Dangerous Diana (Brambridge Novel 3) (28 page)

“More importantly,” Freddie said. “Where is the professor?”

“Nobody knows,” the man wailed, sitting on the floor and trying to get as far away from the swordstick as his constrained coat would allow. “We just received orders to pack up the tanks in the hall, and to load them onto the carts. We haven’t seen Professor Lisle in months.”

“Tanks?” Freddie pushed his sword more firmly into the wood of the terrace as the man struggled.

“For snakes,” the man chattered through clenched teeth. “Each one contained at least two snakes. I had to feed them every night, hence my knowledge.”

“Bleh,” Freddie grimaced.

Hades nodded. It all fitted. Only the Viper had already given them the slip. “Where would the professor go to?” he asked, pointing his gun at the man.

“I don’t know. None of us knew. We were just glad that he and the snakes were gone. He was such an odd man. And his guests kept disappearing.”

“The river,” Hades said suddenly. “This is where he put the bodies in the river. They floated downstream with the tide.”

“Bodies?” the man said, desperately trying to face away from the barrel of the gun, “I didn’t see any bodies!”

“I think that is how you’ll find your guests disappeared.”

The man retched suddenly. “I should have left when I had the chance.”

“Where is… Pedro?” Hades asked, recalling the man’s name. “Where did he go?”

The man took large gulps of air and stared in horror down at where he had retched on the floor. His eyes flickered sideways towards the end of the garden where the boathouse was and then back up to Hades. “I don’t know,” he said quickly, too quickly. “He just disappeared.”

“He’s lying,” Freddie said suddenly.

“I know.” Hades looked towards the boathouse and sprang up from the chair. Diving over the veranda balustrade, he shouted, “Freddie, wait here and guard that man.” He landed on the soft turf with a thud but quickly recovered. He ran down the length of the garden, and was only halfway down when lots of loud crashing followed by one final resoundingly loud splash emanated from the boathouse.

Cursing as the guns rubbed against his side, he pulled off his coat and threw it to the ground, leaving just the gun in his hand. Another fifty yards and he arrived panting at the boathouse. The outer door was slightly ajar. Cautiously he pushed the door open further and poked the barrel of the gun in.

“You can come in, Earl Harding.” James’ voice carried through the open door to Hades. “I believe I have found something of interest.”

Hades pushed the door open with his knuckles and entered slowly. James leaned against one of the posts that were used to tie the boats up against. His face was bloodied, and he held his arm close to him as if it hurt.

“What happened? I heard a loud crashing and a splash.”

James appeared to grind his heel slightly, which caused a yell to emanate from the water behind where he stood.
 
“I caught us a little fish. Trouble is, he can’t swim, and my boot is on his hand.”

Hades walked forwards cautiously on the boards that surrounded the inlet to the boathouse. A white face appeared in the water, panting desperately. The face was connected to two arms that hung outstretched from the boardwalk a foot above, one hand clutching onto a post, the other firmly trapped beneath James’ foot.

Hades recognized the face. It was the footman interloper who had managed to somehow kill the kitchen boy. “Watch out Stanton, that man’s got acrobatic abilities!” he cried, as the man flexed his body suddenly and flipped in the water.

James straightened, lifted his boot, stopped and in the quiet second, waited. As the man’s body lifted out of the water, he drew his arm back and punched forward.

The flying man folded in half and dropped like a stone onto the boardwalk.

“That is what the crashing was,” James said unconcernedly. “The devil wouldn’t stop still for a few seconds. It was like catching a fish.”

“A fish that couldn’t swim.”

“Yes. So have I caught the Viper? Blasted man wouldn’t stay still long enough for me to check his ears.”

“No,” Hades said sadly, assessing the scar on the face of the prone figure. “I’m afraid we’ve caught Pedro, his assistant.”

“At least that is something.” James rearranged his cuffs slowly, and tucked his injured arm back against his body. “You should be able to find out where the Viper is if Pedro is amenable.”

“Yes. I propose we take him back to Freddie’s. There should be enough instruments there to be able to at least threaten him with.”

“Good idea. I noticed some rope in the cabinets at the back here.”

“Right, I’ll tie him up, you go back to the house and sit with Freddie. He is with another individual there who has also not been very forthcoming.”

James nodded and left Hades to tie up the unconscious Pedro the acrobat. The man was slimy and cold. Tying a long rope to Pedro’s foot, Hades hefted the body onto his shoulder and hefted the deceptively light body out of the boathouse.

He collected James and Freddie from the veranda and, without stopping, moved directly through the house and out of the front door. The butler appeared as he was making his way through. However he merely stared, and retreated back behind a door that Hades assumed led to the lower kitchens.

Hades threw Pedro’s body into the coach without much care—the man was connected with too much misery already to worry about his well-being. James and Freddie hurried after him and climbed in as the coach was moving off.

“I just left that man there, pinned by my sword stick. I’ll have to go back and retrieve it at some point, or you will have to reimburse me,” Freddie said plaintively.

“I’ll make it up to you, Freddie,” Hades said tiredly. He still hadn’t caught the Viper, and long hours of trying to get Pedro to talk were ahead.

“And I can’t believe you are bringing that man into my house. You’ve already said that he has murdered one person, and Stanton here said it was like skewering a fish trying to pin this acrobat down. What are we going to do to keep him from escaping?” Freddie sounded positively childlike.

“We’ll tie more ropes around him and threaten him,” Hades said tiredly. “It works every time.”

“I hope you know what you are doing.” Freddie huffed and sat back on his seat. “At least Bill should have arrived by now. I’m useless with this leg and Stanton’s arm is probably broken.”

