“I tell you, your father proved to me that he was not the man I thought he was.”
“My father is dead, Herr Muller,” Anton said tersely. “There is no need to discuss it further.”
“I have no wish to discuss him ever again,” Herr Muller replied. With that, he moved past Anton and disappeared into the crowd.
This was certainly an interesting development. So Monsieur Belanger and the sculptor who had created the bottle had once been friends but had ended things on decidedly bad terms. I wondered what had caused the rift between them. Had it merely been the design of the bottle? If so, what had Monsieur Belanger meant when he said that Herr Muller was in league with his enemies?
“There are you are, darling,” said Milo, coming up behind me. “I was afraid you’d been swept away into the night.”
He had no idea how close I had come. Had I not moved quickly, I might still be in Michel’s clutches in the courtyard.
“What have you been doing all night?” I asked him. “I’ve not seen you for ages.”
“Making conversation, seeing what I could learn. It’s a dull lot, mostly. I managed to speak for a few moments with Anton Belanger earlier in the evening.”
“Did you?” This was something I had not managed to accomplish, though I had heard more than my share of his conversations with others. “What did he have to say?”
“He rather droned on about the perfume. He’s determined to play his part tonight, though I think he’s secretly bored to pieces by perfume. It’s the money he’s after, and the power that comes with it, not carrying on in the grand tradition of the Belanger name.”
I nodded. “Cecile has the passion, but Anton has the power.”
“There’s something else,” Milo said. “Apparently, people are wondering if the perfume will be revealed on schedule. It seems Helios Belanger was very secretive about its formula, and there is speculation that it might take longer to complete, now that he is dead. I have heard people discussing the subject tonight, and many of them thought the perfume would be revealed at this party along with the sculpture. Perhaps that’s why Anton gave his ‘all will continue as before’ speech.”
“Yes,” I said thoughtfully, thinking of the heated conversation between Anton and Cecile. That might explain why Anton had suddenly been so eager to review the formula, to assure himself that they would be able to put the perfume into production.
“I heard something, too,” I said. “It seems that Helios Belanger had threatened to disinherit Michel.”
“That is nothing new,” Milo replied. “He was doing that ten years ago.”
“But he had apparently arranged to meet with his solicitor shortly before his death.”
“It may be worth considering,” he conceded. “Perhaps I can ask around.”
“I also heard three women discussing Michel’s former mistress, a woman called Angelique. One of them said she was dangerous.”
“So Michel was involved with Angelique, was he?” Milo said.
“You know her?” Somehow this did not surprise me.
“I know of her. She’s a singer and dancer, something of a celebrity among the cabaret set.”
I tucked this information away for later.
“I learned something else,” I said. “Monsieur Belanger and Herr Muller were on very bad terms, it seems. Herr Muller said that Monsieur Belanger accused him of being in league with his enemies.”
“Interesting.”
“What of Madame Belanger? Did you speak with her?” I had hoped to have a chance to speak with the young widow, but I had not seen her since Anton Belanger’s speech. It was so frightfully crowded I didn’t see how anyone might have a decent conversation.
“No, I think she went back upstairs.”
I wasn’t surprised. She had looked as though she hadn’t wanted to be here at the party. I couldn’t blame her. It must have seemed terribly callous for all these people to be enjoying themselves so thoroughly when her husband had been laid to rest only yesterday.
“Speaking of Michel, he’s the only Belanger sibling I have left to speak to tonight,” Milo was saying. “He usually gravitates to the most beautiful woman in any room. I’m rather surprised he hasn’t made his way to you yet.”
“Oh, I’ve met Michel,” I said with deliberate casualness.
“Have you?”
“Yes. He kissed me in the courtyard.”
Milo’s brows rose. “Did he indeed? I know Michel works very quickly, but how did he manage that, exactly?”
“He came up when my back was to him. I believe he mistook me for another woman. We look rather alike from behind, it seems.”
It seemed to me that his eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “No such thing. In all likelihood, he saw you and followed you into the courtyard.”
“Do you really think so?” I asked, not sure if I should be alarmed or amused. It was rather an outrageous way to meet a woman, but I could concede that the ploy of a stolen kiss might be successful on a lonely lady looking for romance.
“It seems very like something Michel would do.”
I shrugged. “There is something rather exciting about a strange man kissing one in a dark courtyard, I suppose.”
“I’m rather surprised you fell for his lie.”
“If I had fallen for it, I might still be in the courtyard,” I replied. I was unable to resist teasing him just a little. After all, there was the matter of Nadine. It would do him good to know he was not the only one who could go about getting kissed by near-strangers. “I imagine a kiss on the neck was just brushing the surface of his repertoire.”
“Yes, well, you’d do well to stay away from him.”
“You needn’t worry,” I said. “I would never consider an affair with a man like Michel Belanger.”
“That’s reassuring,” Milo said dryly.
It wasn’t meant to be reassuring. “Yes,” I added. “Michel isn’t at all my style. If I were going to take a Belanger as a lover, it would be Anton. He’s the man with all the power, after all.”
