Death of a Courtesan: Riley Rochester Investigates

by Wendy Soliman

  ‘I certainly hope so, sir, but those hopes currently hinge upon Clement. I shall be most interested to hear what he has to tell me. I’m thinking, you see, that he and Adelaide were somehow intending to undermine her family’s business. They had the expertise and, God alone knows, Adelaide had reasons aplenty for wanting revenge, especially against the uncle, but just as much against the aunt. She was the one who ran that household, even after Huxton’s marriage. Left to her own devices, Mrs Huxton would probably have believed Adelaide’s allegations. But the aunt persuaded her otherwise, resulting in Adelaide’s fall into prostitution and her mother’s early death.’

  ‘More than enough reason for a resentful woman to want revenge.’ Thompson nodded. ‘I agree with you there and can’t say as I blame her. Can’t see an old lady creeping into a brothel at the dead of night and committing the crime herself, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t arrange for it to be carried out. If the uncle told her he’d seen Adelaide and what she had become, that would be more than reason enough. Protect the family name, and all that.’

  ‘Quite so.’

  ‘Very well, Rochester, you’d best get on with it, but keep me informed.’

  Riley inclined his head. ‘Naturally.’

  ‘Has Danforth tried to contact you?’

  ‘No, not as yet, but I expect he will.’

  ‘Well, he damned well shouldn’t.’ Thompson fiddled with his pen as he scowled at nothing in particular. ‘His best—indeed his only—hope of hanging on to his career is to keep a low profile and hope that the murderer is caught quickly, before the newspapers get their teeth into the story. If they do that…well, we both know that Danforth’s presence at that place will eventually come to light, and then there will be nothing I can do to protect him.’

  ‘The waiting will be wearing him down, I shouldn’t wonder.’ Thompson grunted his agreement. ‘In his position I would want to know what was going on, even if I couldn’t realistically expect to be kept fully informed.’

  ‘Naturally you will decline to tell him anything. I’m depending upon you to do the right thing, Rochester. Someone has to fill Danforth’s position if it’s taken away from him, and you are by far the best candidate. Don’t make any mistakes and put yourself out of the running.’

  Riley assured his superior that he would not, thinking as he left his office that promotion would be bittersweet if the opportunity was created at the expense of Danforth’s stupidity.

  He walked briskly through the detectives’ room, collected his coat and hat and set off in yet another cab for the south of the river. It was time to find out what Henry’s paramour had to say for herself.

  Riley was surprised to discover that Celeste occupied the whole of a semi-detached house of faded elegance in a respectable street. He wondered if she had set up her own brothel, accounting for her need for such a large establishment.

  There was nothing faded about the lady herself, he was soon to discover. In her early twenties, her sophistication implied that she had reached the pinnacle of her profession. The moment Riley was admitted to her salon by a uniformed maid, he noticed her naturally gracious movements even before he took in her quite exquisite beauty. She had a waterfall of dark hair, striking blue eyes and a fresh-faced innocence—a combination that he could easily imagine bringing out protective instincts and jealousies in the most selective of men. Men like his brother, married to a shrew of a woman who brought little joy into his life.

  Celeste wore a respectable afternoon gown that clung to her svelte figure, showing it off without revealing an ounce of unnecessary flesh. Another surprise.

  ‘Lord Riley,’ she said, standing and offering him a slender hand. ‘Thank you for coming.’

  Riley took her hand, unsurprised to discover that it was as cool as everything else about her. ‘Your message brought my brother to London in person. Naturally I was curious.’

  ‘Poor Henry.’ She shook her head, a tiny smile playing about her lips as she resumed her chair and waved Riley into its twin. ‘He never did understand the rules.’

  ‘Money doesn’t buy everything,’ Riley suggested, deciding to be blunt.

  ‘In his case, certainly not.’ She gave Riley an appraising look that implied the same rules might not necessarily apply to him. ‘May I offer you refreshment?’

  ‘Thank you, but no. I cannot stay for long.’

