Late for the Wedding (14 page)

She walked back to the chair she had occupied earlier and stopped beside it.

“I know you loved Fielding Dove very much,” she said carefully.

That seemed sufficiently noncommittal, she thought. If Joan wanted to maintain her privacy, she could let the remark pass with a simple acknowledgment.

Joan nodded, never taking her eyes off the portrait.

For a moment Lavinia thought that would be the end of the conversation.

Joan got to her feet and went back to stand at the window. “Shortly before you arrived, my daughter took great pains to remind me of that very fact.”

“I do not wish to pry,” Lavinia said. “But I sense that you are unhappy. Is there anything I can do?”

Joan’s elegant jaw tightened. She blinked several times, as though she had something in her eye. “Maryanne called today to lecture me about the impropriety of my new friendship with Lord Vale.”

“Oh, dear.”

“She seems to feel that I am somehow being unfaithful to Fielding’s memory.”

“I see.”

“It is rather unsettling to be lectured on such matters by one’s daughter.”

Lavinia winced. “If it is any consolation, I recently endured a similar talk from my niece. Emeline made it clear that in her opinion my connection with Mr. March has gone on long enough without the formality of a marriage license.”

Joan cast her a quick, wryly sympathetic glance. “Then you can perhaps understand some of my feelings in this matter. Tell me truthfully, do you think that my connection with Vale is evidence that I no longer treasure and respect Fielding’s memory?”

“Joan, the nature of your friendship with Lord Vale is none of my concern. However, since you have asked for my opinion, I will give it to you. From what you have said of your marriage, I believe that Fielding Dove loved you very much. Therefore, I cannot imagine that he would have wanted you to deny yourself the opportunity to experience happiness and affection after he was gone.”

“That is what I have told myself.”

“If you doubt it, try reversing the situation in your mind. If you were the one who had been taken off first, would you have wanted Fielding to be alone for the rest of his life?”

“No,” Joan said quietly. “Above all else, I would have wanted him to be happy.”

“I suspect that is precisely what he would have said about you if someone had asked him the question.”

“Thank you.” Joan sounded somewhat relieved. She turned around and smiled. “It is very kind of you to reassure me. I confess, Maryanne’s tears and accusations today rattled me. I began to wonder if I was, indeed, failing to honor Fielding in my heart.”

“I assure you, Emeline’s little homily on the proprieties sent a few tremors through me also.”

“I must say, under any other circumstance, our predicament would almost be amusing. You and I have both spent many years and a great deal of effort instructing two young ladies in the rules of decorum and proper behavior, and now they see fit to turn the tables on us.”

“It does give one pause, does it not?” Lavinia frowned. “I wonder if it is an indication that the younger generation may be developing a taste for prudery.”

Joan shuddered. “What a ghastly thought. Discretion and decorum are all very well, but it would be a great pity, indeed, if this current crop of young ladies and gentlemen were to become a nation of narrow-minded, straitlaced prigs.”

Chapter 12

Tobias went up the steps of Number 7 with a sense of anticipation that he had been savoring since breakfast. The prospect of an afternoon tryst with Lavinia was the only bright spot in what had proven to be an extremely frustrating and unproductive day. He wanted nothing more than to sink down onto the bed in the bedchamber upstairs and lose himself in his lover’s arms for a stolen hour or two.

His hopes crumbled when Mrs. Chilton opened the door.

“Mrs. Chilton, this is a surprise. I could have sworn that at breakfast this morning you mentioned that you would be going out to shop for currants this afternoon and that Mrs. Lake would be here alone for a time.”

“There’s no need to look at me like that, sir.” Mrs. Chilton drew herself up, glowering. “Plans changed. Not my fault. First, out of the blue, Mrs. Lake announces she’s off to pay a visit to Mrs. Dove. Says she’ll return by three.”

“It is just now three, Mrs. Chilton.”

