A Question of Numbers

by Andrea Penrose

  Napoleon’s Talisman is also a real object. For those of you who read Smoke and Lies, the previous book in these series, you’ll have learned the details about this amazing artifact. For those of you who haven’t, you can read about it here. It disappeared in history for long time, and the apocryphal story is that it was discovered in a field near the battle of Waterloo.

  There’s no historical proof that it was involved in the battle . . . but as an author, I couldn’t resist having it play a key part in the plot! The murders and political intrigue that bring Lady Arianna and Saybrook to Brussels are all fictional, but scheming among the various Allies was rampant, and as Wellington later remarked, his victory over the French was “. . . the nearest run thing you ever saw in your life.”

  The Duchess of Richmond’s ball is also a legendary historical event. Considered by some to be the most famous party in history, it took place on the eve of the Battle of Quatre Bras, the preliminary skirmish leading to the Battle of Waterloo. Wellington attended, along with the Prince of Orange and most of the high-ranking officers of the Allied army. The Gordon Highlanders performed the sword dance, as described in my story, and by all accounts, the first part of the evening was filled with dancing, drinking and flirting. As the dispatches began to come in, Wellington maintained his sangfroid and stayed for supper, but then, as depicted in the story, he asked the Duke of Richmond if he had a map of the area. They retreated to his study . . . and the rest is history. (And it’s true that many of the officers rode off to battle still dressed in their ballroom finery.)

  For those of you who want to read more about what it was like in Brussels leading up to the Battle of Waterloo, I highly recommend Dancing Into Battle: A Social History of the Battle of Waterloo by Nick Foulkes. —Andrea Penrose

  About the Author

  I began my writing career at age five with a number of lavishly illustrated Westerns, which were lovingly preserved for posterity by my first fan (Thanks, Mom!) However, I have since moved on to Regency England, an era that has fascinated me ever since I read Jane Austen’s Pride And Prejudice.

  I majored in art at Yale and went on to get a MFA in Graphic Design, concentrating in publication design. So I guess you could say I have always had a left brain-right brain love affair with the printed page . . .

  You can read more about me and my books at my website, along with some of the fascinating details about Regency England.

  www.andreapenrose.com

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  Also by Andrea Penrose

  The Wrexford & Sloane Regency Mystery Series

  MURDER ON BLACK SWAN LANE

  MURDER AT HALF MOON GATE

  MURDER AT KENSINGTON PALACE

  The Lady Arianna Regency Mystery Series

  SWEET REVENGE

  THE COCOA CONSPIRACY

  RECIPE FOR TREASON

  THE STOLEN LETTERS

  SMOKE & LIES

  A QUESTION OF NUMBERS

  For more information on Andrea and Andrea’s books, visit www.andreapenrose.com

  You can write to Andrea at

  andreapenroseauthor@gmail.com

  Excerpt: SWEET REVENGE

  BOOK ONE IN THE LADY ARIANNA REGENCY MYSTERY SERIES

  CHAPTER ONE

  From the Chocolate Notebooks of Dona Maria Castellano

  “How fascinating! I recently discovered an old Spanish missionary’s journal in a Madrid bookstore and found a number of references to chocolate among his writings. According to him, ancient Aztec legend has it that the cacao tree was brought to Earth by their god Quetzalcoatl, who descended from heaven on the beam of a morning star after stealing the precious plant from paradise. No wonder that the spicy beverage made from its beans was called the ‘Drink of the Emperor.’ It is said that this xocoatl or chocolatl was so revered that it was served in golden goblets that were thrown away after one use . . .”

  The scent of burnt sugar swirled in the air, its sweetness melting with the darker spice of cacao and cinnamon. Candles flickered, the tiny tongues of flame licking out as the footman set the plate on the dining table.

  “Ahhhh.” The gentleman leaned down and inhaled deeply, his fleshy face wreathing in a sybaritic smile. “Why, my dear Catherine, it smells . . . good enough to eat.”

  Laughter greeted the bon mot.

  “Oh, indeed it is, poppet. I’ve had my chef create it specially for you.” The heavily rouged lady by his side parted her lips, just enough to show a peek of teeth. “And only you.”

  “How delicious.” Plumes of pale smoke floated up toward the painted ceiling and slowly dissolved in the shadows. His lazy, lidded gaze slid past the glittering silver candelabra and took in the empty place settings of the other half dozen guests. “And what, may I ask, is it?”

  “Chocolate.”

  “Chocolate,” he echoed, sounding a little puzzled. “But—”

  “Edible chocolate,” explained Catherine. “A new innovation, fresh from Paris. Where, as you know, the French have refined sumptuous indulgence to an art form in itself.” She lowered her voice to a sultry murmur. “Aren’t you tempted to try it?”

  All eyes fixed hungrily on the unusual confection. Soft mounds of Chantilly cream ringed the porcelain plate, accentuating the dark, decadent richness of the thick wafers arranged at its center. Ranging in hue from café au lait to burnished ebony, they rose up from a pool of port-soaked cherries.

  “I must warn you, though,” she teased. “Chocolate is said to stimulate the appetite for other pleasures.” Her lashes fluttered. “But perhaps you are already sated after such a rich meal.”