  ‘You are not at all what I expected,’ she said, canting her head and regarding him speculatively.

  ‘Whereas you exceed my expectations,’ he replied, because it was true. Celeste spoke with a refined accent that didn’t sound affected. Celeste, which was obviously not her given name, was well-born and accustomed to mixing in decent society.

  ‘I shall take that as a compliment.’

  ‘It was intended as one.’ Riley allowed a short pause. ‘You have information that might help my investigation into Adelaide’s death, I believe.’

  The playful smile left Celeste’s lips and she looked genuinely upset. ‘A sober reminder of the travails of our profession, if any such reminder were necessary.’

  ‘Excuse me, but I imagine that both you and Adelaide could have made more permanent arrangements, if you so wished. Indeed, I know that’s true in your particular case and to secure the affections of a man in Henry’s position would be considered quite a coup.’

  ‘Some of us prefer to retain a modicum of independence, Lord Riley, even if we are never completely free to please ourselves. But then, who in this life is?’ She fixed Riley with a significant look, as though assuming that he pursued a career as a policeman through necessity. He decided not to correct her misconception. He was here to learn what she could tell him about Adelaide—not trespass onto personal territory. Territory that he seldom discussed with anyone and was certainly not prepared to talk about with his brother’s former courtesan. ‘I was partly responsible for training Adelaide, did you know that?’

  Celeste’s melodious voice jolted Riley from his reverie. ‘No, I did not.’

  ‘I knew her slightly when we were young. Our family homes were close to one another, but that is all I am prepared to say about my own background, since it is not relevant.’ Riley inclined his head in silent agreement. ‘I always liked her, and hated the atmosphere she’d had to endure as a child, so when I left home and established myself, I wrote to her. We kept in touch that way. When she was forced from her home she came to London and looked to me for help. I was employed by Mrs Sinclair at the time and persuaded her to allow Adelaide in.’

  ‘Did she know what would be required of her?’

  ‘Not immediately. I assumed she would stay away for a while and then return home, but I underestimated her courage. She told me she wanted to be like me and asked me to teach her how to go about it. Mrs Sinclair could see her potential and agreed to take her on in training and…well, the rest is history.’ Celeste fell into momentary contemplation, her bright eyes staring at the fire. ‘We none of us spoke about our reasons for finishing up in such an establishment, at least not collectively, but I suspect we all had similar tales of exploitation to relate. Adelaide did open up to me and her story was typical, but far from breaking her, her experiences had made her stronger. She had an attitude about her that suggested she was a survivor, willing to exploit men’s weaknesses for her own profit and gain a modicum of revenge against the male sex whilst she went about it.’

  ‘Excuse me, but is that not what every woman in your profession does?’

  Celeste offered him a patronising smile. ‘To some degree, but many of them are unable to disguise their distaste for what they have become. Adelaide, on the other hand, had a natural flair for flagellation, domination if you like, and I quickly spotted that gift.’

  ‘One that you share?’

  She smiled and inclined her head. ‘It is a very lucrative accomplishment but not something one would succeed at unless it came naturally. To Adelaide it came very naturally. I pointed that out to Mrs
Sinclair and she agreed that I should train Adelaide to assist me, or take my place when the time came for me to leave, which it inevitably would. The turnover in such establishments is rapid. Anyway, Adelaide learned quickly and excelled. I believe that she continued with that tradition and was herself training Ruby.’

  Riley flexed a brow. ‘You are well informed.’

  ‘Adelaide and I had few secrets from one another.’

  Riley shifted his position, watching Celeste closely. ‘I confess to being surprised that you both befriended and encouraged Adelaide. My experience with the girls currently employed by Mrs Sinclair is that they are highly competitive and not inclined to form lasting friendships.’

  ‘That’s true as a general rule. Mirabelle certainly felt threatened by Adelaide.’

  ‘Ah, but you didn’t need to worry about Adelaide eclipsing you.’ Riley nodded. ‘Now I understand.’

