“If I am charged, you will certainly be the man I ask to defend me.” His expression was hopeful.
George’s gaze drifted off. “It’s a bit sketchy in a legal sense, but I’m willing to give it a go.” He turned to me. “From what I’ve been told, there’s a vast amount of information to review. You may need some assistance.”
Having ascertained Charles was under no immediate threat of arrest, the three of us agreed to meet at my home the next morning to begin digging into Mary’s poison-pen notes. George and I took our leave and climbed back into the carriage, headed for home.
I stared at George’s profile as he gazed out the window at the blur of pedestrians and shops we passed. Pondering the best way to help his friend, I’d imagine. Meanwhile, I pondered Charles’s story. Driving past Mary’s house after she’d broken an engagement with him felt like an intrusion on her privacy. She had the right to break an engagement, and he had no right to snoop.
Her house was located on Baker Street, however, which would take one from Marylebone to Grosvenor Square, and from there to Piccadilly and Charles’s home. So, if the friend he visited lived in Marylebone, it would be a logical route for him to take. If that’s where his friend lived. Why hadn’t I asked?
Even more curious was that he passed Mary’s house at precisely the time a man rushed away from her door. But the vague description he provided of the man could also describe Charles. If he were concocting a story, wouldn’t he have described the man as short, or round, or thin? I had to remind myself he did not possess the sharpest of minds, but that point made me want to believe his story. That, and George’s faith in his friend. I truly wanted George to be right.
“What is our next step?”
He turned back to me, his lips drawn in a thin line. “I’ve been wondering about that myself,” he said. “I should be able to get an update from”—he paused mysteriously—“my contact. Find out what the police have learned from their canvass and from the coroner. They may have found some useful evidence from her home and spoken to her family.”
I felt a sudden surge of excitement. “I could speak to her family. As a friend of Mary’s, I must call on her sister when she arrives in town, and it would certainly be reasonable for me to pay a condolence call on her late husband’s family as well. After you find out what the police learned, you can tell me if there is something you still need to know. As a social equal, I may be able to wheedle those personal details the family may have held back from the police.”
“I don’t know if they would consider themselves your social equals, Countess,” he said with a grin.
“They are new money, to be sure, but our social lives intersect a great deal.” I gave him a careless shrug. “And if they view me as a step above them, it will be only that much easier to gain answers to impertinent questions.”
He pursed his lips again, the muscles in his jaw tightening.
“What?”
“I don’t want you to put yourself in any danger. Right now, we only know Mrs. Archer was murdered; we have no idea why. Just because the police have a theory, doesn’t mean it’s correct. What if one of the family murdered her? I don’t want you asking leading questions of a murderer.”
“I think you are rather putting the cart before the horse. Why not wait and see what you find out by tomorrow and what you still need to learn? I promise not to ask any questions of potential suspects before discussing it with you first. Will that make you feel better?”
He gave me a suspicious smile. “It might if I didn’t think your promise rather ambitious for you. Don’t forget, the last time you investigated on your own someone tried to murder you.” He raised a brow. “You will consult me before taking any action?”
I widened my eyes in an expression of innocence. “This is your investigation. Just the fact that you’re willing to let me participate will keep me on my best behavior. I promise to abide by all your rules and have a care for my safety.”
I caught a glimpse of self-satisfaction on his face. What was he up to? “I hesitate to look a gift horse in the mouth, George, but I must know why you’re willing to cede some of your responsibility to me.”
He picked up my hand in his. Turning it, he placed a kiss on my wrist, just above the lace of my glove. “I like the idea of you working with me, Frances. I think you’d make an excellent partner. And in this particular matter I truly need your help.”
His words and actions confused me beyond all measure. When he said partner, did he mean in the investigation, or something more?
“Will you be able to help Charles?” I asked.
He nodded. “This will be a difficult case. Perhaps the only thing worse than no suspect is too many suspects. It would be far too easy to make a case against Charles and forget all about the potential blackmail issue.”
“Unless I find a more likely suspect among Mary’s notes.”
“That’s my hope.”
So, we were to be partners for this investigation. How silly of me to imagine otherwise. But if it was only my imagination, why was he still caressing my hand?
Chapter 5
Stepping into my library the next morning, with the hope of a few quiet moments to review my accounts, I found it occupied by every member of my household, including my seven-year-old daughter, Rose, and her nanny.
I dropped a kiss on the top of Rose’s head. Her dark, glossy waves, usually contained with a length of ribbon, were now pulled back in two severe braids. “I missed you at breakfast, dearest.” After receiving a soap-scented hug, I cast a glance around the room. “I wondered why I had the dining room to myself this morning. Why are you all hiding in here on this lovely day?”
I turned to Lily and Lottie who were browsing the bookshelf behind the desk. “Didn’t the two of you have some outing planned for this morning?” Even I had to admit my tone was a little peevish, but this was my library after all and I’d hoped for a bit of privacy.
Lily’s blond curls bounced as she turned around. “We do. Leo’s obtained bicycles and we plan to ride through Hyde Park.”
Bicycles? I hoped Lottie was more competent on wheels than on her feet. “Do be careful.”
