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pay. The note implied that it was only a matter of time before Society realized you were not spending the month at one of your estates, but had, instead, disappeared for good."
    "Good Lord."
    "You must admit that you had vanished from Society at the height of the Season, sir. Most unusual."
    "I was at my estate in Yorkshire," Marcus retorted. "Not in a shallow, unmarked grave. Madam, this is ridiculous. I have had enough of this game. I want the truth and I want it before we reach Morning Rose Square."
    She frowned. "I am attempting to relate the truth, sir. There is no call to be rude. Now, kindly cease interrupting me. As I said, my aunt had every reason to believe that you had been murdered and that if she did not meet the blackmailer's demands, she would he next."
    "She paid the blackmail?" Marcus demanded.
    "Naturally. She was quite frightened. I learned all this the day after she had paid. I had just arrived here in London after a year on the Continent. My cousin Amelia was with me. We called upon Aunt Zoe and discovered her dire straits. I immediately devised a plan to find the blackmailer."
    Marcus was beyond amazement now. "You hoped to find him by pretending to be my mistress?"
    "Exactly." Iphiginia gave him another bright, approving smile. "At the time, I believed that I was hunting not only a blackmailer but a great villain who was capable of murder. You can imagine my concern."
    "I am not dead, Mrs. Bright."
    "Yes, I can see that," she said patiently. "It does confuse the issue, does it not?"
    "Not unduly, I trust."
    "I became your mistress in the eyes of the world so that I could mingle with your associates and acquaintances. My plan was to make discreet inquiries of them in an effort to decide who might have murdered you."
    "Very thoughtful of you to try to hunt down the villain who had murdered me."
    "I must admit that I did not undertake the deception in order to avenge you, my lord."
    "I'm crushed."
    Iphiginia’s eyes widened with dismay. "I do not mean to sound uncharitable or unfeeling, sir, but you must recall that when I first learned of this villainy, I did not even know you. I had not yet had a chance to study your nature."
    "That would explain your lack of feeling, I suppose."
    "But I didn't lack feeling, sir," she said quickly. "On the contrary. I assure you, I was exceedingly sorry that you had come to such a dreadful end." She hesitated and then added in a small burst of honesty, "In a rather general way, if you see what I mean."
    He restrained a smile with effort. "I'm grateful for whatever compassion you were able to spare. There are those who would not have been the least bit sorry to learn of my demise, not even in a rather general way."
    "Nonsense. I'm quite certain that once Society had learned that you had been murdered, everyone would have been properly horrified."
    "I'd advise you not to place any large wagers on that. What the devil did you think you'd learn as my mistress?"
    Iphiginia leaned forward. She was bubbling over with enthusiasm now. "I reasoned that the blackmailer had to be someone close to you, my lord. Someone who knew a secret so dreadful that he expected you to pay blackmail rather than allow it to he revealed."
    Marcus raised one brow. "And that same person would also have to he privy to some grave secret of your aunt's. Is that what you thought?"
    "How very perceptive of you, sir. That is precisely what I concluded. But I went one step further. I realized that whoever knew such intimate secrets about both your past and my aunt's also had to know of your plans to he out of Town this month." Iphiginia paused meaningfully. "The last blackmail note arrived the very day you disappeared, you see."
    Marcus felt the old, familiar twist of curiosity. It temporarily swamped common sense in a way that he would never have allowed physical passion to do. "You reasoned that there could not be too many people who would have links to both me and your aunt, is that it?"
    "Precisely."