He brought the glass up to his lips but stopped himself from drinking. He needed a clear head to investigate Lord Chester’s death. And no amount of brandy would help him.
As he lowered the glass to the table, he saw Caleb approach him with a determined stride. “Here you are,” he said.
“How did you find me?” Roswell asked.
Caleb pulled out a chair at the table. “I spoke to Octavia and she said you had a rough night last night with your mother. It wasn’t hard to deduce that you would be here, drinking away your woes,” he said.
“I’m afraid it isn’t working,” he admitted.
“Good, because we have something important that we need to discuss.”
Roswell pushed the drink away from him. “What is it?”
Caleb leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Did you hear that Lord Chester is dead?”
“I did,” Roswell replied. “Kendrick paid me a visit last night and informed me of it.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me?”
“I was planning on it, but I got distracted,” Roswell said.
Caleb frowned. “That doesn’t sound like you.”
His friend had a point. He had let his mother’s deteriorating health distract him and that could have dire consequences. “You are right,” he admitted.
“I am not without sympathy,” Caleb started, “and I can only imagine how hard it is on you to deal with your mother’s condition.”
“Regardless, we have a job to do and we must see it through,” Roswell said.
“What did Kendrick say about Lord Chester’s death?”
Roswell’s eyes roamed over the empty hall, ensuring their conversation would remain private, before saying, “He was murdered by hemlock, and Kendrick has no leads that we can go on either.”
Caleb hesitated and his next words sounded reluctant. “I may have a lead.”
“You do?”
His friend ran a hand through his hair before saying, “Anette informed me that after my father found out about Lord Chester’s death, she found him burning papers in the fire.”
“That could have just been a coincidence.”
“Perhaps, but it was unusual for my father,” Caleb said. “And, it is safe to say, I think we both don’t believe in coincidences.”
Roswell was forced to admit that Caleb did have a point. “Where is your father now?”
“At the House of Lords.”
He didn’t want to believe that Caleb’s father was involved with Lord Chester, but they couldn’t rule him out until they investigated him. “Shall we search his office while he is gone?”
Caleb nodded. “That is what I was thinking, as well.”
They were about to rise when they saw Lord Kendal approaching them. He had a commanding presence about him, but his eyes were weary.
“Gentlemen,” Lord Kendal greeted them. “I am surprised to see you both at White’s at such an early hour.”
“I needed a quiet place to think,” Roswell admitted.
Caleb smirked. “And I just came to ruin Roswell’s solitude.”