  ‘Celeste acknowledged the compliment with a gracious nod. ‘There was something about Adelaide that made me take to her from the outset. I will concede that’s unusual for ladies in our line of work, but there are exceptions to every rule.’ She blinked rapidly. ‘I shall miss her.’

  ‘You left Mrs Sinclair’s house and moved to Chichester, I assume.’

  ‘Yes. I grew tired of all the bickering that you yourself noticed amongst the girls, craved a change and so decided to try my luck alone.’

  ‘But you remained in touch with Adelaide?’

  For the first time, Riley appeared to have surprised Celeste. ‘She kept my letters?’

  ‘We haven’t found them yet. I learned from another source that she received regular letters until a few months ago which is, I assume, when you returned to London. At which point you met with Adelaide in person rather than corresponding with her.’

  Celeste tilted her head. ‘You are very perceptive.’

  ‘Did Adelaide tell you why she left her family and finished up selling herself?’

  ‘For the same reason as a lot of us do.’ Celeste lifted one elegant shoulder. ‘She was molested by her uncle, her family didn’t believe her and she wasn’t prepared to sit passively by and wait until he decided to rape her.’

  ‘You believed her story?’

  ‘Oh yes.’ She looked away. ‘It was so similar to my own circumstances that there could be no doubt. Except that I was cornered by my own father when he was in a drunken rage and didn’t escape quite so easily as Adelaide.’ She let out a slow breath. ‘I lost my virginity to my own father at the age of fourteen.’

  Riley shook his head. ‘I am so very sorry. No wonder ladies in your position grow to despise men in general.’

  ‘I was made to believe it was my own fault, that I had brought it on myself and no one would take my word over my father’s if I said anything.’ She stared off into the distance and shrugged again. ‘That was probably true. That I wouldn’t be believed, I mean. So I decided my father wouldn’t have an opportunity to do the same thing to me again. My older sister had left home abruptly at an early age. She lives in London so I came to her and…well, progressed to what I do now. Except now it’s on my terms. Men can pay for my body but they will never own or control me. Adelaide felt the same way.’

  ‘Were you aware that she died a virgin?’

  Celeste’s smile highlighted her delicate beauty, making Riley see why his brother was so enamoured with her. An evening in her company would make a man forget all his troubles, even if their liaison wasn’t sexual. She simply had that way about her. What she had just told him about her own circumstances also explained why she was unwilling to become Henry’s exclusive mistress. Tight as a tic with his money, if Henry purchased sole rights to her services he would most definitely want to control her.

  ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘We used to laugh about that. It was an ultimate means of control. A virgin holding sway over all those powerful men. We couldn’t help wondering how they would have reacted had they known the truth.’ Her smile abruptly faded. ‘Now we shall never find out.’

  ‘What did you and she talk about when you met?’

  ‘Oh, her revenge, of course. She survived by plotting her family’s downfall.’

  Riley tried not to show how interested he was in that comment. ‘Did she indeed,’ he remarked casually.

  ‘She blamed her aunt as much as her uncle for allowing matters to run out of control. She described her aunt as a jealous old harridan who resented Adelaide and totally dominated her mother. Adelaide followed her family’s fortunes from afar and knew of her mother’s death. That was the final blow and everything she did from that point onwards was with single-minded determination to have her revenge.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘You will have to ask my husband that question,’ Celeste replied with a casual wave of one hand.

  ‘Your husband?’ Riley jerked upright. ‘Excuse me, but I was not aware that you were married.’

  She dismissal Riley’s comment with a negligent shrug. ‘Is there any reason why you should have been?’

  ‘Well no, I suppose not, but I assumed—’

  ‘You assumed,’ she said, an edge to her voice, ‘that because I sell myself, no respectable man would want a permanent connection with me?’

  ‘Quite the reverse, I do assure you. My brother would walk over hot coals if you would agree to his terms.’

  ‘He is not asking me to marry him—and even if he was in a position to do so, I would not accept him. Henry has yet to learn that not everyone in this world is impressed by his elevated position within society, or would like to have any part of it.’ Celeste smiled. ‘I married a year ago, which is why I returned to London. It suits my husband and me not to advertise the fact that we are married, but it is no secret either.’

