Rendezvous (40 page)

“Good evening, Graystone. Sheldrake. I am surprised to find you both here tonight. Would have thought you’d have been dancing attendance on your ladies. Congratulations on your engagement, by the way, Sheldrake. Although, I must say, it was rather unsporting of you to remove one of the few viable heiresses from the scene. Not much left for the rest of us to choose from, hmmm?”

“I am certain you will find one to your taste,” Peter murmured.

Harry turned the half-empty glass of claret in his hand, studying the ruby highlights. “Was there something you wanted, Lovejoy?”

“As a matter of fact, there was. Thought I’d warn you both that there’s a master cracksman operating in Town these days. Broke into my library a few weeks ago.”

Harry looked at him without expression. “Is that so? Did you report the loss to the magistrate?”

“Nothing was taken that cannot easily be replaced.” Lovejoy smiled coldly, turned, and left.

Harry and Peter sat in meditative silence for a few minutes.

“You may have to do something about Lovejoy,” Peter finally observed.

“Yes, it would appear so.” Harry shook his head. “The only thing I do not understand is why he has settled on me as his target.”

“In the beginning, he was probably simply intent on seducing Augusta for the hell of it. But now he has no doubt reasoned out that you ruined his little game by breaking into his library to get Augusta’s vowels. He would no doubt like to even the score. He has not had the opportunity because you have been out of town for the past few weeks.”

“I shall keep an eye on him.”

“Do that. I would assume from his not-so-veiled threats that he will try to use Augusta to gain his revenge.”

Harry thought about that as he finished his claret. “I still believe there is more in this Lovejoy business than meets the eye. Perhaps it is time I paid another late-night visit to his library.”

“I shall go with you. It might prove interesting.” Peter grinned slowly. “But surely you do not intend to try anything like that tonight. Your schedule is already rather crowded this evening.”

“You are quite right. Some other evening when I am free. We have other important business tonight.”

Augusta was pacing the library when Harry and Peter arrived. She had dressed appropriately for the adventure. She was wearing a black velvet cloak over her black gown, a pair of matching black gloves, and black velvet half boots. She had chosen the boots because she thought they would stand up to a tramp through the garden and down the lane better than her pumps or slippers.

She had sent the staff to bed hours ago and had been fidgeting with excitement ever since. The significance of being invited to join Harry and his friends tonight nearly overwhelmed her.
She had gained admission to his special circle at last
.

Augusta realized she was at last going to share with Harry that wonderful close friendship he shared with Sally and Peter. Together they would solve a mystery and Harry would see that Augusta could do her part. He would learn to respect her cleverness, she promised herself. He would start to see her as one of his true friends, a woman he could trust and with whom he shared the secret aspect of himself.

The soft sound of the door opening and closing in the hall brought Augusta to a halt. There was a murmur of men’s voices and the sound of booted feet on the tile. She whirled around quickly and ran to the library door. When she opened it she found a dour-looking Harry and a grinning Peter Sheldrake.

Peter sketched a gallant bow. “Good evening, madam. May I be allowed to tell you how perfectly attired you are for this evening’s event? The black velvet cloak and boots are extremely dashing. Does she not look splendidly dressed for this sort of thing, Graystone?”

Harry scowled. “She looks like a damn highwayman. Let us be off.” He motioned both of them out the door with his ebony cane. “I want to get this over as quickly as possible.”

“Are we not going to go out through the library window?” Augusta asked.

“No, we are not. We are going to go out through the kitchens in a normal, reasonably civilized manner.”

Augusta wrinkled her nose at Peter as they followed Harry out of the library. “Does he always get like this when he is involved in an investigation?”

“Always,” Peter assured her. “Quite a killjoy, our Graystone. No sense of adventure.”

Harry threw his companions a quelling glance over his shoulder. “Be still, both of you. I do not want to waken the staff.”

“Yes, sir,” Peter murmured.

“Yes, sir,” Augusta whispered.