“Well, she isn’t back yet and that’s all there is to it. Wouldn’t make much difference to your plans if she were here, and that’s a fact.”

“And why is that?”

Mrs. Chilton glanced over her shoulder in the direction of the closed parlor door and lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Because not ten minutes past a lady called. When I informed her that Mrs. Lake was out, she demanded to know when she was expected. I told her around three o’clock, and the next thing I know the lady declares that she’ll wait.”

“Damnation. She’s still here?”

“Aye. I put her in the parlor and gave her some tea. Wasn’t anything else I could do.” Mrs. Chilton wiped her large, rough hands on her apron. “Claims she’s a client. Thought perhaps she’d come in response to the notice Mrs. Lake put into the newspaper a while back. You know how enthusiastic Mrs. Lake is about advertising her services in the papers. Says it’s the modern way to go about running a successful business enterprise.”

“Kindly do not remind me of that bloody advertisement.” Tobias stalked into the hall and sent his hat sailing toward the small end table. “You know my feelings on that subject.”

“Aye, sir. You’ve made ‘em clear.” Mrs. Chilton closed the door. “But as there haven’t been any serious clients until now, it didn’t seem to be doing any harm. To tell you the truth, I think Mrs. Lake was getting a bit depressed about the entire project.”

“Unfortunately, she was not sufficiently cast down to call off the scheme.”

Thus far his fears that Lavinia’s attempt to advertise her private-inquiry services in the newspapers would draw an unsavory crowd of potential clients to her door had gone unrealized. To date, only three people had responded to the notice concerning an expert available for the purpose of conducting inquiries of a personal and private nature. To his secret relief, all three potential clients had immediately changed their minds when they discovered that the expert in question was a female.

“It’s not my fault the lady in the parlor chose to call upon Mrs. Lake this afternoon,” Mrs. Chilton muttered.

“I do not suppose there is anything you could have done.” Tobias started toward the parlor door. “But I believe I shall just have a word with this new client before Mrs. Lake returns.”

“Hold on there, sir.” Mrs. Chilton hurried after him, alarmed. “I’m not sure Mrs. Lake would want you to be speaking to her client without her being present.”

“What objection can she possibly make?” Tobias smiled his most innocent smile. “We are partners, after all.”

“Only on some cases. And you know very well that if she finds out you’ve cost her a paying client, she’ll be furious.”

“I just want to assure myself that this client is respectable and can afford Mrs. Lake’s fees.”

He opened the door before Mrs. Chilton could do it for him and walked into the parlor.

The lady seated on the sofa turned to look at him.

Bloody hell, Tobias thought. She
was
a client. So much for his plan to get rid of her before Lavinia returned.

“What are you doing here, Aspasia?” he asked.

“Tobias.” She gave him her cool, knowing smile. “What a coincidence. I came here to talk to Mrs. Lake because I assumed you would be busy with your inquiries. I wanted to find out how the investigation was proceeding.”

If this was any other client, he would lie through his teeth and tell her that he had made substantial progress. He always said that sort of thing to whoever was paying the fee for his services. But this was Aspasia, and she was not a typical client.

He went to stand with his back to the window, automatically putting the light behind him, and looked at Aspasia.

“I cannot speak for Mrs. Lake,” he said, “because I have not yet had a chance to compare notes with her this afternoon. But as for myself, I have made damned little progress. I sent our assistants out to make inquiries regarding the rings and the blond wig, however, and I have hopes that they will come back with some useful information.” He glimpsed Lavinia out of the corner of his eye. She was on the front step. “I see my associate has returned. Perhaps she will have news.”

Lavinia was a vision in deep violet. He found himself smiling a little even though his plans for the afternoon appeared to be in ruins. Something inside him always responded to the sight of her, he thought. He was aware of a sense of bone-deep satisfaction whenever he was in her presence.

