“Some nonsense about Crackenburne never leaving his club.”
“Well, that does seem a bit strange.”
“In addition to offering opinions regardless of whether or not I have requested them and refusing to introduce me to some of his acquaintances, you will also note that Mr. March has taken to appearing quite regularly at breakfast.”
Emeline nodded. “We do seem to see a lot of him in the mornings.”
“It is exceedingly expensive to feed a man of his size and appetite on a regular basis.”
“Mr. March does enjoy his food, does he not?”
“It is not his food, Emeline,” Lavinia said with grave precision. “It is our food.”
“I think I understand what is going on here,” Emeline said gently. “You feel that Mr. March is crowding you.”
“On the contrary. Mr. March is not content to merely crowd one. His ambition is to trample one into the dust and leave one lying flattened on the roadway.”
“Lavinia, I hardly think-”
“All in all, it is imperative that I show him that I am perfectly capable of handling my own business affairs without his constant supervision, and that I can come up with clues and suspects without his assistance. Which brings us back to Mrs. Rushton.”
Emeline looked intrigued. “What do you mean?”
“Edgemere Square is not far from here. We shall pay a call on her on our way home.”
“Excellent. I shall look forward to watching your interrogation techniques.”
“Speaking of techniques,” Lavinia said.
“Yes?”
“I must tell you that I was impressed with the manner in which you employed that extremely syrupy smile and that blatant flattery to Mr. Tredlow. Your approach rendered him quite cooperative. Very efficient work.”
“Thank you.” Emeline was pleased. “My particular method of conducting inquiries may be somewhat different from your own, but I feel it has possibilities.”
“Indeed, especially when one is interrogating gentlemen. Is it a difficult technique to master?”
“It comes quite naturally to me.”
Tobias stretched out his legs, steepled his fingers, and regarded Crackenburne. The club was quiet at this hour. The only sounds were the snapping of the flames in the fireplace, the clink of coffee cups on saucers, and the crackle of newspapers.
“Another case?” Crackenburne asked without looking up from his newspaper.
“Mrs. Lake and I are conducting an inquiry on behalf of an old friend of hers, Dr. Howard Hudson.”
“Ah, yes, the mesmerist whose wife was found strangled.”
“I never fail to be astonished by your remarkable ability to keep up with the latest gossip.” Tobias turned his attention to the flames. “Apparently Mrs. Hudson was murdered by her lover for an ancient bracelet that she evidently stole.”
“You sound doubtful.”
“Celeste Hudson was quite beautiful, much younger than her husband, inclined to flirt, and may have been involved in an illicit love affair.”
“I see. In other words, you suspect that her husband killed her.”
“I think it is an extremely likely possibility, yes. To be sure, I do not doubt the whole tale. It is quite probable that Celeste Hudson had a lover and that the pair of them contrived to steal the antiquity. But Lavinia is convinced that Hudson is innocent of both murder and theft and only seeks justice for his dead wife. I, on the other hand, think what he really wants is to recover the antiquity that went missing that night.”
Crackenburne grunted. “I don’t wish to dampen your enthusiasm, but I must point out a potential drawback to this particular case.”
“Save your breath, I have already spotted it. If it turns out that I’m right and that Hudson did murder his wife, Lavinia and I are highly unlikely to collect our fee.”
“Urn, yes.” Crackenburne folded the newspaper and peered over the rims of his spectacles. “Anything I can do for you?”
“What can you tell me about Lords Gunning and Northampton? All I know is that they reside in or near Bath and may have been clients of Hudson’s.”
Crackenburne gave the matter some thought and then shrugged. “Not much, I’m afraid. If they are the gentlemen I am thinking of, both are elderly. Both are in ill health. Both are wealthy. They have memberships in this club, but I haven’t seen them here in years.”
“That’s all?”
“I’m afraid so. But I’ll see if I can turn up more information, if you like.”
“I’d appreciate it,” Tobias said.
“I must say, I rather enjoy this detecting business of yours.” Crackenburne picked up his coffee cup. “Almost as interesting as the old days during the war when you conducted your clandestine inquiries on behalf of the Crown.”
“I’m glad that you are amused,” Tobias said. “Personally, I have concluded that my career as a spy afforded me a far simpler and more restful life and put considerably less strain on my nerves than my present occupation as Mrs. Lake’s occasional partner.”
The Banks mansion was a vast, gloomy pile of stone in the Gothic style. Tucked away in a remote neighborhood, it rose several stories above a large, high-walled garden. The narrow windows on the upper floors were shrouded with dark drapes. In Lavinia’s opinion, the structure would have been well suited to a horrid novel featuring specters and the odd skeleton.
“Even if one did not know that the master of the house was slowly decaying inside, one could guess as much from the street,” Emeline said.
“It is a somewhat depressing place, is it not?” Lavinia banged the brass knocker. “But I suppose that is only to be expected under the circumstances. His lordship is dying, after all. And taking his time about it too.”
The housekeeper opened the door and peered out, blinking, as if the sunlight on the doorstep was unexpected and unwelcome.
“We wish to speak to Mrs. Rushton.” Lavinia put her card into the woman’s gnarled hand. “Please give her this and tell her that it is very important.”
The housekeeper stared at the card, as though puzzled by the printing, and then scowled. “Mrs. Rushton isn’t in this afternoon. She’s off getting one of her treatments.”
“Treatments?” Lavinia repeated. “What sort of treatments?”
“Got weak nerves. Started going to one of those mesmerists a few weeks ago. Does wonders for her, she says. Can’t tell the difference, if ye ask me, but the long and the short of it is, she ain’t home today.”
The housekeeper closed the door in Lavinia’s face.
Emeline’s eyes were alight with excitement. “Mrs. Rushton goes to a mesmerist.”
“Indeed.” Lavinia led the way down the steps. She did not trouble to conceal her satisfaction. “A very interesting bit of news, is it not?”
“But what does it imply?”
“I do not know where it will take us, but there is no getting around the fact that it is a connection of some sort.”
Emeline hurried after her. “When will you tell Mr. March about this latest development?”
Lavinia pondered that for a few seconds. “Tonight when I see him at the Stillwater ball. He may well turn up this information on his own. I want to be certain he knows that I got here first. I have no wish to listen to him take the credit. Quite intolerable.”
Chapter Eleven
“I found Oscar Pelling.” Anthony’s voice was strained with the effort to conceal his pride and excitement. “It wasn’t easy. I had to make inquiries at a number of inns before I discovered that he is staying at the Bear’s Head in Shuttle Lane.”
“Excellent work.” Tobias eased aside the carriage curtain and checked the night-shrouded street. It was shortly after nine. The unmistakable stench of the river told him that they were nearing their destination. “Did you learn anything of his business in Town?”