After several minutes of silence, Alice felt she had her feelings enough under control to resume reading the note one more time. She had to hold the offensive piece of paper in both hands though because her body trembled so badly she could not hold it still enough to read otherwise.

After a second perusal she turned her attention back to the Chief Detective Inspector asking, nay pleading, "Are you quite certain Mr. Southwell that it refers to me? Is there no other Alice Fiennes in the city whom might match the description here?"

Even as she asked she knew the answer and watched with a sinking heart as he gave her another wordless nod. It was evident that he was already certain. With quivering fingers she stretched out her arm and handed the letter back to him.

"Who," she asked in an unsteady voice, "was the man found murdered?"

Alice had so few friends and even fewer male acquaintances that she was terrified to know the name of the victim.

"Perhaps that should wait. I still have some questions I need to ask you," Mr. Southwell said somewhat dismissively.

He could not afford to tell her the man's name in the event that she broke down like her mother and was whisked off by a household servant. Time was of the essence right then. He needed answers without delay if he was going to catch this degenerate before he slipped away, or worse, killed again.

Alice looked directly at the man feeling alarmed by his cavalier tone and his continued insistence on being painfully straight forward with her despite the very horrific nature of his inquiry.

"Mr. Southwell," Alice began in a stronger and more confident voice than just a moment ago, "I must know. Is it someone known to my family - a friend even?"

Mr. Southwell assessed her request by studying her face. She appeared very unsettled, but he could sense a great stubbornness in her as well. If he did not acquiesce, would she just let it go or would she insist that the interview go no further until she knew? The longer he studied her face the more sure he was that she would not relent.

After another moment he asked, "What guarantee do I have that you will continue this interview in the event that the man is known to you?"

He paused a moment and watched her pin him with a distasteful look. She was indeed shocked by his question. It must seem brutal to her. He frowned and continued in a voice he hoped was a bit more placating, "I have a murderer to apprehend Miss Fiennes and you are, right now, my strongest lead. Forgive me if I seem insensitive. I simply cannot afford to lose precious time and information if you should become incapacitated with grief by hearing the victim's name."

Alice sucked in a sharp breath between her teeth and felt a strong desire to put Mr. Southwell in his place. Men were so quick to think women weak and insensible to all things consequential. Alice was just as rational as any educated man and just as capable of assimilating shocking and possibly devastating information without becoming a simpering mess.

Though, she did acknowledge that it might take her a few minutes to recover and she might very well shed some tears. That was only natural. However, neither action prevented her from thinking and being useful.

She grit her teeth and willed herself not to lecture the gentleman. Instead, she closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, as she'd seen her father do from her youth when he was exasperated, and then in a clipped tone answered the ignorant man saying, "I will not fall apart sir. I understand the gravity of the situation. I will be as helpful as I can be. However, I insist that you tell me whom has been ... " Here she paused a moment. It was difficult to say the word, but as she gathered her nerve, she blurted out, "... has been murdered."

Alice stopped pinching her nose and clasped her hands tightly together as she pierced Mr. Southwell with an icy look.

His countenance had not changed, but he watched her a moment before sighing and saying, "Earnest E. Brodrick."

When Miss Fiennes looked blankly at him he offered her more information. "He was the second son of Mr. & Mrs. Albert Brodrick, whom live in Kirklind Court. His older brother, was recently married to a Miss Margaret Macdonald. He goes by Freddie Brodrick."

He saw her blank expression turn to one of infinite puzzlement.

"Are you acquainted with Mr. Earnest Brodrick or any of the Brodricks?" he asked.

"No," she half whispered. "No, I cannot say that I am. I did have a fleeting acquaintance with Miss Macdonald. She is a few years younger than myself and came out during my last season. We were introduced at a ball, as young ladies often are, and we shared a few friendly conversations during the season."

Alice sat forward on the sofa and tried to recall what the Brodrick brothers looked like. She could not bring their faces to mind. After another long silent moment she looked back at Mr. Southwell and sighed, "I'm afraid I cannot recall the young man at all Mr. Southwell. I believe my brother Gordon might have been acquainted with one or both of the Brodricks. But, I can't be certain."