He heard the muffled sound of the front door opening and closing. A moment later Lavinia breezed into the parlor. She had removed her bonnet in the front hall. Her face was warm and flushed from her recent exercise. The feminine vitality that she radiated made his insides tighten with a familiar hunger. Visions of the bed upstairs tormented him.

“Mrs. Gray.” Lavinia inclined her head a bare half inch. “Forgive me. I wasn’t expecting you.”

Her smile was so polished and professional that only someone who knew her well would notice the acute lack of warmth, Tobias thought.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Lake,” Aspasia said. “But I simply could not rest. I returned to London yesterday afternoon. I came here today because I had to find out if you and Tobias had discovered anything useful yet.”

“Yes, indeed.” Lavinia sat down on a chair near the tea tray and arranged her skirts with a flourish. Her smile never dimmed. If anything it actually brightened. “We have made substantial progress.”

Unlike himself, Tobias thought, she had no compunction about lying to this particular client.

“Indeed?” Aspasia raised her brows. “Tobias was just telling me that he had not been terribly successful. Isn’t that right, Tobias?”

He clasped his hands behind his back. “I certainly do not have much to offer yet.”

Lavinia gave him a repressive glare. “How fortunate, then, that I do have some useful information.”

She was certainly determined to follow his rules for dealing with a client, even if he was not bothering to do so, he thought.

“Your professional abilities never cease to astound me, madam,” he said dryly. “What did you learn from your
private informant
?”

He saw at once that she had caught the slight inflection he had given the last two words. He doubted that Lavinia had had any intention of dragging Mrs. Dove’s name into this affair, but it was best to be cautious.

She turned to Aspasia with a businesslike air. “I have discovered that there may have been at least two other recent deaths in Society that are highly suspicious. Lady Rowland and a certain Mr. Newbold. Both departed this earth quite unexpectedly.”

That got his attention. “I heard the rumor concerning Lady Rowland. An overdose of the medicine she took to help her sleep. No one mentioned Newbold.”

Aspasia’s brows puckered in a delicate frown. “Newbold died in a drunken fall down his own staircase a month and a half ago, I believe. I heard something about it shortly after I returned to Town. I did not pay much attention.”

“Most people ignored his death.” Lavinia’s mouth tightened in a manner that emphasized her disgust. “Evidently Newbold was quite dreadful. He was known to patronize the brothels that cater to those creatures who enjoy debauching children. In my opinion the young lady to whom he had recently got engaged had a very close call. Only imagine the horror of being wed to such a man.”

“Indeed.” Aspasia drank tea and made no further comment.

“The thing is,” Lavinia continued, turning toward Tobias, “I find the coincidence extremely intriguing, don’t you, sir?”

“Three unanticipated deaths? Yes, I do.”

“Not the deaths,” she said impatiently, “the cancellation of the wedding plans that followed in each instance.”

She was serious, he thought. He could not believe it. Neither could Aspasia, to judge by her expression.

“Lavinia,” he said carefully, “are you implying that the motive behind each of these three murders was a desire to stop a wedding from taking place?”

Lavinia set down the pot. “Have you got a better motive?”

“I’m working on one.” Her certainty irritated him. “All three deaths resulted in the transfer of fortunes. That makes for a lot of suspects among the family members.”

Aspasia’s expression altered from one of stunned disbelief to thoughtful consideration.

“I heard the rumors about Lady Rowland’s obsessive desire to see her eldest granddaughter wed to her old lover’s grandson,” she said slowly. “The woman had a reputation for using her money to manipulate everyone in her family. But what would be the point of murdering her? She was going to endow the girl.”

“Only if she consented to wed Ferring,” Lavinia reminded her. “But now her papa has taken control of the Rowland fortune, and evidently young Ferring’s offer was not accepted. The granddaughter is free to marry someone else. In one way or another, the other two young ladies have also been delivered from the prospect of extremely unhappy marriages.”

“Surely you are not suggesting that these innocent young girls could have concocted a diabolical scheme to hire a professional killer?” Tobias growled. “That defies credibility.”

