Don't Look Back (34 page)

Lavinia recalled the terrifying ordeals Pelling's wife, Jessica, had revealed while in a trance. "Thank God your friend came downstairs when she did."

"Aye. The bastard like to have killed me."

"What did Pelling do after your friend interrupted the beating?" Tobias asked.

"Just turned and walked out the door as casual as ye please. Like he'd done nothing more than have some of the usual sport. To tell ye the truth, he seemed in a better mood afterward. Not cheerful, but more calm. Hasn't come back since, thank the Lord."

Tobias looked thoughtful. "You didn't say exactly what you teased him about."

"It was nothin', y'know? Just a little thing." Maggie wrinkled her nose. "Still can't understand why it set him off."

"What was the little thing?" Lavinia asked.

"His cravat," Maggie said.

Lavinia felt her blood run cold in her veins.

At the window, Tobias did not move. She sensed the hunter in him catching the scent of the quarry.

"What about Pelling's cravat?" he asked very softly.

"Well, he wasn't wearin' it that last time, y'see," Maggie said in her gin-thickened voice. "Properly dressed, he was, like he'd just come from his club or a fancy ball, but no cravat."

Lavinia met Tobias's eyes.
Impossible,
she thought.

"It looked odd," Maggie said. "Like his valet hadn't dressed him properly. So I teased him about being so eager to visit me that he had started to undress before he arrived. Asked him if he'd lost his bloody neckcloth somewhere along the way. That's when he went mad with his rage."

"I KNEW THERE HAD TO BE A CONNECTION."

Tobias pulled himself up into the hackney behind Lavinia and slammed the door. "There had to be a link between Hudson and Pelling. It was just too much of a coincidence that both men linked to you showed up in London at the same time."

The fierce, hawklike anticipation in his eyes was unsettling. It was at times like this that she was most keenly aware of the dangerous edge that was always just beneath the surface of the man. She did not fear him at these moments; she feared for his safety. When his blood was up he was inclined to take risks.

The new revelations called for logic, she thought. Not immediate action.

"We must proceed slowly and carefully," she said. "I admit that the fact that Pelling lost his cravat the night that Celeste was strangled with one is an exceedingly strange coincidence. But what possible connection could there be between Pelling and Celeste?"

"I suspect that for some reason Pelling, too, is after the Medusa bracelet. It would appear that he hired the Hudsons to steal it for him. Perhaps he became Celeste's lover. Regardless, she went to meet him that night and he murdered her, either because they quarreled or because he believed that he no longer needed her to help him get the bracelet."

"And realized too late that she had hidden the artifact before she met him at the warehouse?"

"The logic holds," Tobias said with satisfaction.

She held up her hand. "Not entirely. Only think for a moment, Tobias. If Howard knew about Pelling's involvement, then he must know that Pelling is the killer. Why would he hire us to find Celeste's murderer if he already knew his identity?"

"Because Hudson is after the bracelet, not justice for his dead wife. He must have realized the fact that Pelling doesn't have it, so he set us on the trail, hoping that if we turn over enough rocks, we'll find the bloody antiquity before Pelling does."

She spread her hands. "But why would Pelling want the bracelet in the first place?"

"Is he a collector?"

She thought back to the handful of conversations she'd had with Jessica Pelling. "To be honest, I do not know. The subject never arose. All I can say with any certainty is that he is wealthy enough to afford to collect rare antiquities."

"I think I know someone who can answer the question for us."

Twenty minutes later, Vale and Joan Dove walked out of the mansion onto the terrace where Tobias and Lavinia waited together with Emeline and Anthony. Emeline had fetched Lavinia's cloak a few minutes earlier and brought it out to her.

Vale took in Tobias's disheveled appearance in a single cool glance. His brows climbed. "Anthony informed me that you wished to consult with me but that you were in no condition to enter the ballroom. I see what he meant. Do you mind if I ask what happened?"

"It's a long and somewhat boring story," Tobias said.

Lavinia gripped his arm very tightly. "Actually, two men tried to murder him."

"Obviously they did not succeed," Vale said. "My congratulations, sir."

Tobias glanced at Lavinia. "I had some help from my partner."

Vale inclined his head. "The two of you clearly make an excellent team."

"Indeed," Lavinia said firmly.

Vale turned back to Tobias. "What can I do for you?"

"Tell me if you know whether or not Pelling is a collector of antiquities," Tobias said.

Vale did not answer immediately. Lavinia got the impression that he was running through some private logic of his own.