“I’m waiting for Uncle Graham.” Rose clung to my hand, bouncing up and down on her toes. “He’s coming to work with Aunt Hetty, and Nanny and I are going back in the carriage to his house to play with the boys.”
The boys were her cousins, Graham’s sons. They were a few years older than her but because Graham’s family had moved into the old manor with us, while in mourning for my husband, the children had become close. Rose would be eight soon, putting her only two years behind Graham’s youngest. She loved following them around and I daresay they enjoyed showing off to her.
For my part, I was thrilled she had playmates. Most families kept their younger children in the country. Even her kitten, a gift from Lily’s fiancé, preferred the country life. She went into hiding when Rose and I returned to London from Harleigh Manor a few months ago, and we had to leave without her. From all reports, she was growing and earning her keep as a mouser in the stables. Lovely for her, but Rose missed her little companion. Perhaps I should consider finding another pet for her.
I glanced at Hetty, seated behind my desk. “I’d forgotten you planned to work with Graham today.” Graham was not the spendthrift my late husband was, but his genius was in agriculture, not finance. That was Hetty’s area of expertise. The last time he asked her for a loan, she offered to help him organize his finances instead. A strategic move on her part.
“I take it you’ll be working in here?” Lovely. Now I’d lost access to my own library.
Hetty sank down in her chair. “Sorry, Frances. I hate to be an inconvenience but we really have nowhere else to work. In the future I’ll check with you first before scheduling time here with him.”
I tamped down my disappointment. “Don’t mind me. I can make do elsewhere.” I took a seat across the desk from her as Rose took Nanny’s hand and slipped out through the French doors t
o the back garden.
“You’ve been working with Graham for a week now. Just how complicated are his investments?”
“I can’t be sure until I sort out his records”—she let out a tsk—“which are in a terrible state of disarray. Graham didn’t want to trouble his steward with the task as the man had his hands full with estate business, and he didn’t want to go to the expense of hiring a secretary.” Her lips twisted in a grimace. “So, he managed his investments and their records himself.”
“I take it keeping records isn’t his forte?”
“Far from it, and sorting through all the documents has been quite a task. I’m becoming rather frustrated.”
“I could assist you as secretary.”
We both turned to find Lottie standing beside my chair, her eyes wide and head bobbing as if in agreement with her own suggestion. “I’m very good at organizing records,” she said. “When I volunteered at the Metropolitan Museum of Art back home, I spent most of my time working on Mr. Cesnola’s records.”
Hetty brightened. “Well, that might be just the thing, my dear. I could certainly use someone with organizational skills.”
I stared at my aunt as the image of Lottie spilling ink all over Graham’s documents ran through my mind. “You are here to enjoy yourself, dear. We can’t put you to work.”
“I wouldn’t consider it work. I really enjoy organizing things.”
“Well, I won’t ask you to cancel your engagements, but if you can lend me your spare time, I’d be grateful for the assistance.” Hetty locked eyes with me and lowered her brows, daring me to interfere.
I shrugged. “If the two of you are in agreement, I won’t stand in your way.” Hetty gave me a satisfied smile while Lottie beamed. Odd what some people do to amuse themselves.
“Excellent,” Hetty said. “I’ll review everything with you when you return from your outing this afternoon.” She turned to me. “And speaking of afternoons, wherever did you vanish to yesterday? You left to speak with Hazelton and I didn’t see you again until we passed each other in the hall when I went out for the evening. Surely you weren’t discussing Mrs. Archer’s murder the entire time?” She lifted a brow suggestively.
“Sorry to disappoint, but indeed we were.” I leaned over the desk, and keeping my voice down, told Hetty what little I could reveal.
Her expression grew more concerned as I spoke. “I always suspected Hazelton was more than just an idle gentleman, so I won’t inquire how he became involved in this case. And I can certainly understand he’d want to defend his friend, but why on earth is he handing this task, as you call it, off to you?”
“The task is a simple parsing of documents, which may produce some evidence.” I shrugged. “He thinks I can help.”
“Perhaps Lottie would be of better use assisting you than me?”
“Cousin Charles has asked to help.”
Hetty’s expression grew clouded. “Is that wise? I understand he’s your cousin, dear, but a woman was murdered and Delaney has reason to suspect Mr. Evingdon.”
I shook my head in a firm negative. “I’m quite convinced he is perfectly innocent and it’s my fault he finds himself in this mess. Not only did I introduce the two of them but I’m the reason Delaney suspects Charles of murdering her.”
Hetty gave me a warning look and placed a hand over mine. “I’m confident Hazelton will do his best to protect you, but be careful all the same.”
As if on cue, Mrs. Thompson knocked on the door and announced George and Charles. Both Lily and Lottie turned to cast admiring gazes on the latter as the gentlemen entered the room. To my eyes, Charles faded into the background when standing next to George but I suppose everyone has her own preference.
Charles made his preferences clear when after greeting the rest of us, he walked straight over to Lottie. “Miss Deaver,” he said, giving her a shallow bow. “Delighted to see you looking so well, though I suppose I don’t actually know if you are well. What I mean to say is you appear perfectly uninjured.” He gave her his boyish grin. “After your misstep yesterday.”
