Chapter Four #2
Before her husband could respond, Mary addressed the situation.
“You are entitled to your opinions, of course, Your Grace. However, the inspector and I are here to talk about the murder of your son-in-law. Regardless of who asks you a question, we both expect you to answer them in a calm and polite manner. Surely you wish us to find out who killed Mr. Corbett.”
“Since you are a woman, I shall look past that error. My son-in-law wasn’t murdered. He took himself off this mortal coil.”
“What?” Bright’s gaze narrowed.
The duke nodded. “I was told he was killed with his own pistol. Clearly, suicide.”
“Who the devil told you that?” Her husband crossed his arms at his chest. “That was privileged information between Bow Street and me.”
“I am a duke.” As if that explained everything.
“Perhaps we can move back to the task at hand?” As she spoke, Mary tugged a small, leatherbound notebook and a pencil from her reticule. “Shall we begin the interview?”
A crooked half-grin took possession of Bright’s lips, but he nodded. “Of course.” Then he rested his attention on the duke. “Please make yourself comfortable, Your Grace. This shouldn’t take long.”
“I certainly hope not. While it’s a difficult time for my family, everyone must die at some point. Life moves on.” With a huff, the duke took up residence in a comfortable looking winged-back chair done in crushed blue velvet with gilt-painted legs.
“Yes, well, everyone grieves differently,” Bright said in a low voice while he consulted his own notebook. “How long had Mr. Corbett been married to your daughter?”
“Perhaps two years? I have lost track. One tends to do that with so many offspring.”
Bright nodded. “How did he get on with his wife?”
“Fair enough. My daughter is expecting her first child sometime after the New Year.”
“After talking with one of his friends, it has been determined he loved his wife to distraction, and that she returned those feelings.” Mary scribbled a few notes since the duke declined to comment.
“Was Mr. Corbett accepted within the family fold? From everything you’ve said and what we’ve managed to glean doing research, your family is quite extensive.
It is sometimes difficult for an outsider to come into all of that. ”
“Are you saying my family isn’t welcoming, Mrs. Bright?” Again, that intense gray gaze landed on her.
Keeping what Henry had said in her mind, she shook her head. “I am not, but one does wonder, family being what it is the world over.”
The duke shifted position on the chair. “Let’s just say he got on with half of his wife’s siblings. But then, his family isn’t as high in the beau monde as mine.”
As if that mattered one whit. Mr. Corbett was the third son of a viscount, and that particular man wasn’t that well off, if one listened to rumors.
“Mr. Corbett loved his wife, and I’ll wager he was eagerly looking forward to the arrival of his first child.
That carried a bit of anxiety about the future, which would be complicated if there were family issues. ” One of her eyebrows rose.
Boddingford snorted. “He should have made better decisions before he married my daughter.”
“The heart wants what it wants.” Again, she jotted a note on the page. “Can you think of a reason why someone would have wanted Mr. Corbett dead?”
“Outside of his shameful actions of taking a position at a bank?”
Bright cleared his throat. “He needed to make a living, to take care of his wife and child.”
The duke scoffed. “It’s embarrassing!” He surged upright from the chair.
“A son-in-law of mine dirtying his hands with work!” When his eyes narrowed, Mary bit the inside of her cheek to keep from saying something.
“My daughter deserved a man better than him, but she was adamant about marrying him, said she loved him, so what could I do?”
Ah, it didn’t take long for the duke to show his real self.
Slowly, she wrote a thought in her notebook, but she didn’t look at him.
“At least Mr. Corbett took the initiative. He wasn’t relying on his father’s coin, and he certainly wasn’t trying to get by in life hanging onto his father’s title. That is something to be proud of.”
“Bah. His father is nearly in dun territory.”
One of Bright’s eyebrows rose. “How do you know that?”
“He asked me for a loan shortly after his son wed my daughter, but that has no bearing here.” The duke waved off her comments.
“At least Anthony had the decency to end his own life. Obviously, he knew he wasn’t a good fit, and he probably also knew that his father’s misfortune would taint his son’s name eventually. ”
“Be that as it may, perhaps you could answer the question, Your Grace?” Mary asked, and this time she rested her gaze on the man.