  “One can never have enough pleasure,” replied the gentleman as he plucked the top piece from its buttery perch and popped it into his mouth.

  A collective sigh sounded from the others as he gave a blissful little moan, squeezed his eyes shut . . .

  And promptly pitched face-first into sticky sweetness.

  There was a moment of dead silence, followed by a slow, slurping shudder that sent a spray of ruby-red drops and pink-tinged cream over the pristine tablecloth.

  “Good God, send for a physician!” screamed one of the guests. “The Prince Regent has been poisoned!”

  CHAPTER TWO

  From the Chocolate Notebooks of Dona Maria Castellano

  “Chocolate was served during religious rites and celebrations. It was often mixed with flavorings such as vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, chilies, hueinacaztli—a spicy flower from the custard apple tree—and anchiote, which turns the mouth a bright red! The Aztec also believed that the dried beans of the cacao tree possessed strong medicinal properties. Indeed, warriors were issued cacao wafers to fortify their strength for long marches and the rigors of battle—a fact that Sandro will undoubtedly find of great interest. I, too, have remarked on the nourishing benefits of hot, sweetened chocolate . . .”

  Steam rose from the boiling water, enveloping the stove in a cloud of moist, tropical heat.

  “Hell.” A hand shot out and shoved the kettle off the hob.

  Cleaning up after such a feast would likely take another few hours, thought the chef irritably. But that was the price—or was it penance—for choosing to work alone. A baleful glance lingered for a moment on the kitchen’s worktable, the dirty dishes and pots yet another reminder that the aristocratic asses upstairs were gluttons for decadent foods.

  More, always more—their hunger seemed insatiable.

  But it wasn’t as if their appetite for sumptuous pleasures came as any great surprise to Arianna Hadley. Contempt curled the corners of her mouth. Indeed, she had counted on it.

  Turning away from the puddles of mel
ted butter and clotted cream, she wiped her hands and carefully collected the scraps of paper containing her recipes. The edges were yellowing, the spidery script had faded to the color of weak tea, and yet she could not quite bring herself to copy them onto fresh sheets of foolscap. They were like old friends—her only friends, if truth be told—and together they had traveled. . . .

  Her hands clenched, crackling the papers. Not that she cared to dwell on the sordid details. They were, after all, too numerous to count.

  She closed her eyes for an instant. For as far back as she could remember, life had been one never-ending journey. Jamaica, St. Kitts, Barbados, Martinique, along with all the specks of Caribbean coral and rock too small to have a name. Foam-flecked, rum-drenched hellholes awash in rutting pirates and saucy whores. And from there across the ocean to the glittering bastion of civilized society.

  Ah, yes. Here in London the scurvy scum and sluts were swathed in fancy silks and elegant manners. Fine-cut jewels and satin smiles. All thin veneers that hid a black-hearted core of corruption.

  Tracing a finger over a water-stained page, Arianna felt the faint grit of salt and wondered whether it was residue from the ocean voyage or one of the rare moments when she had allowed a weak-willed tear. Of late, she had disciplined herself to be tougher. Harder. But as the steam wafted over the sticky pots, stirring a sudden, haunting hint of island spices, she blinked and the words blurred. Light and dark, spinning into a vortex of jumbled memories.

  Fire. Smoke. The lush scent of sweetness licking up from the flames.

  “Breathe deeply, ma petite.” Her voice lush with the lilt of the tropics, the mulatto cook leaned closer to the copper cauldron. “Drink in its essence.” She sprinkled a grating of cinnamon, a pinch of achiote over the roasting nibs. “Watch carefully, Arianna. Like life itself, the cacao is even better with a bit of spice, but the mix must be just right. Let me show you. . . .”

  Dark as ebony, Oribe’s hands fluttered through the tendril of steam. “Theobroma cacao—food of the gods,” she murmured. “Now we must wait for just the right moment to douse the flames. Remember—its magic cannot be rushed.” From a smaller pot, the cook poured a measure of hot milk into a ceramic cup. Adding a spoonful of ground beans, thickened with sugar, she whipped the concoction to a foaming froth with her molinillo. “But patience will be rewarded. Drink this—”

  Then the image of the old servant dissolved, and Arianna found herself staring into the shadows.

  Shadows. She remembered shifting shapes of menacing black, and the rumblings of thunder from a fast-approaching storm. Dancing to the drumming of the wind against the shutters, a tendril of smoke had swirled up from the lone candle, casting a trail of twisted patterns over a bloodstained sheet.

  “Drink this, Papa.” She was holding a glass of cheap rum to her father’s trembling lips. “A physician will be here soon with laudanum to help ease the pain,” she lied, knowing full well that not a soul would come rushing to help two penniless vagabonds.

  “I would rather have a sip of your special chocolate, my dear.” He tried to smile, despite the jagged knife wound gouged between his ribs.

  So much blood, so much blood. Cursing the stinking wharfside alleys and the shabby tavern room, she pressed her palm to the scarlet-soaked handkerchief, trying to staunch the flow.

