Murder Most Malicious (29 page)

“Lord Bellington! Then those pictures of Julia with him—”

“Yes, I know how they looked. Henry thought they were having an affair and we let him, but she was supplying us with information. I stole those pictures last week because I didn't know then if we could trust Theo or not. I couldn't take the chance that he might find them first and use them against us somehow.”

“Apparently Julia trusted him,” she said. “I overheard the two of them talking about those pictures, although at the time I didn't understand the reference.”

“Hmm, yes. Unfortunately your sister never told me she had already confided in Theo. Not that her faith in him would have exonerated him in my mind, not without further proof. Still, she might have mentioned it.”

“That's Julia. She tends to err on the side of reticence.” Phoebe angled her chin. “But you certainly could have mentioned
your
involvement to me, instead of trying to frighten me off like you did.”

“No, Phoebe, I couldn't have. Not until I knew who posed a danger to you and who didn't. Until then I thought it best you knew as little as possible. I didn't want you involved.”

“Did Julia know of your efforts to investigate Henry?” He nodded, and the notion of Julia being in this man's confidence was like a stab to her side. Remembering the reason he'd been invited to spend Christmas at Foxwood, she stepped out of his arms. “Well, then, you and she work quite well together, don't you? What a splendid couple the two of you will make.”

“Couple?” He looked utterly mystified for all of three seconds, then laughed. “Ah, that little scheme Fox and your grandmother cooked up in the event things didn't work out with Henry. Rest assured, my lady, Julia is not the Renshaw sister who interests me, nor am I the man who interests her.”

With that he leaned in and caught Phoebe's lips in a warm little kiss that ended all too soon, before she could decipher its meaning—to him, to herself—and before she could quite decide if she wished it to end or go on and on. He smiled again, bowed slightly, and left the room.

Blindly, Phoebe left the billiard room, too, with hardly a notion of where she was going or what she passed along the way. No wonder she bumped into Julia in the corridor.

“What on earth is wrong with you, Phoebe? Watch where you're going.”

“Julia . . . sorry. I—”

“Goodness, Phoebe, you what? Did you take a blow to the head in the midst of your derring-do last night?” Julia narrowed her eyes and leaned closer to study her. “Or perhaps you caught a head cold from being out in the snow.”

“Neither. I'm fine, it's just that . . . Oh, Julia.” Suddenly overcome with an admiration she hadn't felt for her sister in a very long time, she threw her arms around Julia.

“What on earth is this?”

Phoebe pulled back. “What you did—your part in bringing Henry to justice—to think you let me believe you'd behaved dishonorably when all along your actions were nothing short of heroic.”

Julia's beautiful features pulled taut in a scowl. “Don't you go shoving me onto any pedestals, little sister, or the whole lot will come tumbling down around your naïve little ears. What I did was as much motivated by self-interest as any other reason. I detested Henry, and the idea of seeing him brought low filled me with glee. I didn't wish death on him, mind you, but ostracized, penalized—oh yes, I wanted him to have what he deserved. Now, if you'll excuse me.”

With that, Julia brushed by her and continued to the gallery. Phoebe stood where she was for several long moments, dazed by her encounters with both her sister and Owen. As to the latter . . . hmm . . . she didn't know. Simply didn't know. It was all so unexpected and so . . . so not the sort of thing that happened to girls like her.

As for Julia . . . a smile dawned on Phoebe's lips. For all her protests, Julia
had
been heroic and that meant she had
cared
enough about something—anything—to rouse herself to action. And that meant Julia was finally coming alive again. Phoebe's smile persisted as she continued on to her room, her mind abuzz with all manner of new possibilities and hopes for the future.

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Copyright © 2016 by Lisa Manuel

 

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Library of Congress Catalogue Number: 2015951102

 

ISBN-13: 978-1-61773-830-2
ISBN-10: 1-61773-830-1
First Kensington Hardcover Edition: January 2016

ISBN: 978-1-6177-3830-2

First Kensington Electronic Edition: January 2016