Her cheeks pinkened. “I am indeed well and uninjured, thanks to your assistance.”
I left them to their conversation and turned to George. “It seems Aunt Hetty and Graham have plans to work here today. Could we conduct our business in your library?”
“Of course,” he said. “I was planning to suggest that anyway as the documents I’ve acquired are more numerous than I’d expected. If you’re ready, we can go now.”
“But if you rush off, you’ll miss Leo,” Lily said.
“I’m afraid we must, dear.” Mostly because I was itching to dig into Mary’s files, and worried that George could change his mind about my involvement at any moment. I had no wish to wait around for Leo. “Please make our apologies.”
Lily’s lips turned down in a pout. “At least try to remember we are to dine with the Kendricks tomorrow.”
Oh, yes. Dinner with the Kendricks. Actually, I was eager to become better acquainted with Lily’s future in-laws, but the business at hand had pushed it from my mind. Lily didn’t need to know that. “Of course I remember, dear. Saturday evening.”
With that, George, Charles, and I stepped into the garden, where I gave Rose a hug, and we took my sneaky back path from my garden to George’s, and from there to his library.
“Rather convenient, that private route,” Charles said. He choked back a chortle as George turned around and glared. “Not that I’m suggesting anything,” he added.
George grunted a reply I didn’t quite hear and pulled a leather satchel from behind his desk, dropping it with a thud on the desk.
“I hope it’s the bag that’s so heavy and not its contents,” I said.
My hopes were dashed as he unbuckled the straps and removed several large files bound in stiff paper and fastened with strings. He gave me a crooked smile. “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid it’s the contents.”
Charles surveyed the stack of files and let out a whistle. “What is all this?”
I raised my brows as I turned to George. “You haven’t told him yet?”
“Told me what?”
“The police suspect Mrs. Archer was involved in a blackmail scheme,” George said, watching for a reaction.
Charles’s head jerked back as if he’d been struck. “The devil, you say! She was being blackmailed? Whatever for?”
“No, Charles.” I placed a hand on his arm. “The police believe she may have been blackmailing someone. Perhaps many people.”
He sank into a chair near the desk as if he were deflating. “No, no. That’s impossible. She was a kind and caring person.”
George gave him a sympathetic look. “These files contain information of a personal nature about nearly every prominent member of society. More investigation will have to be done to determine if she was using it to blackmail anyone, but the fact that she has this rather strange collection of facts about so many people in society, suggests it may be why she was murdered.” He shrugged. “Particularly since no other motive has surfaced.”
He tapped the top file with his index finger. “Someone found out she had damaging information about him and murdered her to keep it quiet. I daresay his name is in here.”
It sounded like a logical conclusion, but something was missing. “If the police found these files in her house, why didn’t the killer take them before he ran? Or at least take the note that pertained to himself?”
“He may have searched for them, but he wasn’t as thorough as Delaney. The whole bundle was found under a loose floorboard in a closet, covered by a rug.”
“Why’d the police turn them over to you?” Charles asked.
“Let’s just say a friend called in a favor. The files are said to be rather scandalous and he’d rather have me reviewing them than the police.” He leveled his gaze at Charles, then me. “That said, I expect confidentiality from both of you. None of this can be made public.”
Charles waved a hand. “Ye
s, yes. Mum’s the word and all that. After all, I’m hardly likely to discuss this with anyone. Not much for gossip myself.”
“Though I have every confidence you’ll both act with discretion, you’ll be taking in a great deal of information. Take care that none of it slips out.”
George waited for an affirmative reply from both of us. “All right then, let’s get to work, shall we?”
He handed each of us a bulging file of paper.
I seated myself in the guest chair next to Charles. “What exactly are you hoping to find in here?”
George took the chair behind the desk. “Anything that looks like fodder for blackmail. The more damning, the more likely. You might want to start with the most prominent names you find.”
“Are you staying to help us? I thought you intended to check up on the police investigation today.”
“That was my plan, but the constables were canvassing Mrs. Archer’s neighbors again this morning. I’ll need to wait for them to leave before I can nose around without causing suspicion. Only Delaney is aware of my involvement, and my official assignment is these files, not removing a suspect from their list.”
He glanced at the clock on the shelves behind his desk. “They should be finishing up about now. I’ll just stay long enough to get you two started in this quest.”
I wondered if his caution about the constables’ presence meant he planned to sneak into Mary’s house. George had taught me the art of searching someone’s residence without their knowledge a few months ago. Since I wasn’t sure Charles knew about his friend’s more clandestine activities, I decided the question would have to wait. Following George’s instructions, I settled the file on my lap, untied the string, and pulled out the first page.
It made absolutely no sense. Letters followed by dashes, sets of initials, and fragments of words littered the page. “What on earth is this meant to be?” I turned the page around to show George and watched his eyes glaze over in confusion as he took it in.
“It appears she’s used a type of short writing, or stenography.”
“Stenography?” I turned the page back to scrutinize it again.
A Lady's Guide to Gossip and Murder Page 5