  ‘You no longer offer yourself to other men?’

  ‘Oh, I do occasionally, with my husband’s prior knowledge and approval. I am very skilled at what I do, Lord Riley, and charge accordingly. We need, or should I say needed, every penny that we could raise between us in order to help Adelaide gain her revenge.’

  Riley shook his head. ‘I’m sorry, I don’t have the pleasure of understanding you. Why would you want to give everything you have to help Adelaide? I know she was your particular friend, but still…’

  ‘Oh, Michael and I are in it primarily for profit but if it also meant that Adelaide could even the score, then all to the good.’

  ‘Is your husband here?’

  ‘Not at the moment, but I am expecting him back later tonight or in the morning. He is in France at the moment.’

  A teasing smile graced Celeste’s pretty lips, which was when the penny dropped.

  ‘You are married to Michael Clement,’ Riley said slowly.

  Chapter Twelve

  Riley left Celeste half an hour later, with the information she had given him still rattling around inside his head. He tried to make sense of it in so far as it applied to Adelaide’s murder but was no closer to arriving at any answers when the cab dropped him outside his residence.

  Tired, in need of a bath, a good meal and decent bottle of wine, he was irritated but not surprised when Stout informed him that his brother was in the drawing room.

  ‘What did she say?’ Henry asked, standing the moment Riley walked into the room.

  ‘Good evening, Henry.’ Not a hint of irritation was evident in Riley’s tone. The same could probably not be said for his expression. ‘Is there a problem? I thought we had agreed to meet at White’s later this evening.’

  Riley shrugged out of his coat, passed it to Stout and took a chair in front of the fire, opposite the one Henry had just risen from. Stout put Riley’s coat aside and poured him a large glass of burgundy without bothering to ask if he would like one. Henry, he noticed, had already made significant headway into Riley’s best vintage. He looked pale and distracted, a shadow of the brother who had always taken such pleasure in pulling rank over Riley—disapproving, pompous and dictatorial. Riley
was unable to decide if he liked the changes in him, wrought by a woman who was unimpressed by the status upon which Henry set such stock. If he had been a vindictive man…

  Hopefully it was simply a midlife crisis from which Henry would eventually recover and revert to his normal bombastic self. Riley had neither the energy nor the will to dwell upon the possibility of Celia, Henry’s marchioness, having noticed the changes. She, if anything, was even more self-aware than Henry. She wouldn’t care about her husband engaging in a discreet affair but she would have a great deal to say upon the matter if she even suspected that the female in question had actually engaged Henry’s affections. Celia would never be able to hold her head up in society again if Henry made such an almighty fool of himself.

  Riley was tempted to smile at the images that possibility conjured up. He and Celia had never enjoyed a cordial relationship, especially since it became apparent to Riley that she had little or no interest in her eldest child, the delightful and spirited Sophia who, against all the odds, showed signs of maturing into everything that her parents were not. Riley was inordinately fond of Cabbage and, for her sake, would try to ensure that Henry didn’t do anything rash. He didn’t mind if Celia’s credibility was affected but would mind very much indeed if Cabbage’s future was blighted as a result of her father’s stupidity.

  ‘Sorry, Riley. Forgive me.’ Henry rubbed the side of his hand along his moustache. ‘I’m on edge, you see. Can’t seem to settle to anything. Besides, I thought we’d have more privacy if we met here.’ He glanced around the room, as though he’d not seen it before. Since he had only ever set foot in it on one or two previous occasions in order to rail against Riley for his inappropriate conduct or lack of familial responsibility, his reaction didn’t surprise Riley. ‘Decent set up you have here,’ he remarked. ‘I envy you your bachelor status. Far less complicated that way.’

  Riley almost choked on his wine. ‘Are you sure you’re my brother and not an imposter?’

  Henry waved a hand. ‘Perhaps I’ve always been secretly envious of your freedom to do as you please and damn the consequences.’