Penance for the Dead

Penance for the Dead A BOW STREET DUCHESS MYSTERY BOOK FOUR CARA DEVLIN Copyright © 2023 by Cara Devlin All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Names and characters are products of the author’s imagination. Paperback ISBN: 979-8987612569 Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 About the Author Also by Cara Devlin Chapter One March 1820 Saturday Night * * * The stale, stuffy air inside Lady Reed’s ballroom reeked of floral perfume, cologne, and dank under notes of sweat. Audrey fluttered her silk fan in rapid beats in front of her face, attempting to disburse the overpowering scents. Outside, winter clung on with freezing temperatures and icy gales, and while she didn’t particularly care for the blustery cold, shed would have happily leaped into a snow drift right then if it meant escaping the ballroom—and the presence of Lady Minerva Dutton. The dowager countess had been valiantly attempting to corner Audrey and Philip, the Duke and Duchess of Fournier, and Philip’s younger sister, Lady Cassandra, ever since the three of them arrived at the soiree. Knowing the older woman’s penchant for gossip and for making thinly veiled cuts, Audrey had tucked Cassie close to her side and weaved between guests to evade her. Cassie had only returned to London a few weeks ago. She’d spent the last several months in Sweden with some of Philip’s trusted friends—Mr. and Mrs. Olsson, one of Philip’s former Cambridge professors and his wife, who had moved back to Stockholm. They had graciously taken in Cassie when she’d found herself in a dire situation last summer. Unwed and with child, she had needed a place to have her baby, far away from the eyes and ears of polite society. Should anyone learn of her predicament, she would have been thoroughly ruined. Unfortunately, Lady Dutton was as keen as a hawk when it came to spotting scandals, and Cassie’s absence had sparked the countess’s interest. Though the soiree was something of a crush, and she’d successfully eluded Lady Dutton for the past half hour, Audrey’s luck ran out at the punch table. For the last several minutes, the countess had not relinquished her hold. “But enough about this party’s ill-advised décor,” she trilled after commenting at length on Lady Reed’s decision to outfit the four corners of the ballroom to reflect the four seasons. “My dear Lady Cassandra, I am still waiting to hear how your aunt is faring.” Cassie, who slipped a little closer to her elder brother, gave no reply. She seemed to freeze under the woman’s scrutiny. Philip had sipped his punch slowly during the woman’s tiresome monologue on proper ballroom décor, his expression impassive. Now, he cleared his throat. “Our aunt has made a full recovery, thank you for inquiring,” he said. Cassie had, allegedly, forgone the Little Season last fall to remain in Scotland with her ailing great aunt. Lady Dutton flashed a grin. “I’m so relieved to hear as much, Your Grace. Tell me, Lady Cassandra, did you have any opportunity to socialize while you were there? I recall Lord Hartford saying he and his family were in Edinburgh for Michaelmas. Did you not see them?” Audrey took a sip of her punch and met Philip’s glance. By appearances alone, Cassie did not look any different than she had in the summer. However, there was a seriousness to her now that had not been present before. The old Cassie would have waved a hand through the air and spun some excuse with a light laugh and clever remark. This new Cassie looked as dismissive and sour as Philip. “No,” she answered sharply. Lady Dutton’s forehead wrinkled above arching brows. Audrey smiled, though the expression was wooden. “The duke’s aunt resides outside Glasgow. It’s rather rustic and out of the way.” “I see,” Lady Dutton said. Audrey only hoped the woman did not see. Only family knew the truth; it had been impossible to keep it from Philip’s brother Michael, Lord Herrick, and his wife, Genie. Genie would undoubtedly write letters to Cassie in Scotland, to which Aunt Hestia would reply with the truth—that she was not there. And if any of Cassie’s friends wrote to her, Aunt Hestia needed to know to redirect the letters to Sweden. Their dour great aunt had been scandalized, but she’d agreed to protect the family name. Michael had blustered and threatened to kill Lord Renfry, the blackguard who’d seduced and abandoned his sister, but then, like Philip had, he’d grudgingly agreed that keeping the truth from Renfry would benefit them all. The man had stooped to seducing his own stepmothers, the Earl of Bainbury’s second and third wives, and neither Philip nor Michael wished for their beloved sister to be married to such an ingrate. Tobias, their youngest sibling still at Cambridge, was the only one who did not know the truth. Audrey snapped her fan shut. “It is quite a change of pace being back in town after so long in the country,” she said, attempting to formulate a reason for her sister-in-law’s sullen attitude. “Cassie does so enjoy the fresh air.” Cassie forced an anemic response. “Yes, it is quite overwhelming here.” Audrey’s chest tightened with sympathy. Cassie had not said much about the birth of her daughter, or of handing her newborn over to Mrs. Olsson, who’d found a loving home for the child, but she was clearly heartbroken. And seeing Genie and Michael’s new baby, George, had likely been