It also did not escape her consideration that their enemy could be amongst those who’d issued an invitation. Rather than deterring her, that possibility inspired her. The invitations might have provided the perfect means to get to know some of her father’s prior acquaintances.
“Do you even know who half of these people are?” Frederick asked.
“I recognize a few of the names, yes. But I’m not sure how to determine which invitations to accept and which to reject. As I have no chaperone, my options might be limited.”
Frederick grimaced. “You’re hardly a schoolgirl. Is a chaperone really necessary?”
“In most circumstances, yes.” She smirked. “Unless, you’d like your sister to cultivate a reputation for scandalous behavior.”
“I’d like to see that.”
Leave it to Hale to walk in just as she said something a bit outrageous. He strode boldly into the room, looking fresh and handsome, as though he’d just come from his bath.
“Morning, Freddie,” he said jovially before settling his sharp gaze on Katherine. “Morning, dove.” Then he winked.
“It would seem my sister made an impression during your drive through the park yesterday,” Frederick offered with a gesture toward the invitations. “London has taken notice.”
“An understatement,” Hale replied as he tossed a copy of the Times onto the table in front of Katherine. It had been folded open to the gossip pages.
Though wary of what it might read, she picked it up anyway and scanned through the short passage Hale had circled with charcoal.
A curious vision passed through the park yesterday, causing several gentlemen to stir with avid interest. All of London wonders...shall we be graced with another appearance of the lovely Lady K, daughter of a recluse and sister to a young duke?
Katherine tossed the paper back onto the table only to have Frederick eagerly swipe it up. “Dramatic nonsense,” she muttered.
Hale took a seat across from her, leaning back with his legs spread beneath the table and his hands folded over his trim belly. The look he gave her was arrogant and confident.
She gave him a narrow-eyed glare in response, which had him chuckling softly as heat flooded her core.
“Is this a good thing or a bad thing?” Frederick asked with a slight frown.
“I’d say it sends a message to your enemy that the rules have changed,” Hale answered smugly.
“You speak as if this is a game, Mr. Hale.”
Frederick turned to her with a tilt of his head. “But it’s a bit like chess, isn’t it, Kit? Thinking several moves ahead. Employing manipulation and strategy to back your opponent into a corner.”
If thinking of it in such a way kept her brother from being fearful, perhaps she shouldn’t discourage it. She offered a smile. “I see your point. Unfortunately, I believe the next move is his.”
“We’re ready,” Hale assured.
Though she was starting to believe him, it didn’t prevent the cold sense of unease from settling into her bones.
“Well, I’ve got a project I’m anxious to return to,” Frederick said as he rose from the table.
“Are you still working on a new maze?”
“I’ve finished that actually and started on something new.”
“Oh? What’s that?”
Her brother’s expression turned a bit sly. “I’d rather not say quite yet, but I’ll show you once I’m a bit further along.”
Katherine smiled. “I look forward to it.”
When Hale didn’t immediately rise and follow her brother from the room, she hoped it was because he had some news about the man from the park. Waiting until she was assured Frederick was out of hearing distance, she quietly met Hale’s unabashed stare. Green eyes sharp and glinting, mouth softly curved though not quite smiling.
“I assume you have something to share with me?” she finally asked after a few moments.
“That I do.”
She huffed a breath of annoyance. “And? Did you discover the identity of the man from the park?”
“I did, but you should prepare for a bit of a shock.”
She rolled her eyes. “Just tell me.”
“He’s the Marquess of Warfield.”
“No, he’s not.” She frowned. “Warfield is in his seventies. He couldn’t possibly be the same man we saw in the park.”
Hale smiled. “He wasn’t.”
Was he intentionally trying to irritate her? “You are making no sense.”
“After my man followed him to his residence, we discovered the address is that of the Marquess of Warfield. I checked in with my investigator, who advised that he’d uncovered some rather interesting news about your great-uncle.”
Her irritation slid away to be replaced by a wary curiosity. “Go on, Mr. Hale.”
“Mason.”
“What?”
He tipped his head toward her. “No need to be so formal. Not when it’s just the two of us.”
Her chin lifted stubbornly. “I’ll start calling you Mason when you stop calling me duchess.”
He chuckled. “Fair enough.”
“Now, will you tell me what you learned or not?”
“The marquess—or at least the man you think of as such—died in a Venetian bawdy house a few months ago. The titled passed to his estranged son.”
“A son?” A strange sense of dread passed through Katherine as she uttered the words. After rising to her feet, she strode to the window. “I had no idea he even had a son.”
“Not many people do. Apparently, he was the result of a scandalous relationship between the prior marquess and a woman of the servant class. Though the old marquess married her to make the child legitimate since he was already aging and had no prior heirs, mother and child were hidden away to be essentially forgotten by society.”
Mason stepped up beside her. “Apparently, the new marquess has claimed his inheritance and has been in London for several weeks.”
“About the same time as the first kidnapping,” she suggested thoughtfully.
Hale nodded. “He has proper motive and the timing is rather convenient.”
It was a significant discovery and put the new Warfield right at the top of her list of possible culprits.
Chapter Twenty
A few nights later, long after the house had
