“Have you reached any conclusions?” Levi asked, trailing Mr. Hughes up the staircase.
“Aside from that the crime was committed by a woman?” Mr. Hughes glanced over his shoulder.
Levi nodded.
“I’m confused by the evidence,” Mr. Hughes said, the corner of his mouth lifting as though he found the admission intriguing.
“How so?” Roxburghe asked when they reached the second-floor landing.
Mr. Hughes spun around. “If the culprit exited through the window, so as not to be discovered by the Duke of Warwick, where is the second set of footprints?”
“Could she have placed her feet in the same indentations?”
“Certainly.” Mr. Hughes waved his hand, dismissing Roxburghe’s question. “However, what purpose would that serve? Why walk backward through the snow and risk capture?”
Levi snapped his fingers. “You don’t think she left by the window.”
“Correct,” Mr. Hughes said, shifting his attention to Levi. “The thief hid, waiting until everyone was distracted by the theft, then strolled out the front door, their footprints mixing with those who departed earlier.”
“Then, how do we determine the culprit?” Roxburghe asked, a hint of irritation straining his voice.
“I’ll need a list of all the ladies in attendance last evening, Your Grace.” Mr. Hughes bowed, then gestured at the corridor. “If one of you would lead, I don’t know which chamber is Miss Rowe’s.”
“That one.” Levi pointed to the room beside the one he occupied the previous night.
Roxburghe leaned over and murmured, “How do you know that?”
“It’s the only chamber we didn’t search,” Levi snapped, turning on Roxburghe. “Nothing improper ever occurred between Miss Rowe and I.”
“Calm yourself, my friend.” Holding up his hands, Roxburghe backed away from Levi’s ire. “I’m not questioning Miss Rowe’s moral qualities, merely yours.”
“Of the two of us,” Levi said, advancing on Roxburghe, “you should be more concerned with managing your own principles.”
Roxburghe laughed. “According to Miss Fernsby-Webb, I have none.”
“If you’d stop trying to seduce her sister before your wedding, her opinion of you would change.”
“Why would I do that?” Roxburghe blinked several times as though confused by Levi’s argument. “I love Miss Webb.”
Mr. Hughes knocked on Miss Rowe’s door, ending their discussion. He waited a moment, then knocked a second time.
“Do you expect someone to answer?” Levi asked, crossing the hallway.
“No,” Mr. Hughes said, lowering his arm. “However, the one instance when I didn’t knock, the room was occupied.”
Shuddering, Mr. Hughes grasped the brass handle, allowing another minute to pass before he opened the door.
“Hello?” he said, hovering at the threshold.
Exhaling a quick breath, Mr. Hughes strode into the room.
Roxburghe bowed and extended his arm, but when Levi reached the doorway, he hesitated and spun around.
“This feels invasive.”
“She agreed to the search,” Roxburghe said, shooing him backward into the room. “And she won’t be present as it is performed.”
Levi couldn’t fault Roxburghe’s logic, and for that reason alone, he conceded, his shoulders rolling forward.
