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and—”
    “Actually, Mrs. Harper, we have considered your living situation, and have decided we will have you installed at St. James’s for the duration of your stay.”
    “Your Majesty, that is very generous, but I shouldn’t be here more than a few days, so I would be happy to just—”
    “Yes, well, it may be that your services will require more than mere undertaking. We may require some diplomacy from you.”
    This was getting stranger by the moment. “I’m sorry? I’m afraid the last thing I’m known for is my diplomatic skill. In fact, I’m really rather tactless at times and I can never seem to—”
    The queen’s eyes narrowed. “What we mean is that we wish for you to . . . to delay . . . to impede . . .” The queen cleared her throat. “What we wish to say is that you will be required to ensure that Lord Raybourn’s burial be delayed for as long as possible. Do something to keep the viscount preserved until things can be sorted out.”
    “Sorted out? What do you mean?”
    “You see, Lord Raybourn was not only a valued peer, but he was recently returned from Egypt. He was with the Prince of Wales to tour the country and witness progress on the Suez Canal. There are certain investigations that must be completed, Mrs. Harper, before Lord Raybourn can be interred.”
    “An inquest, you mean?”
    “Along those lines. For example, our son must be questioned.”
    “You plan to interrogate the Prince of Wales?”
    “No, we do not.”
    Violet’s heart stopped as she realized what the queen was saying. “Your Majesty, you want me to question him? I’m not qualified; I wouldn’t know what to ask. Shouldn’t the police—”
    “We will send a message to Marlborough House that you’ll be along to question him soon, as it would be entirely too unseemly for the police or the queen to question His Royal Highness. It might suggest that we do not trust him. Ah, but a few curious questions from the queen’s undertaker will arouse no one’s suspicions, and he will be receptive to a charming woman such as yourself.
    “First, though, it is vital that you set yourself off to Raybourn House to visit the family. As we were saying before, lodgings will be made available for you at St. James’s Palace. The staff there are prepared for your arrival, and Major Cowell will see to it that you are settled into sufficient quarters. We will expect you to bring us periodic reports.”
    “Reports of what, Your Majesty?”
    “Of anything unusual, of course.”
    More unusual than a man perhaps murdered in his own home? A man she might have known?

7
    V iolet was quickly scuttled off to St. James’s Palace, to a suite of rooms far more elegant than anywhere she’d ever lived, and permitted a short time to change from her traveling clothes into her undertaking garb. How thankful she was that she’d brought a complement of undertaking supplies with her across the ocean, despite Sam’s admonition that she’d never need them, arguing that if Eliza Sinclair died, he would save her the morose familiarity of attending to her deceased mother, and hire an outside undertaker, to permit her to properly grieve. Violet, not wanting to entertain for any longer than necessary the thought of her mother passing, had swiftly argued just as vehemently that a good undertaker never knew when her services might be needed, and, unlike with her lawyer husband, everything she needed was not crammed in her head.
    After changing, Violet was just as quickly ushered to Raybourn House in Park Street, just a street over from Park Lane, one of the most prestigious addresses in London. The likes of the Earl of Shaftesbury and the Earl of Beaconsfield lived here in Mayfair during the Season for balls, parties, engagement announcements, gambling, and horse races.
    Poor Lord Raybourn would experience none of it. When his peers learned of his demise, they would work quickly to demonstrate the appropriate level of sorrow without allowing his death to