Alice reached for her tea cup and brought it absently to her lips. The tea was cold now and unpleasant. She put the cup back on its saucer and set it back on the table.

"What other information were you hoping to acquire from me Mr. Southwell?" Alice asked, suddenly eager to finish this interview and seek out her brother, who had gone out early as he often did when not up late the previous night.

She desperately wanted to know what he would make of all of this. He had been her constant companion during her three seasons in town and, even now that her mother had all but declared her a disgrace to the family, being three and twenty and unwed, he was never ashamed to be with her.

Gordy was always delighted to see her, entertain her, talk economics, philosophy and politics with her, and pour out much affection on her. He was the truest friend she had in all the world and the closet of her three brothers. Although, in their defense, the two younger brothers were still in school and were just coming into themselves now. They too might prove to be wonderful allies in the future when Gordy married and Alice was left to face her mother's constant  disappointment and displeasure alone.

As if thinking about him could conjure him, Alice stood from her seat when she heard the telltale step of her brother's boot outside the morning room door, which was left ajar. For a moment, Alice forgot about Mr. Southwell as she smiled a bit anxiously at her brother, who flung the door open wide and strode into the room with a black look on his face.

Alice glided across the room to greet him with a soft embrace and a light peck on his cheek. She was not alarmed by the stormy look in his eye. He was never very good about strangers. In fact, he was a bit over protective of her. She was sure it was to compensate for their father's lack of parental oversight where young, eligible men were concerned.

"Gordy," she breathed with both relief and distress.

His face softened immediately as he looked down at her.

"What is it Ally?" He asked with quiet concern.

Searching her eyes he saw straight away that they were shimmering with unshed tears. His heart sank and his anger spiked. He turned his eyes on the stranger in his mother's morning room. Who was this man who had caused his sister so much grief?

The stranger had stood and turned to greet him when he first entered the room. Gordy saw right away that the man had the dress and comportment of a gentleman. However, that did not bring him any peace of mind. He was livid realizing neither his mother or a servant was present in the room with the two of them.

How long had his sister been left unchaperoned in this stranger's company? What could his father and mother be thinking? Were they so desperate to thrust her into the hands of any man who came along that they would leave her alone with a stranger knowing her reputation and her good name could be easily compromised by the man himself or by a tattling servant? It was moments like this that he felt a very keen disappointment concerning his parents.

Alice could see that his temper was rising as he gripped her arms almost painfully while he stared at Mr. Southwell behind them. She had no doubt he was going to have words with the man in a moment if she did not make the necessary introductions to prevent the hurricane that was about to break.

Clearing her throat gently, she was able to get Gordy's attention once again. When he looked down at her she spoke softly to him saying, "Gordy dear, it seems I have been caught up in some dreadful happenings. I would like to introduce you to someone who can explain it all."

He gave her a nod and loosened his grip on her arms altogether. Alice was relieved and took the arm he offered her. They crossed the room to come and stand near Mr. Southwell.

"Gordy, this is Mr. Southwell. He is the Detective Chief Inspector. Mr. Southwell, this is my eldest brother, Gordon, whom I was just speaking of." 

With the introduction made, the two men faced each other and bowed stiffly.

Alice took her brother's hand and drew him down to the sofa where she and he settled. Mr. Southwell sat back in the chair he had vacated a minute earlier. He watched the siblings very closely. They seemed to have an intimate bond and the elder brother did not hide his protective streak.

Mr. Southwell was certain, if Alice had not spoken up, that the younger man would have eagerly walked him straight out of the room and out the front door if he had been given the chance. His face was all tenderness when he looked at his little sister but all daggers when he looked at Mr. Southwell. This sort of devotion to a younger female sibling was not unheard of, and so, Mr. Southwell was not surprised by the younger man's frigid demeanour.

"Mr. Southwell is here on a matter of some urgent and distressing police business," Alice explained to Gordy when he was looking at her with grave concern. "There has been a murder and Mr. Southwell says the killer left a letter for me."