“Do you know who would have wanted Mr. Corbett dead, outside of you because he’d possibly put an alleged stain on your family’s reputation?
” It was outside of enough to hint at he might have had anything to do with the death when they had no proof, but she’d had enough of this man’s bluster.
“Don’t think to accuse me, Mrs. Bright, or I will make the inspector’s life quite unbearable.” There was a rumble of warning in his voice that sent coils of icy fear twisting down her spine.
At that point, Gabriel drifted close to her sofa.
“Enough of that, Your Grace. She is only asking questions within the parameters of this investigation.” He softly cleared his throat.
“That being said, when I examined the body two days ago, there was no indication that Mr. Corbett had fired the pistol himself. Not to mention that he fell on his back with the weapon beneath his body. If he had chosen suicide, he would have fallen forward or to his side, and it would have been an awkward shot to position the nose of the pistol at his heart.”
She glanced up at Bright as a wave of warmth spread through her chest. Truly, the man was a hero in every sense of the word. “Thank you, Inspector.”
Mottled color rose on the duke’s neck above his collar. “This interview has concluded, and I will not have this family turned into a spectacle because of Anthony.” He strode to the door. “Do not come back.”
“We can’t do that, Your Grace.” Bright didn’t give an inch.
“Since the dead man is one of your sons-in-law, we must continue our investigation, and that means interviewing everyone in your family who had recent contact with Mr. Corbett.” He flicked his gaze to Mary. “Who is the next one on our list?”
“We should speak with Mrs. Corbett, or rather Lady Amelia. Outside of his parents, she was the closest to him and might provide insight on where we should go next.”
“Absolutely not. I forbid it.” The duke glared. “My daughter needs privacy at this time, and then she’ll need her strength to move forward, and eventually meet someone more suited who’d be willing to raise her child.”
Clearly, there was bad blood between the dead man and the duke, but why?
Bright glared back. “You were the one who asked that Bow Street find who murdered Mr. Corbett. They have engaged me to consult on the case. If you require my credentials, I would be happy to give them to you. However, Chief Inspector Morritson has enough faith in me that I’ll ferret out the killer, and I’ll do so, with or without your consent because at the end of the day, Your Grace, murder is wrong. ”
From her position on the sofa, Mary watched her husband, and all she wanted to do was thoroughly kiss him, but she tamped the urge. Instead, she turned to a fresh page in her notebook. “If you could give us your daughter’s direction, we will be on our way.”
An unexpected female interjection filled the room. “There is no need; I’m staying here for a bit. Being alone has gutted me.”
Three pairs of eyes regarded the young woman standing just inside the doorway.
“Amelia, darling, you should go lay down. It’s unseemly to discuss such things in your position,” the duke said as he went immediately to his daughter’s side.
“No, I want to do this, Papa.” She eased away from him and rested a hand on her rounded belly. “I want to find out who did this horrible thing to Anthony.” Tears sounded in her dulcet tones and a wash of them rose into her eyes, that were very much like her father’s.
Mary nodded. “We appreciate your willingness to cooperate, Lady Amelia.” She patted the sofa cushion next to hers. “Please, sit here. This won’t take much of your time, and trust me, we will not do anything to upset you.”
“If you do anything to make my daughter uncomfortable, I will have you tossed from this case, Inspector. She needs to think of the child,” the duke said as he gained the door.
With a small nod to her father, who then left the drawing room, the younger woman crossed the room.
By the time she’d settled and smoothed the skirts of her maroon day dress over her belly and legs, the duke had left them alone.
“I apologize for my father. He is trying to maintain normalcy in these dark days.”
“Of course.” Except Mary didn’t believe that for a second.
Men like the duke thought everyone beneath them, and when they didn’t bend to his will, they threw a tantrum like a spoiled two-year-old.
She regarded the woman next to her as Bright settled into a chair nearby.
The young woman’s black hair had been arranged simply into a loose chignon, and with the exception of her chin and cheekbones, she resembled her father, but in a more delicate way. “I’m so sorry for your loss, my lady.”