“Hudson.” Tobias did not look pleased. “What the devil is he doing here at such an uncivil hour?”
“I might remind you, sir, that you chose to visit at a rather early hour yourself.” Lavinia crumpled her napkin and rose quickly. “If you will excuse me, I shall go and see what he wants.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“That is not necessary.”
Tobias ignored that comment. He was already on his feet. She knew from the look in his eyes that he was not going to allow her to banish him to the breakfast room while she greeted Howard.
“Correct me if I am mistaken,” she said as she led the way out the door, “but I have the impression that you are not overfond of Dr. Hudson.”
“The man is a mesmerist. I do not trust the members of his profession.”
“I am a mesmerist, sir.”
“A former mesmerist,” he said as he followed her down the hall. “You have embarked upon a new career, if you will recall.”
“Yes, indeed, and I also seem to recall that you are not particularly approving of my new profession either.”
“That is another matter entirely.”
She arrived at the entrance of the parlor at that moment and was thus saved from having to respond to his remark.
Howard paced in front of the window, his shoulders tight and hunched with tension. His clothes were rumpled. He had not bothered with a stylish knot in his neckcloth. His boots were unpolished.
Although he had his face averted so that she could not see his expression, she knew at once that something terrible had occurred.
“Howard?” She went forward quickly, conscious of Tobias behind her. “What is it? What has happened?”
Howard spun around and fixed her with his fathomless gaze. For an instant it seemed to her that she had been transported to an odd metaphysical plane. The atmosphere around her was suddenly too still. The rattle of a carriage in the street was abruptly muted, as though the sound came from a vast distance.
With a small, determined effort, she mentally shook off the strange sensation. Normal noises returned and the disturbing feeling passed. Howard’s gaze appeared normal once more.
She glanced at Tobias and saw that he was studying Howard closely, but otherwise he appeared completely unaware of the brief, very curious alteration in the atmosphere. Perhaps it had all been a product of her imagination, she thought.
“Celeste is dead,” Howard said heavily. “Murdered the night before last by a footpad. Or so they tell me.” He put his fingers to his temples. “I still cannot bring myself to believe it. If I had not seen her body myself yesterday morning when the authorities came to inform me, I vow I would…”
“Dear God.” Lavinia went forward swiftly. “You must sit, Howard. I’ll have Mrs. Chilton bring in some tea.”
“No.” He sank down onto the edge of the sofa, looking bemused. “Please, do not go to the trouble. I could not possibly drink it.”
Lavinia sat beside him. “I have some sherry. It is excellent for overcoming the effects of shock.”
“No, thank you,” he whispered. “You must help me, Lavinia. I am really quite desperate, you see.”
Tobias went to stand in front of the window and turned so that the morning sun was at his back. Lavinia was familiar with this habit of his. She knew he chose the position because it put his own face in shadow and served to give him a better view of Howard.
“Tell us what happened,” Tobias said without inflection. “Start at the beginning.”
“Yes. Yes, of course.” Howard massaged his temples with his fingertips, as if attempting to bring order to his troubled thoughts. Dread and despair darkened his gaze. “It is all still somewhat muddled, you see. One shock after another. I fear that I am still reeling from the blows. First the news of her death and now this other information.”
Lavinia touched his sleeve. “Calm yourself, Howard. Do as Tobias suggested. Start at the very beginning of the thing.”
“The beginning.” Howard slowly lowered his hand and stared blankly at the carpet. “That would be a fortnight ago when I first realized that Celeste was having an affair.”
“Oh, Howard,” Lavinia said softly.
She glanced at Tobias. He was watching Howard with that detached studiousness that she had learned meant that he was assessing the situation and weighing the information with icy calculation. His ability to step into that remote realm both intrigued and irritated her. When he was in this mood he was oblivious to emotion and the dictates of the sensibilities that would seem natural to the situation.
“She is-was-so young and so beautiful,” Howard said after a moment. “I could scarcely believe my good fortune when she consented to marry me in Bath. I think that a part of me always knew that there was a grave risk that someday I would lose her. It was only a matter of time, I suppose. But I was in love. What choice did I have?”
“You’re certain that she was involved in an affair?” Tobias asked neutrally.
Howard nodded bleakly. “I cannot be certain how long it had been going on, but once I tumbled to the truth, there was no way I could deny it. Believe me, I made every effort.”
“Did you confront her?” Tobias asked.
Lavinia winced at the relentless manner in which Tobias was pressing Howard. She tried to signal him silently to soften his attitude, but he apparently did not notice.
Howard shook his head. “I could not bear to do so. I told myself that she was young, that the liaison was nothing more than a brief adventure. I hoped that she would eventually grow bored with the other man.”
Tobias watched him. “Do you know the identity of her lover?”
“No.”
“You must have been curious, to say the least,” Tobias said.
The very flatness of his words made Lavinia tense. His tone might have been perfectly even and uninflected, but the bone-deep chill in his eyes made her catch her breath. She suddenly understood. If Tobias ever found himself in Howard’s position, he would move heaven and earth to learn the identity of the lover. She did not want to think about what he would do after that.
“I suspect that she went to meet him the night before last,” Howard whispered. “I had learned her small habits and ways well. I sensed her excitement and anticipation on those occasions when she planned to slip away to be with him. We were to attend a demonstration of animal magnetism performed by a gentleman named Cosgrove, who claims to be able to effect amazing cures with his mesmeric skills. But at the last moment she feigned an indisposition and declared that she would stay home. She insisted that I go. She was well aware that I had very much looked forward to witnessing Cosgrove at work.”
“So you did attend the demonstration?” Lavinia asked. She kept her voice soothing and gentle in an attempt to compensate for Tobias’s interrogation.
“Yes. The man proved to be a complete charlatan and I was vastly disappointed. When I returned home, I discovered that Celeste was gone. I knew then that she was with him, whoever he is. I lay awake all night waiting for her to return. She never came home. The next morning the authorities informed me that her body had been found inside a warehouse near the river. I have spent the past day and a half in a haze, dealing with the funeral arrangements.”
“Was she stabbed?” Tobias asked almost casually. “Or shot?”
“Strangled, they said.” Howard gazed bleakly at the wall. “I’m told the cravat the bastard used was still around her throat when she was found.”
“My God.” Unconsciously, Lavinia raised a hand to her own throat and swallowed.
“Any witnesses?” Tobias asked.
“None that I know of,” Howard whispered. “No one has come forward and I have no hope that any will. As I said, the authorities believe that she was the victim of a footpad.”
“Very few footpads use cravats as murder weapons,” Tobias said evenly. “Generally speaking, they don’t even wear them. Footpads are not much interested in fashion, in my experience.”