The trio made their way safely out into the garden without incident and found they did not need a lamp to
light the route down the lane. There was enough moonlight to reveal the paving stones, and the warm glow from the upstairs windows of Lady Arbuthnott’s house served as a beacon.

As they drew closer to their goal, Augusta noticed that the downstairs of the big house was dark. “Will Sally be waiting for us at the kitchen door, then?”

“Yes,” Peter said softly. “She’ll take us into her library and we will talk there.”

When they reached the gate of Lady Arbuthnott’s garden, Harry paused. “It’s open.”

“No doubt she sent a servant out earlier to unlatch it for us,” Peter said, pushing at the heavy gate. “I do not think she has the strength to walk this far on her own anymore, poor dear.”

“I am amazed she can continue to operate Pompeia’s,” Augusta whispered.

“’Tis all that keeps her going. That and the pleasure of being involved in one last investigation for Graystone, of course,” Peter confided.

“Silence,” Harry ordered.

Augusta clutched the folds of her cloak around her and followed Harry in dutiful silence. Peter brought up the rear of the short column.

Because she was directly behind him, Augusta nearly collided with Harry when he came to an abrupt halt.

“Ooomph.” She caught her balance. “Harry? What is it?”

“Something is wrong.” There was a deadly flat quality in Harry’s voice which alarmed Augusta as nothing else could have done. She realized he was grasping his ebony walking stick in a rather odd manner.

“Trouble?” Peter spoke softly in the shadows, all trace of banter gone from his voice.

“The back door is standing open. There is no light and no sign of Sally. Take Augusta back to the house. Rejoin me once you have seen her safely inside.”

“Understood.” Peter reached out to take Augusta’s arm.

Augusta sidestepped him hurriedly. “Harry, no, please let me come with you. Sally might have become gravely ill. Perhaps that is why—”Augusta cried out as her toe tangled in the hem of a woman’s gown that had drifted out from beneath a clump of bushes. “Oh, dear God, no.
Sally
.”

“Augusta? What the hell—” Harry spun around and started toward her.

Augusta was already on her knees, crawling frantically beneath the heavy foliage. “’Tis Sally. Oh, Harry, I know ’tis her. She must have collapsed out here.
Sally
.”

Augusta touched her friend’s body, fumbling with Sally’s expensive silk gown. Her black gloves were instantly soaked in warm blood. A shaft of starlight gleamed dully on the hilt of the dagger that was still buried in Sally’s breast.

“Goddamn his bloody soul.” Harry’s voice was savage as he tore his way through the bushes and dropped down beside his old friend. He groped for Sally’s wrist and felt for a pulse. “She lives.”

“Christ.” Peter found his way to Sally’s side. He stared at the dagger and swore again. “The goddamned son of a bitch.”

“Sally?” Augusta grasped the limp hand and was horrified by the cold feel of it. Sally was dying. That was a certainty.

“Augusta? Is that you, dear?” Sally’s voice was barely a whisper of sound. “I am glad. Glad you are here. ’Tis not pleasant to die alone, you know. ’Tis the one thing I feared.”

“We are all here, Sally,” Harry said quietly. “Peter and Augusta and I. You are not alone.”

“My friends.” Sally’s eyes closed. “’Tis better this way. The pain was getting so bad. So bad. I did not think I could go on much longer, you know. Still, I would have preferred to do the thing myself.”

Tears started in Augusta’s eyes. She gripped Sally’s hand
fiercely, as if she could hold on to her through sheer physical strength.

“Sally, who did this?” Harry asked. “The Spider?”

“Oh, yes. It must have been him. Never saw his face. But he knew about the list. Knew I had it. Got it from the cook.”

“What cook?” Peter asked gently. “Cook at the old Saber Club. Got it this morning from him.”

“Damn the Spider’s bloody soul to hell,” Harry whispered. “I will see that he pays for this, Sally.”