Aspasia’s mouth tightened. “He’s right, Mrs. Lake. It is an interesting theory, but it is impossible to imagine that three extremely sheltered young ladies with no experience of the world could possibly reason out how to hire, let alone pay, a professional murderer.”

Lavinia set her shoulders in a manner that Tobias had learned to recognize. She was preparing to defend her position.

“I would remind you both,” she said, “that when it comes to alliances at that level of Society, there are many people besides the young ladies involved who might have a strong interest in the marriage contracts.”

“Do you believe that others in the families resorted to murder in order to halt the weddings?” Tobias folded his arms. “That is a crazed conclusion. We are talking about a killer who is attempting to imitate the Memento-Mori Man. It is impossible to imagine a professional murderer hiring himself out to some matchmaking mama.”

To his surprise, Aspasia spoke before Lavinia could respond.

“Marriage is a very serious matter, and young girls have very little say in the arrangements that are made for them.” Her mouth curved coldly. “I can personally testify to that. My papa certainly did not worry overmuch about my happiness when he accepted the offer for my hand.”

The sharp, icy edge on that last statement caught Tobias by surprise. It occurred to him that he had never heard Aspasia discuss her brief marriage.

Lavinia watched her quietly, not speaking. Tobias sensed that she was suddenly keenly interested in what Aspasia had to say.

“Nevertheless,” Aspasia continued, “when it comes to alliances in the polite world, there is nothing unusual about such arrangements. I have certainly never heard of anyone committing murder to halt a wedding.”

“As professional private-inquiry agents,” Lavinia said in her most authoritative manner, “I can assure you that Mr. March and I have seen cases where murder has been done for far less reason.” She beetled her brows at Tobias. “Is that not true, sir?”

The last thing he wanted to do was get caught in the middle of this little skirmish, he decided. He sought a diplomatic way out.

“There are any number of motives for murder,” he said, keeping his tone as neutral as possible.

Neither woman looked satisfied.

Aspasia frowned at him. “I trust you will not waste time pursuing false leads.”

He inclined his head. “I try to avoid that sort of thing.”

“So do I,” Lavinia said shortly.

Aspasia rose and walked toward the door. “I must be off. Please keep me informed.”

“Of course.” Tobias crossed the parlor to open the door for her. “Good day, Aspasia.”

She hesitated before moving out into the hall. “I fear we do not have any time to waste, Tobias. You must find this new Memento-Mori Man, and you must do it quickly. Who knows what he is planning next?”

He gripped the doorknob so tightly it was a wonder it did not come off in his hand. “I am well aware of the urgency involved here.”

Mrs. Chilton was hovering in the hall. She opened the front door for Aspasia, who went swiftly down the steps.

Tobias waited until she was gone. Then he took out his pocket watch and smiled pointedly at Mrs. Chilton. “I believe that you still have time to go out for currants.”

Mrs. Chilton rolled her eyes. “Very well, sir.” She darted a glance into the parlor behind him and lowered her voice. “But you had best be quick about it. Miss Emeline is due back around five. It would not do for her to walk in at an awkward moment.”

“Thank you for the warning, Mrs. Chilton. I assure you it is unnecessary.”

“Humph.”

He went back into the parlor. Lavinia had risen and gone to stand at the window. She stood with her back to him, her attention on the street.

He crossed the room and came to a halt behind her. Resting his hands on her shoulders, he followed her gaze. Together they watched Aspasia vanish around the corner. Lavinia did not turn around.

“You must make allowances for Aspasia,” he said quietly. “She is frightened and very anxious.”

“Mmm.”

“She has every reason to be worried. Zachary Elland was a cold-blooded killer, and whoever seeks to take his place is obviously of the same temperament. And you must admit that she’s right: This notion that there is a connection between three possible murders and three changes of marital plans is not a particularly substantial theory at the moment.”