping the revelation to gauge her reaction.
He’d succeeded.
“Mr. Smith, why are you here?” Thel asked. “Lady Allen’s attacker is already on his way to jail. There is no doubt of his guilt.”
The constable closed his book. “My lord, this does not concern you. I am here to investigate the claims presented against Lady Allen regarding the death of the previous Earl of Allen.”
“Preposterous,” Thel said before she shot him a warning glance.
“I’m afraid you are wasting your time, Mr. Smith,” she said. “My husband died of consumption.”
The constable narrowed his eyes. “A witness has come forward who says otherwise.”
A cold bead of sweat went down her spine. That was impossible. No one else had been in the room when the earl had passed. She had seen to that herself.
Thel clasped his hands between his knees. “Have you considered this witness is only interested in the attention an investigation will stir up?”