“So do I.” Hades thought of his looming appointment with a certain lady at nine o’ clock that night. “So do I.”

CHAPTER 28

Melissa awoke to find herself fully dressed still, but lying outstretched on her bed, above the covers. She sat up quickly in a panic and surveyed the bedspread. The book lay where she had left it when she had fallen asleep, rereading the diary again as she lay on the bed. The remains of a candle lay sloppily across a bedside table, the wick burned to the bottom, and wax covering the candle holder.

She licked her parched lips and blearily staggered towards the dresser that contained a pitcher of cold water. Unhooking the glasses that still rested on her nose, she blindly poured some water into the ornate bowl inset in the wood of the dresser, and with trembling hands, splashed her face.

Bertrand Lisle. She rolled the name around in her mouth as the water dripped off her face. Melissa fumbled for a towel and patted at the cascading drops. How he must have laughed as he sent that condolence letter to their family. He took her father’s life with little emotion and then systematically bought up her father’s house and ruined his sister by letting her borrow more and more money to gamble with.

Had he given any thought to the small girl growing up in that household? Had he had any thoughts of compassion for the life that she would lead, orphaned and hated? Melissa stared sightlessly back at the bed where the diary lay. The conversation between Lisle and his servant Jeffries echoed through her head…
‘I can deal with him should he prove difficult...’

Of course the diary could not reveal whether Lisle was her father’s murderer. Her father could not write on after his death, but she knew her father’s ways,
had known
his ways rather. He had always been cautious. He would not have fallen down a ravine accidentally.

There was no time to undress and dress again. Melissa could see from the strong sunlight filtering through the drapes that it was already mid-morning. She would prepare herself that evening for her meeting with Hades. Until then she needed to find out where Lisle lived now. The easiest place for that would be the Royal Society. It was where all her father’s cronies had met up when they came back from their expeditions. His direction would be known there for certain.

And she would tell Hades. She
would
. He could help her catch and put away the man. She knew that she could not do it herself.

Melissa put her spectacles back on her nose and blinked at the sharper focus of the bedroom. She glanced at the dresser. The deadly bottle of henbane stood against the mirror. She shook her head. She had no time to lose. Whirling on a heel, she left her bedroom and clattered down the stairs to the hall. Pulling her cloak from the cupboard under the stairs, she rushed to the front door and drew back all the bolts.

“Miss, miss, where are you going?” Carter shouted as she pulled back the last lock. He thundered up the stairs from the kitchens.

“To the Royal Society. I will be back for lunch, or afternoon tea at least,” Melissa threw back as she stepped outside.

“At least let me send someone with you!”

“No time,” she yelled back. She didn’t want to be slowed down by Carter finding some maid. And she definitely did not want Mrs. Hobbs chattering away in her ear about love again.

Melissa flew down the front steps and out onto the road as Arturo bolted out of the front door behind her, his leash in his mouth. It was only a twenty minute walk to the Royal Society at Somerset House. Her father had described where it was often after he had been there for a meeting, and the stretch of the legs would have been good for the small animal. But as she paused, unusually, Arturo didn’t follow her, instead he hung back at the front gate growling and whining, his head cocked on one side. After a few moments of encouragement Melissa turned on her heel and started down the street – she had no time to spare.

But she had only taken a few steps down the road before she bumped into someone in her haste.

“Oof, I’m terribly sorry,” she cried, pulling her cloak closer to her. The bump had pushed her glasses askew. She reset them on her face and looked at who she had nearly knocked over.

It was a man of medium height, dressed like a gentleman who lived in Mayfair. He looked at her directly and glanced to the side where a large black carriage drew up alongside them.

Melissa narrowed her eyes. The man might have been quite nondescript, but she had never seen ears as hairy as those before, except once.

“Mr. Adder?” she said slowly. “What a coincidence.”

The man smiled slowly, gleefully revealing sharp teeth. “Oh yes, quite a coincidence my dear, yes indeed.”

“Can I help you at all?” Melissa couldn’t help noticing that Mr. Adder was dressed very differently to the way that she had seen him before. Now he was a model of high class fashion compared to the ordinary man she had met behind her house.

“Can you help me?” the man almost giggled.

Melissa wished he would stop repeating what she said. She needed to get on to the Royal Society. He was holding her up. Behind her Arturo’s whines escalated to full a frenzy of barks.

“If there isn’t anything,” she said, stepping to one side and trying to move forward away from the noise.

But the man mirrored her movements, blocking her path. “Actually there was something. Can I give you a lift anywhere?”

Melissa shook her head. She didn’t want to talk to this man about where she was going. She tried to step forward again but he stood in her path. She tried to turn around, but found that her path was blocked by yet another man who grinned at her revealing very yellow teeth. “Please move,” she said politely, raising her voice a little.

“Ah, but you see my dear, my question was really a command. We will give you a lift somewhere.” Mr. Adder’s voice floated over her shoulder.

“I beg your pardo—”

Suddenly the light was cut off as a sack was brought down over her head. Not again! She filled her lungs to scream, but it was no use. Strong hands grabbed her round the middle and judging by the direction, bundled her straight into the waiting coach. Melissa pulled her hands up to her face but found them held, and forced back down in front of her and tied together.

“I’m glad I found you, Miss Sumner,” Mr. Adder said, panting slightly. The leather creaked in front of her as he sat down on what must have been a padded seat. “I thought I might have to chase you all over London, but you very kindly went to stay at the one place that I was still keeping an eye on.”

Melissa’s mouth dropped open, but she quickly closed it again. Why had Mr. Adder been keeping an eye on the earl’s house? Surely if he had wanted some medicine he would have gone to the house in Bayswater?