“What version is that?”
“Mine.” Tobias did not turn around. “It goes like this. Hudson learns that his much younger and extremely attractive wife has betrayed him with another man. He cannot rest until he knows the identity of her lover. One evening he makes an excuse to attend a demonstration of mesmerism given by a competitor, but he leaves early. He returns to the house and follows his wife to her rendezvous. He finds her alone, perhaps waiting for her lover. In a rage, he confronts her. There is a terrible quarrel. He strangles her with his own cravat.”
She drew a deep breath. “What of the lover?”
Tobias shrugged. “Perhaps he arrives at the scene in the midst of the quarrel, realizes that something has gone wrong, and flees before Hudson sees him. Perhaps he never shows up at all.”
“But why would Howard murder Celeste? He loved her.”
“We both know that love can turn to hate in a crucible that is heated with the fires of betrayal and rage.”
She started to argue the point, but the memories of what she had learned in the course of their last case made her hesitate.
The tall clock ticked in the silence.
“I understand your concerns,” she said at last. “Mind you, I do not believe for a moment that Howard killed Celeste, but I can see where a professional investigator who did not know him personally might consider the possibility.”
“And I can comprehend your desire to believe that Hudson is honest and sincere. I know how much it means to you to reestablish your acquaintance with him. He is, after all, someone whom your parents considered a friend. He shares some of your own memories of happier days. He reminds you of a time when you were not so alone in the world.”
Reluctantly, she admitted to herself that he had a point. It had been good to see her old family friend again, in large part because Howard was a link to her past. His presence brought back lingering traces of the warmth and the quiet security of the close-knit family life she had known when her parents had been alive. The world had seemed so much simpler in those days. The future had looked rosy and bright and free of dark clouds.
“It was certainly good to see Howard again after all these years,” she said briskly. “But I do not think that the pleasure of renewing our acquaintance has blinded me to the facts. I know Howard better than you do, Tobias. He was never a man given to rages or fits of strong passion. Indeed, he was always a model of self-control. His is a scholarly nature. I never saw him exhibit any inclination toward violence.”
“You knew him as a visitor in your parents’ home. In my experience, people are generally on their best behavior under such circumstances.” He did not take his eyes off the small garden. “You cannot possibly know his innermost thoughts. You cannot know him the way a wife would have known him.”
She thought about that. “You have logic on your side.”
He looked at her over his shoulder, one brow raised in mocking surprise. “You astound me, madam. I did not expect you to accept my opinions so readily.”
“I did not say that I accepted them. In point of fact I disagree with them entirely. But I can now comprehend why you hold those views. Let us get to the meat of the matter. Would you prefer not to assist me in solving this case, Tobias?”
“Bloody hell.”
He swung around with a suddenness that caused her to sit back very quickly in her chair.
“The only way I would abandon this investigation,” he said, “would be if I could convince you to give it up. And I can see that is highly unlikely.”
“Impossible, actually.”
He covered the small space in less than a couple of heartbeats, leaned across the desk, and planted his big hands on top of some papers that cluttered the surface.
“Let us have one thing understood between us, Lavinia. I have no intention of allowing you to make inquiries on your own into a situation that involves murder.”
“It is not your place to determine the sort of cases I choose to investigate.”
“Damnation, if you think that I will let you risk your neck-”
“That is quite enough, sir.” She shot to her feet. “You have always had the most annoying tendency to issue orders, but you have grown decidedly worse in that regard since the business of the waxwork murders. Indeed, you have become extremely overbearing of late, and I must tell you that it is not an attractive quality in a man.”
“I am not overbearing,” he said through his teeth.
“Yes, you are. Indeed, it is no doubt such a natural condition for you that you do not even notice when you slip into that mode.”
“I am merely attempting to instill some common sense into this situation.”
“You are attempting to give me orders and I do not like it. Hear me well, sir.” She leaned forward a little, putting her face close to his. “We are either equal partners in this venture or else I shall solve the case on my own. The choice is yours.”
“You are, without a doubt, the most infuriatingly stubborn, willful woman I have ever met.”
“And you, sir, are the most arrogant, dictatorial man of my acquaintance.”
They glared at each other across the width of the desk for a long moment.
“Hell’s teeth.” Tobias straightened abruptly. An edgy expression simmered in his eyes. “You leave me no alternative. I am not about to let you take this case on your own.”
She concealed a small sigh of relief. The unfortunate truth was that she had had only limited experience investigating murder. One case of it, to be precise, hardly sufficient to make her an authority in the field. She had a great deal yet to learn about her new profession, and Tobias was the only one who could instruct her in the fine points.
“It is settled, then,” she said. “We are agreed that we will be partners in this affair.”
“Yes.”
“Excellent.” She sat down quickly. “I believe the first step is to make a plan, is it not? As I recall, you are very fond of plans.”
He did not move. “I am. I only wish that I had a plan that enabled me to deal more effectively with you, Lavinia.”
She gave him a cool smile. “My, my. And here it was not long ago that you were holding me up as a paragon of female behavior suitable for Emeline to emulate.”
“I cannot think what made me say such a thing. I must have taken temporary leave of my senses.” He shoved a hand through his hair. “I find that happens frequently when I am in your vicinity.”
She chose to ignore that. “About our plan, sir. It occurs to me that we must approach this puzzle from several different angles.”
He rubbed his jaw, thinking. “You are right. There is the antiquity itself to be investigated. We must also try to discover the identity of the owner, the person from whom it was stolen.”
“I have had some experience with the antiquities trade. I am acquainted with a number of persons who deal in relics. Rumors of the theft of an item as unusual as the Blue Medusa will no doubt be rampant by now. Why don’t I make the inquiries in that direction?”
“Very well. You see to the legitimate shops and dealers. I will deal with the other sort.” He started to pace. “Smiling Jack has any number of contacts among the criminal class. He will likely know this mysterious person who calls himself Mr. Nightingale. I shall ask him to arrange a meeting.”
This was, she decided, the perfect opportunity to bring up a matter that she had been mulling over for several days. She cleared her throat delicately.
“Now that you raise the subject of your criminal connections,” she murmured, “I may as well tell you that I have decided that it would be very helpful for me to become acquainted with your friend Smiling Jack.”
“Out of the question. One does not take a lady into the Gryphon.”
She had anticipated resistance, she reminded herself. “I could go in disguise, as you do, sir.”