"Not to my knowledge," he finally said very slowly. "It is possible, of course. I certainly do not claim to be acquainted with every serious collector in England. But I am not aware of Pelling having a scholarly interest in relics. He has made no bid to join the Connoisseurs."

Lavinia's spirits plummeted. She realized that she had been holding her breath. So much for Tobias's brilliant theory, she thought. She glanced at him to see how he was taking the bad news.

To her surprise, he appeared undaunted.

"Hudson wants the Medusa bracelet for reasons that have nothing to do with a scholarly interest in antiquities," Tobias said. "Perhaps Pelling is also obsessed with it for some unknown reason."

Lavinia frowned. "Maggie said that Pelling went mad for a while the night he came to her room after the murder. If he is not entirely sane, he may want the bracelet for reasons that no one can comprehend."

"Unfortunately, we have no evidence," Tobias said. "I doubt that there is much we can do about Hudson at this juncture, but Pelling is a killer and must be stopped. If you're willing to help, Vale, it may be possible to lure him into a trap. Perhaps he can be persuaded to incriminate himself in front of two men whose oath would be unquestioned."

"I assume I am to be one of the witnesses," Vale said. "Who is the other?"

"Crackenburne."

Vale looked thoughtful. "It might work. How do you intend to set your stage?"

Tobias smiled slowly. "With the assistance of Mr. Nightingale."

Vale and Tobias exchanged glances.

"With luck we have time to bait and set the trap tonight," Tobias said.

Even in the shadows there on the terrace, Lavinia could make out the cold pleasure of the hunt in the eyes of both men.

But Tobias's predatory anticipation Dissolved a short time later when he sent a carefully crafted message regarding a very private auction to the inn where Pelling was staying.

The response came back immediately. Oscar Pelling had packed his bags and departed sometime after midnight. No one knew where he had gone.

"One of the more annoying aspects of this matter," Lavinia observed over a glass of sherry just before dawn, "is that Mr. Nightingale demands to be paid for his time, in spite of the fact that the scheme was unsuccessful. And we seem to be running short of clients to cover our expenses."

Tobias arrived for a late breakfast the following morning in a mood that boded ill for everyone around him.

Anthony, looking no happier, followed him into the breakfast room.

Emeline's initial start of pleasure at seeing him faded to a look of deep concern. "Oh, dear, something else has gone wrong."

Lavinia lowered her cup back down onto the saucer.

"What happened?" she asked.

Tobias took his customary chair and reached for the coffeepot. "They have both vanished."

"Both?" Lavinia searched his face and then glanced at Anthony for assistance.

"It is not just Pelling who has disappeared. We called at Dr. Hudson's rooms a short while ago. He is gone also." Anthony hesitated politely, one hand on the back of a chair. "May I sit down?"

"Yes, of course," Emeline said quickly.

Lavinia raised her brows. "Forgive us for our little lapse in manners, Anthony. It is just that we have grown so accustomed to Tobias's charming way of making himself at home. He no longer waits upon an invitation, as you can see."

Tobias ignored the pointed remark. He poured coffee for himself and handed the pot to Anthony. "I have concluded that those two footpads we encountered last night must have reported their failure to Pelling. He no doubt realized that if we knew enough to interview Maggie, we were getting too close. He may have passed the warning along to Hudson. Or perhaps the damned mesmerist came to the conclusion on his own that it was time to leave."

Emeline looked at him. "Where do you think they went?"

"No way to know yet." Tobias surveyed the dishes on the table, an irritable Minotaur eyeing sacrificial offerings. He settled upon the tray of eggs. "I doubt if either of them would dare return to their former residences. Wouldn't be surprised to learn that they are on their way to the Continent. Perhaps Hudson will elect to return to America."

"They certainly will not be showing their faces in London in the near future," Anthony said with some satisfaction.

"The fact that both men decamped together proves once and for all that they were, indeed, associates in this affair," Tobias said.

"Not necessarily." Lavinia took a bite of egg and gave him a quelling look. "Howard may well have left Town because he was intimidated by your attitude when you called upon him the other day. After all, you more or less threatened him, did you not?"

Tobias shrugged. "More, not less."

Anthony glanced at him. "You did not mention that you had talked to Hudson. What did you say to him?"

"It was a private matter." Tobias caught Lavinia's eye while he piled eggs on his plate. "Nothing that need concern us this morning."

Mrs. Chilton bustled in with a fresh plate of eggs. "Getting to be quite a crowd out here in the mornings. We'll have to see about increasing our order with the dairymaid."