Here Alice turned slightly to Mr. Southwell and stretched out her hand in a silent request for the letter. He leaned forward and put the folded piece of paper in her fingers. Alice then handed the letter to Gordy who had a rather stunned look on his face.

Gordy took the letter and opened it slowly. As he did he asked, "How do you know this note is addressed to my sister, sir?"

Mr. Southwell spared Alice a quick look and then looked back at her brother. "Because of the description in the letter. The writer talks of her auburn hair and blue eyes."

Alice held her breath as Gordy read the twisted love letter. She saw his face fall. He too knew, when he read it, that the letter was indeed for her. He let the hand with the letter fall limply to his lap and he stared down at it a moment more before looking at her.

Alice noted that his eyes were full of worry, regret, remorse and so much more. She felt the answering tears stinging at the back of her own. However, she blinked them back. Gordy discarded the letter on the little table beside the sofa and reached for her. He pulled her into a tight embrace and held her for several long minutes while Mr. Southwell was once again ignored.

"I'm so sorry Ally," he whispered. "Does Mama know?" He asked as he pulled away to look at her pale face.

Alice nodded, "She knows and was so distressed that she fainted. Papa had to take her away and they have called for the doctor. She hasn't read the letter though."

Here Alice broke from her brother's arms entirely and looked back at the forgotten Mr. Southwell, who was sitting forward with his elbows on his knees patiently waiting for the sibling duo to remember him.

"Mr. Southwell, I must ask, if at all possible, you will keep this letter from my mother and," Alice looked anxiously at her brother and back to Mr. Southwell, "and from the public. The ensuing scandal would ruin my mother," Alice finished on barely more than a whisper as her eyes fell to the floor. She was not able to hold his eyes any longer knowing the shame she had brought to her family – even unintentionally.

Mr. Southwell was now getting quite a feeling for the family. Mr. Fiennes seemed detached but sensible as long as everything could be handled quietly and with little trouble to him and his family. Mrs. Fiennes was especially sensitive to scandals and anything that might tarnish the family name. Mr. Gordon Fiennes was his sister's champion, willing to weather any scandal for his sister's sake.

And, Miss Alice Fiennes, well, he couldn't quite make her out yet. His picture of her was barely forming. Not because she was enigmatic but rather because, well, she was distracting. It was those strange sea blue eyes that he found unsettling. Especially, when she looked directly at him. Her look gave him a peculiar sensation in his chest and he simply couldn't recall another pair of eyes ever affecting him in such a way.

"Mr. Southwell?" Alice asked after him when he did not reply but appeared as though he were deep in thought.

He looked to her then and pinned her with an oddly intense look. She felt he was trying to read her secret self. She resisted the urge to look away, but she could do nothing for the blush that crept up her neck and spread across her freckled cheeks.

Picking up where she had left off earlier, Mr. Southwell responded, "The letter is evidence and will not be shown to the public. And, if you are able to answer my questions, there is no reason for Mrs. Fiennes to read it."

Alice sighed with relief and offered Mr. Southwell the smallest of smiles as she gave him a grateful nod.

However, Gordy had a suspicion that the forthcoming questions were not going to sit well with himself or his sister. Something in the inspectors direct manner, his forwardness, and his tendency to study Alice's face intently, gave Gordy the impression that the man was not about to hold back now. He worried that Alice was going to be subjected to more  than she could handle. She was still trembling as it was, even though he was there with her, holding her hand and lending her as much strength as he could.

It was with foreboding and great distaste that Gordy asked the inspector, "What questions?"

Mr. Southwell, not put off in the least by Gordy's demeanour, replied, "They are of a personal nature, I'm afraid."

Here he looked from the brother to the sister. Her sea-blue eyes went wide and her face paled. He could see it had not occurred to her that he would ask her anything personal but that she had just agreed to answer those personal questions. He felt a small twinge of something - regret, possibly guilt - but put it aside. He had a murder to solve and her feelings were the least of his concerns.