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entered with the tea tray. Phyllida followed with some biscuits on a platter.
    Once we were settled with our tea, I told them all I’d learned or suspected.
    After a moment of thought, Blackford said, “I think we may want to catch the young lady if Kira meets her again in the park.”
    â€œNo. Don’t catch her. Follow her. Learn who she is. Emma, in the morning will you ask Jacob to follow this girl from the park? We don’t want him to speak to her, only to learn who she is and where she lives.” I scrunched up my face and shook my head. Something about this didn’t feel right.
    â€œYou think this girl is a side issue?” Emma asked.
    â€œI can’t see the princess having a hand in the guard’s death or in any plot against herself or the royal family. Can you?” I asked Blackford.
    His dark eyes kept me pinned to my seat while his expression gave no clue to his thoughts. “No. But I still believe the girl is at the center of whatever Princess Kira is up to. Everything else about the princess’s life is regulated and expected.”
    â€œDid Jacob learn anything at the Russian embassy?”
    â€œNothing we didn’t know before. A clerk told him everyone was shocked that Lidijik was murdered. They said he was very ordinary. Competent, but not one for gambling or taking risks. He didn’t raise strong feelings in anyone he met.”
    I kept my eyes on Blackford’s face. “Then we should proceed under the assumption that Lidijik was killed because he was Princess Kira’s guard, not for anything he’d done.”
    Blackford nodded. “That seems like the best way to proceed. Given the desires of two governments to wrap this up quickly, we’d better work on the most likely scenario first.”
    Then he added, “Emma, since you’re working on the burglary case, there’s something you need to know. The burglars of the Marquis of Shepherdston’s house have struck again. Lord Walker’s residence was attacked today and the safe in his bedroom was blown up.”
    â€œTwo investigations and both sets of villains are getting away with anything they want. Your Grace, this isn’t working well, dealing with two cases at once,” I told him.
    The duke said, “Georgia, you concentrate on the princess. Other members of the Archivist Society will take care of the burglars. Whoever these villains are, they learned from their past mistakes. They did a better job of blowing the door to the safe. This time they left the rest of the house intact.”
    â€œWas there any report of who was involved?”
    â€œIt sounds like the same two masked men, one very tall, the other average height and wiry. They were both reported to be carrying pistols and wearing half masks as if going to a ball. They worked faster this time and they got away without anyone having time to raise the alarm.”
    â€œWas it another daylight robbery?”
    â€œYes. At a time when the streets were particularly busy due to an accident on the nearby main road. Traffic was using any route it could find to maneuver through the side streets.”
    â€œThe accident was either due to good luck for the thieves or great cleverness on their part.” I raised my eyebrows at Blackford.
    â€œMy thoughts exactly. Also, they timed the raid for when everyone was supposed to be on the lower floors of the house, giving the thieves access to the bedroom without being seen.”
    â€œSupposed to be?” Emma asked.
    â€œTwo of the maids had snuck up to their room. They came down when they heard and felt the explosion in time to see the burglars escape.”
    â€œAnd these two were smart enough not to stand between the thieves and the door?”
    â€œYes. That footman of Shepherdston’s was foolish as well as brave.” Blackford shook his head. “Poor man.”
    â€œBut to know how to move through the household almost undetected