Lavinia cleared her throat. "Large quantities of eggs and milk are costly."

"I'm sure we can afford a few extra eggs," Emeline said quickly.

"Whitby mentioned this morning that he is not using the usual number of eggs lately," Tobias put in helpfully. "I'll instruct him to send some to you, Mrs. Chilton."

"Very well, sir." Mrs. Chilton started back through the door. "I'll go and fetch some more toast."

"And jam," Tobias added. "We've run out again."

"Aye, sir. More jam."

"Speaking of your excellent jam," Tobias said, "how is your supply of currants?"

It was really too much, Lavinia thought. Now he was presuming to take charge of her kitchen. The next thing she knew, he would be inspecting the linens and dictating the choice of herbs to be planted in the garden.

"There is no need to concern yourself with our supply of currants, sir," she said forcefully. "I'm quite sure we have a sufficient quantity on hand."

"But we wouldn't want to take the chance of running out altogether." Tobias smiled at Mrs. Chilton. "You're certain you don't need to shop for some this afternoon, Mrs. Chilton? It promises to be a fine day."

Mrs. Chilton heaved a sigh. "I expect it wouldn't hurt to purchase a few more." She went through the door.

Emeline and Anthony exchanged looks. Lavinia could have sworn they were both struggling to conceal smiles.

Tobias drank some coffee and looked a good deal more pleased than he had when he had walked into the breakfast room a few minutes ago.

Lavinia wondered if the subject of currants always had such an uplifting effect on his spirits. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to keep an ample quantity on hand.

Shortly after two o'clock, Emeline looked around the door of the study, her bonnet dangling from her fingers. "Priscilla has just arrived in her mama's carriage. We are off to meet up with Anthony and one of his friends to view the new exhibition of paintings at that little gallery in Bond Street."

"Very well." Lavinia did not look up from her notes on the Medusa bracelet affair. "Enjoy yourself."

"We probably will not return much before six. Priscilla wants to shop for a new fan, and then Anthony and his friend are going to take us driving in the park in Lady Wortham's carriage."

"Mmm."

"Mrs. Chilton just left to shop for currants."

"Yes, I know." Lavinia dipped her quill in the ink and started a new sentence.

"I can see you are deep into your journal. I will bid you farewell."

"Good-bye."

The front door closed behind Emeline a moment later. A curious silence descended on the house.

Lavinia completed another sentence and paused to read what she had written.

... a most unsatisfactory conclusion to the affair. It is evident that Oscar Pelling murdered Celeste Hudson, but it is clear that he will never pay for his crime. The Blue Medusa has disappeared and with it any hope of collecting a fee for our services from anyone involved in this matter.

Several questions remain unanswered. I cannot bring myself to believe that my good friend Dr. Hudson is a thief, but Mr. March strongly disagrees with that conclusion.

Where did Celeste conceal the relic before she went to meet Pelling on the night of her death? I cannot forget the valet's assurance that the only person who could have taken the bracelet undetected was Mrs. Rushton. But she had no motive.

She put down the quill and looked out into the garden. The spidery threads of melancholia were drifting around her, threatening to entangle her in one of her rare moods. She considered putting aside her journal and turning to some poetry.

No, she thought, given the unfortunate ending to the Medusa affair, it would behoove her to return to work on writing an advertisement for the papers. New business must be found as soon as possible. There was some refining yet to be done on her notice. She was rather taken with the notion of adding a line or two about references being available upon request.

Perhaps what she really needed at that moment was some fresh air to raise her spirits, she decided. She should have gone with Emeline and the others to view the paintings and shop for fans.

References.

Fans.

The familiar snap and sizzle of intuition crackled through her, leaving her very nearly breathless. Very deliberately, she reached for her pen and wrote down her conclusion to see if it still made sense when viewed as a statement of fact.

She stared at what she had written for a long time, searching for flaws. She saw none. But there was only one way to be certain.

The Banks mansion loomed above the small, overgrown park, as bleak and cheerless as ever. When the housekeeper opened the door, she seemed surprised to see a live person on the front step.

"Is Mrs. Rushton home?" Lavinia asked.

"Aye."

"Please inform her that Mrs. Lake wishes to speak with her concerning her missing bracelet."

The housekeeper did not look overly optimistic about the prospects of an interview, but she went off to inform her mistress that she had a caller.

Mrs. Rushton received her in the gloomy drawing room. She frowned in disappointment when she saw that Lavinia was alone.