  “I—I shall always savor the sweet memory of you,” he went on in a whisper. “I . . .” A groan gurgled deep in his throat. “God in heaven, forgive me for being such a wretched parent. And for sinking you in such a sordid life.”

  “You are not to blame! You were falsely accused.”

  “Yes, I was—I swear it,” he rasped. “But . . . it doesn’t matter. Not for me.” He coughed. “But you—you deserve better. . . .”

  “Never mind that. You deserve justice, Papa. Tell me who did this to you.”

  “I . . .” But there was no answer, only a spasm of his icy fingers and then a silence louder than the wailing wind.

  Arianna shifted on her stool, recalled back to the present by the clatter of footsteps on the stairs. Her skin was sheened in sweat and yet she was chilled to the bone.

  “Chef! Chef!” Fists pounded on the closed door. “Monsieur Alphonse, open up! Something terrible has happened!”

  Smoothing at the ends of her false mustache, Arianna quickly tucked the papers into her smock and rose.

  Perhaps it was too late for justice. Perhaps all that mattered now was vengeance.

  “Indeed?” Lord Percival Grentham’s expression remained impassive. A senior government minister in Whitehall’s War Office, he was in charge of security for London, which included keeping watch over the royal family. And with the King lingering in the netherworld of madness and his grown children mired in one scandal after another, it was a task designed to test his legendary sangfroid.

  Grentham’s assistant nervously cleared his throat. “But he’s going to survive, milord,” he added hastily. “A physician happened to be treating a patient next door and was summoned in time to purge the poison from the Prince’s stomach.”

  “More’s the pity,” snapped Grentham’s military attaché, who was standing by his superior’s desk, arranging the daily surveillance reports. “Bloody hell, if Prinny can’t control his prodigious appetites, he could at least have the decency to fall victim in his own establishment.”

  The assistant didn’t dare respond.

  Leaning back in his chair, Grentham tapped his elegant fingertips together and stared out the bank of windows overlooking the parade ground. Rain pelted against the misted glass, turning the vast expanse of gravel to a blur of watery gray. Beyond it, the bare trees in St. James’s Park jutted up through the fog, dark and menacing, like the jagged teeth of some ancient dragon.

  “How long until he can be moved from Lady Spencer’s town house?” he asked slowly.

  “Er . . .” The assistant consulted the sheaf of papers in his hands. “Another two or three days.”

  “Bloody, bloody hell,” swore the attaché. “If word of this reaches the newspapers—”

  “Thank you, Major Crandall.” The tapping ceased—as did all other sounds in the room. Turning to his assistant, Grentham continued with his inquiries. “I take it that the other guests have been sworn to absolute secrecy, Jenkins?”

  “Yes, milord. And they’ve all promised to be silent as the grave.”

  “Excellent,” he replied mildly. “Oh, and do remind them that they had better be, else their carcasses will be rotting on a transport ship bound for the Antipodes.”

  “Y-yes, milord.” The young man was new to the job and hadn’t yet dared ask what had become of his predecessor. Rumors of Grentham’s ruthlessness were rife throughout the halls of the Horse Guards building, and it was whispered that even the Prime Minister feared to provoke his ire.

  Taking up his pen, Grentham jotted several lines on a fresh sheet of foolscap. “Do we know for certain what poison was used?”

  “Not as yet, sir. The physician says it is difficult to discern, on account of the, er . . . substance that the Prince ingested.” The young man paused, looking uncertain of whether to go on.

  “Well, do you intend to keep me in suspense all afternoon?” asked Grentham softly. “Or is this meant to be an amusing little guessing game, seeing as I have nothing else to do with my time?”

  “N-n-o, sir.” The assistant gave another glance at his notes. “It was . . . chocolate.”

  “Chocolate?” repeated Crandall incredulously. “If this is your idea of a joke, Jenkins—”

  “It’s n-no joke, sir, it’s the God-honest truth.” Jenkins held out a piece of paper with a suspicious-looking stain streaked across its bottom. “You may see for yourself.”

  Grentham waved away the offending document with a flick of his wrist. “I am a trifle confused, Jenkins,” he murmured. “I thought you said Prinny ate the stuff, not drank it.”

  “He did, sir. It says here in the physician’s report that the Prince Regent collapsed a
fter eating a disk of solid, sweetened chocolate.” Seeking to forestall another acerbic attack, he quickly went on. “Apparently the confection is a recent culinary creation, developed in France. It is said to be very popular in Paris.”

  “Chacun à son goût,” said Grentham under his breath.

  “Sir?”

  “Never mind. Go on—anything else of interest in the report?”

  “Well, milord, the man does mention the possibility that the Prince might have sickened from overindulgence, and not from any toxin.” Jenkins swallowed hard. “But the Prince’s private physician questions whether chocolate in this new, solid form might have naturally occurring poisonous properties.”

  Grentham thought for a moment. “So in fact, we don’t have a clue as to whether this was an attempt on the reigning sovereign’s life, or merely another example of his appetite for pleasure getting him in trouble.”

  Looking unhappy, Jenkins nodded. His superior was known as a man who preferred to view the world in black and white. An infinite range of grays merely muddied the subject—which did not bode well for whoever presented the ill-formed picture.