* * *
THE PARTY SHOWED no signs of slowing as Milo and I slipped from the house well after two o’clock in the morning. I was tired and somewhat discouraged. While we had formed a tenuous connection with Cecile Belanger and overheard a bit of gossip that could potentially prove useful, I felt much less optimistic about our prospects than I had earlier today. The more I considered it, the more complicated things seemed to be. As Madame Nanette had said, any of them might have done it.
“You’re unusually quiet,” Milo said, intruding upon my morose reflections, as we took a cab back to the hotel. “What are you thinking about?”
I sighed, leaning my head back against the leather seat. “I am beginning to realize the impossibility of our task,” I admitted. “It’s going to be difficult to prove anything.”
“You’re just tired. You’ll feel more optimistic in the morning.”
I wasn’t sure that I agreed with him on that score. I had the uneasy feeling I was going to find it as hopeless then as I did now.
We reached the hotel and went up to our suite. It was dark and quiet, soothing after the heat and noise of the Belanger home.
The headache I had developed earlier in the evening had not abated, and all I wanted to do was go to bed. I walked through the sitting room and into the bedroom and Milo followed.
“I’ve been thinking it over,” he said as I sat at the dressing table to remove my jewelry and makeup, “and I believe the best course of action is to divide and conquer.”
I glanced at him warily over my shoulder. “In what way?”
“You shall pursue your sources, and I shall pursue mine.”
I understood perfectly what that meant. Milo had no interest in perfume or in spending long stretches of time with Cecile Belanger in her laboratory. Instead, he intended to spend his evenings in gambling clubs and cabarets with companions of questionable character.
“I’m not sure I approve of this plan,” I
said. “It seems to me that our most viable lead is Cecile Belanger. I don’t know what you can possibly glean from nights spent gambling and drinking with your friends.”
“I think you underestimate my capabilities,” he said.
“I never underestimate what you are capable of,” I replied dryly. That was the problem.
He shot me a smile as he removed his dinner jacket and then loosened his necktie.
“You’d be surprised what I might learn. A man like Helios Belanger was sure to have vices that would betray his character. There are any number of things that might have led to his murder.”
“Perhaps,” I conceded. There was, after all, the rumored mistress to be considered. It was certainly not unheard of for illicit relationships to lead to violence. And if Helios Belanger had been keeping that secret, there might be others to be uncovered.
Whether or not Milo would learn anything in the course of his nocturnal pursuits remained to be seen, but I would not press the matter further. It was just possible that he might. Besides, he was likely only going to be in my way if he accompanied me to tea with Cecile Belanger. I had found that Milo often proved a distraction when ladies were present. Furthermore, I knew he was going to do as he pleased, so there was no point in arguing about it.
“Don’t look so glum, darling,” he said. “We learned more tonight than you think.”
“Such as?”
“Well, the question of the will may be useful to us. And we’ve seen firsthand the tension between Anton and Cecile. Perhaps that is something you may use to your advantage when you go to tea. Cecile may be in need of a confidante.”
“Yes, but I have seen what the family is like. They will not be the sort to share confidences with a woman they barely know. Whatever squabbles they may have between themselves, I believe they’d close ranks rather quickly if they suspected that they were being investigated.”
“Then we mustn’t let them suspect,” Milo replied.
10
THE BRIGHT SUNLIGHT was streaming through the window when I opened my eyes the following morning, and I could hear the birds chirping cheerfully outside my window. Though I had gone to bed very late, I felt well rested. In fact, I felt as though I had slept later than usual. I glanced at the little gold clock on the table beside the bed and was startled to see that it was past ten o’clock.
I sat up on my elbows, disturbing Milo, whose arm was flung across me. He stirred. “What’s the matter?” he mumbled.
“It’s so late. I planned to rise hours ago.”
“Parisian mornings were made for lounging in bed,” he said, his arm tightening around my waist. “Lie down.”
I complied, though I was still perplexed. “I can’t think of why Winnelda didn’t wake me,” I said. “Do you suppose something’s happened?”
“Winnelda and Parks were both rewarded very handsomely yesterday to stay out of my sight this morning,” Milo replied. “I knew we would be out late, and I didn’t want to be disturbed.”
So that was it. Well, I couldn’t blame Milo for wanting a bit of peace and quiet. He was not a creature of the morning, and it did seem as though Winnelda was forever popping in and out of rooms at frightfully early hours.
“I suppose it was nice to sleep a bit late,” I said, settling back into my pillows, “but I have a great many things to tend to.” There were several things I wanted to do before having tea with Cecile Belanger tomorrow.
“No, you don’t,” he said. “I don’t know why you must always be in a rush, darling. Take a few moments to enjoy the simpler things in life.”
He did have a point, I supposed. We were in Paris on a beautiful spring morning. My very handsome husband lay beside me in bed. There was no reason why we should not enjoy our solitude. And yet …
“I keep thinking of the party last night,” I said.
He sighed. “Somehow I knew that was what you were thinking about. For pity’s sake, Amory, can’t you forget the matter for a few hours at least?”
“Not as easily as you can, apparently.”
“There are more pressing matters on my mind at the moment.” He leaned to kiss my neck.
