Page 47 of In the Midnight Hour

“The morning after he passed.”

North exchanged a look with Hypatia. “You saw it Saturday morning?”

Usher nodded. “It was in the stand in the dressing chamber. He has a half-dozen sticks.”

“Did it look different to you at all?” North asked.

“Different how?” The lines in Usher’s brow deepened.

“Dirty, perhaps? Or not as you left it?”

“Hard to say how I left it. I just drop the stick into the stand. And Sir Radnor might’ve been the one to do that. It looked the same as any other day.” The valet shrugged.

So if the Clavertons had been there in the middle of the night and used the walking stick to kill Sir Radnor, they’d cleaned it and left it behind. That would make sense if the walking stick wasn’t now missing. Had they changed their mind and taken it on Saturday?

Cleaning it didn’t support North’s theory that they’d panicked and left without taking the items they’d come for. Was the walking stick even one of those items or was it just the murder weapon?

North pushed the thoughts aside to continue questioning Usher. “What time did Sir Radnor retire on Friday night?”

“He came upstairs at half after midnight or thereabouts,” Usher replied with confidence. “I’d say he was in bed by one.”

“You helped him undress and prepare?” North asked.

“The same as every night,” the valet said proudly. “Sir Radnor disrobes in the dressing chamber with my assistance. I help him wash, then he dons his nightshirt and slippers. I help him with his dressing gown, and he goes into the bedchamber, where he uses the chamber pot before he climbs into bed. After I’m certain he’s asleep, I empty the chamber pot and then I retire.”

North found it odd that Sir Radnor would wear a dressing gown for the short distance from his dressing chamber to his bed. “How long was it before you entered the bedchamber to empty the chamber pot?”

“Anywhere between a few minutes and an hour or more, depending on how much he’s had to drink that night.”

“What about on Friday night specifically?” North wondered if they could trust any of this after what Mrs. Babcock had said but also recognized that Usher didn’t seem confused or befuddled. In fact, he spoke clearly and with apparent certainty. “We’re only asking about what happened the night he passed.”

“He didn’t go out as quick as I thought he would that night, but he was agitated. Said the evening hadn’t gone as he’d planned.” Usher glanced at Hypatia.

“Did he mention Lady Cartwright?” North asked. He didn’t like hearing that Sir Radnor was upset and hoped Hypatia wouldn’t be associated with his mood.

“Not by name, but I had the sense she had something to do with his temper.” Usher looked directly at Hypatia. “He cared for you a great deal, my lady.”

Hypatia’s brows knitted. “He never expressed that to me.”

“Sir Radnor could be reserved, but I knew him for so long and so well, that I could always tell when he became fixated on a lady of his acquaintance.”

“Fixated?” North found that slightly less disturbing than infatuated but suspected they meant the same thing. “Can you please explain?”

“I mean he was interested in courting them,” Usher clarified. “Sir Radnor wanted to marry again, of course. Lady Fieldstone passed fourteen years ago.”

“You say you could tell when he…admired a lady.” North wasn’t going to say fixated on or infatuated with. “Did that happen often?”

“A few times after he was widowed.”

“Did he never muster the courage to court any of them?”

Usher shook his head. “I think he was afraid he might lose one of them the way he lost his wife. That’s why I hoped he was finally going to try with Lady Cartwright.” He beamed at Hypatia, who did not look pleased to hear that, though she appeared to be trying to keep her features smooth.

Usher sobered and sent Hypatia a sad look. “I thought Sir Radnor was perhaps upset on Friday because he’d declared his intentions to you, and you’d refused him. I didn’t ask him, of course. Then, when you said you weren’t aware of his intentions, I realized he was probably frustrated with his lack of action once again. It’s a shame, for you would have made him an excellent wife.”

North noted the faint shudder that moved through Hypatia. “Don’t you think she’s a bit young for Sir Radnor?”

Usher shrugged again. “I only wanted to see him happy, my lord. He wanted a proper heir.”