“Yes, I know, Graystone. This time you shall have him. Always knew that one day you would settle accounts with the Spider.” Sally started to cough dreadfully.

Augusta held on to the frail hand more tightly, the tears spilling down her face to mingle with her friends blood. Once before she had held someone like this and watched helplessly as the life within dwindled to a tiny flame and then flickered and went out. There was no more terrible task in the world than this kind of vigil.

“Augusta?”

“Sally, I shall miss you so,” Augusta said through her tears. “You have truly been my friend.”

“And you have been a true friend to me, my dearest Augusta. You have given me more than you will ever know. Now you must let me go. ’Tis past time.”

“Sally?”

“Do not forget to open the book, Augusta.”

“No. I will not forget.”

And then Sally was gone.

H
arry
held Augusta as she sobbed in his arms. He could think of no way to comfort her and nothing hurt as much as not being able to alleviate her pain. This overflowing emotion was no doubt the way a Northumberland Ballinger dealt with grief and he envied Augusta the release of tears. For himself, he could do nothing but plot revenge.

Unable to do anything else, Harry closed his arms tightly around Augusta there in the hall of the big, silent Arbuthnott mansion and willed the storm to pass.

And he forced himself to think only of vengeance. Augusta was calming slightly when Harry looked over her head and spotted Peter coming through the back door.

“It looks like he had time to search her bedroom and the library,” Peter said. “Both rooms are a shambles. But the other rooms are still in good order. He must have heard someone or something and left before he had time to finish the job. Probably decided that with Sally dead, no one else would be able to find the list, either.”

“It’s a big house. Difficult to search thoroughly. Have you taken care of everything else?” Harry asked quietly.

Peter nodded, his blue eyes chips of ice. “Yes. One of the servants has gone to summon the magistrate. I’ve had Sally’s body taken to one of the bedrooms. God, she was frail, Graystone. There was nothing left of her. She must have been living on spirit and willpower alone for the past few weeks.”

Augusta stirred in Harry’s arms and raised her head. “I shall miss her so.”

“We all will.” Harry stroked Augusta’s back soothingly. “I shall always be extremely grateful to her.”

“Because she was so brave during the war?” Augusta blinked back the tears and dabbed her eyes with Harry’s handkerchief.

“No, although I have always admired her courage. The reason I shall forever be grateful to her is that it was she who suggested I arrange to meet you by contacting Sir Thomas. Sally said you should be added to my list of potential wives,” Harry said candidly.

Augusta looked up, startled. “She did? How very odd. Why on earth would she think I would make you a good wife?”

Harry smiled faintly. “I asked her that question myself, as I recall. She said I would do better with a wife who was not in the classical style.”

Peter closed the door. “Sally understood you very well, Graystone.”

“Yes, I rather believe she did.” Harry gently put Augusta a little away from him. “My friends, we must do our grieving later. The authorities will assume Sally’s murder was perpetrated by thieves who attempted to break into the house. There is no point in letting them think otherwise.”

“Agreed,” Peter said. “Nothing they could do in any event.”

“We must find the list Sally mentioned.” Harry glanced
down the hall, thinking how huge the house was and how long it was going to take to go through it properly. “I know something of Sally’s methods for hiding items she did not want discovered. She tended to choose the obvious places, on the grounds that no one would think to look in them.”

Augusta sniffed into the handkerchief. “The book.”

Harry glanced at her. “What book is that?”

“Pompeia’s betting book.” Augusta bravely thrust the wet handkerchief deep into a pocket in her cloak and started down the hall to the drawing room. “Sally told me that if I ever found it closed, I must make certain you open it. And you heard her a few minutes ago just before she … she died. She said I must not forget the book.”

Harry exchanged a glance with Peter, who simply shrugged and prepared to follow Augusta.

The door to Pompeia’s was closed. Harry heard Augusta start to weep again as she opened it, but she did not hesitate. She walked into the dark, silent room and lit a lamp.