“From what Madame Nanette said, Anton has wanted to run his father’s company for years, but Cecile has already been running things behind the scenes. But where does Michel fit into the picture? Is he as indifferent to it all as he seems?”
“Amory, do pay attention,” he said.
“I’m sorry,” I said mischievously. “But when you kissed my neck, I couldn’t help but think of Michel.”
“Is that so?” Milo asked, pulling me onto my side to face him.
“He made quite an impression,” I told him with a credibly straight face.
“Then I shall have to do everything in my power to make you forget him.”
He kissed me deeply, and it was not long before all thoughts of Michel Belanger had fled.
Alas, a few moments later we were interrupted as the telephone began ringing shrilly in the sitting room. Milo did not seem to hear it, or at least made a good show of ignoring it.
“We had better see who that is,” I said at last.
“They’ll ring us again.”
“It may be important,” I said. “What if it’s Madame Nanette calling to tell us something that she’s learned?”
Though Milo didn’t want to admit it, he knew I was right. He sighed heavily and threw aside the covers, depositing them in a heap atop me, and rose from the bed.
He went out into the sitting room and answered the telephone. I could hear the low murmur of his voice, but I could not make out what he was saying. I found myself hoping that it was something inconsequential and we might resume our interlude.
Unfortunately, it was not to be.
“You were right. It was Madame Nanette,” he said, coming back into the room.
“Is everything all right?”
“It seems to be. She’s on her way up.”
“Here?” I asked, shoving aside the satin bedspread that Milo had so unceremoniously dumped upon me and sliding from the bed. “We’re not even dressed!”
“I imagine Madame Nanette has seen nightclothes in her time,” Milo said.
I hastily pulled on a robe over my rather revealing satin nightdress. “Yes, but it looks as though we’ve been…”
“Cavorting?” Milo supplied as he unhurriedly put on his dressing gown. “Imagine, a man and his wife taking pleasure in each other’s company in the privacy of their bedroom.”
I wasn’t a prude, but somehow the thought of Milo’s former nanny finding us in our current state of dishabille was discomforting.
Milo, on the other hand, had never cared in the least what other people thought. It was a very convenient sort of attitude to have, for him at least, but I had never been able to adapt it.
“Call for some coffee, will you?” I asked him.
“Certainly.” He went back out into the sitting room, and I went to the dressing table and attempted to tame my hair. Madame Nanette had said that she would call on us on her day off. I wondered what it was that had caused her to visit earlier than intended.
By the time I heard Milo greeting Madame Nanette, I had managed to smooth down my dark waves and tie the belt on my robe. I still felt woefully unprepared for company, but there was no helping that now.
I went out into the sitting room where Madame Nanette sat on the sofa. Milo sat across from her, perfectly at ease in his dressing gown. I took a seat on the edge of a chair, wishing I had had the time to dress. I was unaccustomed to receiving guests in my bedclothes.
Madame Nanette either did not notice or graciously pretended not to. Instead, she apologized for having dropped in unexpectedly.
“You’re always welcome,” I assured her.
“I imagine there is something new you have to tell us?” Milo asked, pouring coffee into a cup and handing it to her.
“Yes, I had not meant to come until tomorrow, but I have learned something else that I wanted to s
hare with you.” She did not tell us right away. Instead, she said, “You met the family at the party.”
“You heard that we were there?” Milo asked.
“Yes,” she said, her eyes twinkling. “I heard Mademoiselle Belanger mention to Monsieur Michel that she had met an English couple who was very interested in the perfume.”
“And you knew it must be us,” I said.
“Yes, but that is not why I’ve come. There is something else that has happened that I thought perhaps you should know about.”
“Another item of news you weren’t meant to hear?” Milo inquired.
“I am not an eavesdropper, if that’s what you mean to imply,” she told Milo archly.
“Not at all, madame,” he said, soothing her. “I only meant that you are in an ideal position to learn of the workings of the family.”
I was intrigued by the relationship between this woman and Milo. There was a gentle courteousness in his treatment of her that I had never noticed in his interactions with anyone else. There were moments when he flashed his grin at her and gave her those quick, acerbic retorts to which I was accustomed, but there was also something different that she brought out in him, a warmer and less guarded side of his nature. It was a side I wanted to know more about.
Her expression softened. “Yes, that is true. The family sometimes forgets there are other ears than theirs in the house. What I have learned has to do with both Helios Belanger’s final flight as well as L’Ange de Mémoire.”
“The new Belanger scent?” I asked.
“Yes. As you know, Monsieur Belanger went to Grasse two days before his death. I have learned that the purpose of that trip was not solely to visit his factory. He was to have had a meeting there to finalize some aspect of the scent.”
“Yes, we heard he was very secretive about it,” Milo said.
She nodded. “It caused some discord, I believe, for he had always shared his formulas with Cecile.”
“But not this time?” I asked.
“No. More than once I heard them discussing some aspect of it, and always he seemed to dance around the answer and refused to tell her what it was she wanted to know.” She hesitated then added, “It almost seemed as though he didn’t trust her.”
The Essence of Malice Page 9
