… With the bright sunlight behind him, he was completely in shadow and we couldn’t make out who it was at first, but then, as he came further into the room and the door closed, we realized it was Alexandre.

“May I join you girls? I saw you come in and a good steam session seemed like a wonderful idea. Besides we need to discuss the funeral arrangements. Nicholas is insisting that we have the church service in Rambouillet, and the burial at their family plot there.”

Nicholas was Edmond’s brother. Alexandre sat down on the opposite bench, leaving his towel wrapped around his waist.

She had covered herself with a towel when he walked in, and only I remained naked. I found my towel and pulled it around me to mirror them.

“When is the funeral going to happen?” I asked. “Will it be difficult to arrange to have Edmond’s body flown back to France?”

“Well, traditionally, the funeral should take place within three days, but there’s a problem. The county coroner here in Southampton wants to hold the body longer because they’re investigating whether there was some foul play in Edmond’s drowning. There were some marks around his neck, and Damien had some scratches on his body.”

Kaitlyn and I both gasped. Edmond may have been killed? By Damien?

“What? Like there was some foul play? That’s crazy!” My voice rose to a high pitch from the shock.

Alexandre nodded. “Crazy, but not impossible, especially given that there were drugs and quite a bit of drinking that night. And let’s not forget that there were passions involved. People can do unexpected things around affairs of the heart.”

“Over me?”

He nodded again. “Over you.”

Kaitlyn’s eyes hooded and she flashed me an angry look. “Affairs of the heart or affairs of the cock? If you hadn’t come on to my dad, Nadine, which, by the way, was totally inappropriate, he would still be alive.”

I hung my head, feeling awful and guilty as charged. I realized Kaitlyn was finally vocalizing the real reason for her coldness earlier. She was blaming me for her dad’s death, and she was right. Even though we knew it was wrong, Edmond and I had allowed ourselves to indulge in our attraction to each other, like children playing with matches in the woods, knowing it was a no-no. And indeed, it had turned out very badly…