Epilogue

"Hatred, in the course of time, kills the unhappy wretch who delights in nursing it in his bosom."

Giacomo Casanova

The men gathered in the earl's study, waiting for the duke, who had not yet made an appearance. The afternoon was warm, and the windows and doors stood open to facilitate a draught through the room. Julius checked his timepiece with impatience. He wished to join Audrey upstairs, but they needed to bring this investigation to a conclusion.

The duke was to come by after the Home Office, having heard the Home Secretary's thoughts on the information he was presenting about the baron's murder. Julius moved to stand in the breeze from one of the windows, leaning an arm against the window frame.

A tap at the door had all the men turning their heads to see if the duke had arrived, only to find a footman. The servant hurried in to speak with Lord Stirling in a low voice, before exiting. Soon he returned with a familiar figure accompanying him.

"Mr. Briggs," announced the footman, bowing in departure.

Brendan and Saunton had risen to their feet with surprised expressions. "Briggs!"

The runner was the first authority to have been summoned on the morning Brendan had found the baron lying dead in his study weeks ago. The investigator was a wiry man in his forties, with a crumpled overcoat, a beaten-up hat he was carrying under his arm, and scuffed leather shoes that had seen better days. But the true evidence of the risks his occupation posed was the scar over one of his beetling brows, which gave his lean face a menacing appearance.

Briggs had believed Brendan was innocent from the first meeting, and once he had been cleared, Brendan had hired the runner to head a private investigation into the murder. Julius had not seen the runner since that time because the runners had been occupied with the hunt for information.

"Milords, Lady Filminster said I would find you here and that I ought not hesitate to join you."

"Have you news?"

Julius could hear the tension in Brendan's voice. The runners had been searching parish records across the country to find a record of one of the Peters marrying a woman from the Continent.

Briggs nodded, stroking his mustache to look about in question.

Brendan grimaced. "Lord Stirling, this is the runner who is heading the investigation."

Briggs turned toward him to give a bow, but Julius's father waved a hand. "Please do not concern yourself with formalities. Let us hear what Briggs has to say."

The runner gave a nod. "We found something. When we received word that Simon Scott was likely the killer, we concentrated our efforts on the parishes near the Blackwood family estate, where we found a record of a Peter Scott marrying a—" Briggs pulled out a notebook and consulted it. "—Bianca Romano. They wed in 1794. We believe she might have been from Florence, where Peter Scott spent considerable time."

Brendan appeared shocked, sinking back into his seat. "It is true, then. Simon Scott murdered my … father?"

Julius caught the glimpse toward Lord Stirling and the hesitation in his question. Brendan had recollected that the earl was unaware of the peculiarities of Brendan's parentage.

Briggs gave a noncommittal shrug. "That is how it appears."

Saunton remained standing. "Any clues why the family is unaware of the nephew who is the true heir to Lord Blackwood?"

"What we could gather from speaking with some locals was that Peter Scott and his father had a terrible falling out when the son refused a commission in the army. It is not clear that anyone informed the late Lord Blackwood that his estranged son had married, and it appears Peter Scott left the area—possibly the country—soon after. Now that we have an accurate window of time, it will be easier to locate more information."

Julius whistled through his teeth, amazed to confirm they had narrowed down to one suspect after expending so much time and energy. Lady Filminster had been brutalized, three men forced to marry, and Simon Scott went about his day with the air of one who was carefree. It was beyond the pale, what the scoundrel had put them all through.

"I propose we confront the fiend with his crimes," Julius announced, faces swiveling in his direction as they contemplated his announcement. "It will end the risk to our families when there is no longer a secret to conceal."

Meet Simon Scott and his talented neighbor, Madeline Bigsby, in the next chapter of Inconvenient Scandals, The Trouble With Titles.

She has loved him for years. In his darkest hour, she is determined to save him by uncovering the real killer.