“This is about Oscar Pelling?” she finally managed.
“Yes.”
“I don’t understand.”
He rested an arm on the window ledge. “I thought it best to keep an eye on him while he was here in Town. Anthony asked some questions at the inn where Pelling is staying and learned that he has been visiting a prostitute in the area. I want to interview her.”
“But why? What do you hope to discover?”
He shrugged. “Nothing, probably. But I was never comfortable with the fact that both Pelling and Hudson showed up here in London at the same time.”
“I thought we agreed it was nothing more than chance.”
“ You were certain of that. I was not entirely convinced.”
“So you made some inquiries into Pelling’s activities?”
“Yes.”
“I see.” She was not certain what to say to that. She thought she ought to berate him for not telling her that he was conducting inquiries in that direction. On the other hand, he had been concerned on her behalf. She would save the lecture for later, she decided. “I assume that you learned nothing that was alarming.”
“I must admit I have begun to worry a bit about Maggie. Women who get close to Pelling seem to meet with bad ends, and Anthony had a deal of trouble locating her.”
She shuddered. “I understand.”
“I want to satisfy myself that she is unharmed. I also want to ask her a few questions about Pelling’s activities here in Town.”
She gave him a quizzical look. “But he has made no move to seek me out. Indeed, why would he? I told you, at the time he found it convenient to blame me for his wife’s supposed suicide. He cannot possibly have any interest in me now. Indeed, he has every reason to avoid me.”
“I know. But I do not like the situation.”
She smiled slightly. “I can see that.”
Tobias looked out at the fog-bound street. “That is the damnable thing about this business of conducting investigations, you see. One must keep blundering about, asking questions, until one finally gets some answers.”
“Not unlike our own relationship, if you ask me,” she said under her breath.
He turned his head. “What did you say?”
“Nothing important. Just some personal musings.”
She managed a bright little smile, but inwardly she was not feeling nearly so blasé. Their relationship was such a strange affair, she thought. Neither of them was a coward, yet in this matter they both walked as gingerly as if they were trying to cross a perilous landscape, a world in which unseen dangers lurked in every shadow.
Then again, perhaps that was only her view of the situation, she thought. For all she knew, Tobias saw nothing complicated or worrisome about their arrangement. He was a man, after all. In her experience, men tended to assess matters involving emotion in a more straightforward fashion than women did. When all was said and done, although he occasionally complained of the venue, Tobias was getting a certain amount of physical satisfaction on a regular basis. Mayhap that was enough for him.
They traveled the remainder of the distance to Cutt Lane in silence. When the hackney finally halted, Lavinia looked out and saw a solitary gas lamp glowing in front of a darkened doorway. Candles burned in some of the windows. Here and there a figure moved behind a thin curtain.
Tobias opened the door and got out. He reached up, gripped Lavinia around the waist, and lifted her out of the cab. Then he turned to toss a few coins to the coachman.
“We will not be long,” he said. “Be so good as to wait for us.”
“Aye.” The coachman checked the coins in the lantern light. Evidently satisfied, he pocketed them swiftly. “I’ll be here when yer ready to leave, sir.”
“Come.” Tobias took Lavinia’s arm and steered her toward the dark mouth of a small lane. “The sooner we find Maggie, the sooner we can return to the ball.”
She did not argue. She draped the blanket around her shoulders as if it were a fine Indian shawl and went forward at his side.
More candles and the occasional lantern burned in the windows of the tiny lane. Tobias stepped into the shelter of a stone doorway and clanged the knocker. The sound echoed eerily in the darkness.
There was no response, but Lavinia heard a window open on the floor above. She looked up and saw a woman leaning out, a candle set in a heavy iron candlestick in her hand. The light from the small flame illuminated sharp features and eyes that appeared to be sunk in deep wells.
The woman wore a dressing gown that was only loosely tied. The garment gaped, exposing her bony shoulders and thin breasts to the damp night and the casual view of passersby in the lane below.
“You down there,” the prostitute called in a drunken voice, “are ye lookin’ for some sport tonight?”
Tobias took a step back out of the doorway.
“We’re looking for Maggie,” he said.
“Well, now, yer in luck, then, because you’ve found her.” Maggie leaned precariously out over the sill. “But I see there’s two of ye, and yer friend is a lady. I take it yer one of those what likes to watch two women enjoyin’ themselves, eh? That’ll be extra.”
“We just want to talk to you,” Lavinia said quickly. “And, of course, we’ll pay you for your time.”
“Talk, eh?” Maggie considered that for a moment and then shrugged. “Well, so long as yer willin’ to pay, it don’t make much difference to me. Come on up. First room at the top of the stairs.”
Tobias tried the door. It opened readily. Lavinia peered around his shoulder and saw a narrow hall and a cramped staircase lit by a single, smoky candle set in a wall sconce.
“Try to resist the temptation to overpay her,” Tobias said. “Especially since we will no doubt be using my money.”
“Of course we must use your money. I did not bring any of my own with me tonight. A lady never takes money to a grand ball.”
“Somehow that does not surprise me.”
He ushered her into the hall and followed on her heels, pausing only to shut the door.
Lavinia started up the staircase, Tobias two steps behind her. She was on the fourth tread when she heard the hall door slam open behind her with a jolting crash.
Two men dressed in rough clothing rushed into the hall.
They went directly for Tobias. The light of the wall sconce gleamed evilly on the blades of their knives.
“Tobias. Behind you.”
He did not reply. He was too busy responding to the attack. She saw him grip the banister with one hand and use it to brace himself. He lashed out with one booted foot.
The blow struck home, catching the first man squarely in the chest. The villain sucked in air and staggered back, colliding with his companion.
“Get out of my way, ye bloody fool.” The second man shoved his companion aside and flung himself at Tobias. His arm moved in a short, vicious arc. The blade slashed through the air.
Tobias kicked out again. The second man hissed like a snake and darted backward to avoid the boot. He had to catch himself on the banister.
“Go into Maggie’s room,” Tobias ordered without taking his attention off the two men. “Bolt the door.”
He launched himself toward the closest villain. The two came together with a sickening thud and landed at the foot of the staircase. They rolled across the floor and slammed into the wall.
The door at the top of the stairs banged open. Maggie appeared, the iron candlestick in her hand.
“What’s going on down there?” she demanded in a slurred voice. “See here, I don’t want any trouble.”
Lavinia flung aside the blanket, collected her skirts, and dashed up the stairs to the landing.
“Give me that candlestick.” She yanked it out of Maggie’s hand.
“What are ye doin?” Maggie demanded.
“Oh, for pity’s sake.” Lavinia pulled the dripping tallow candle off the prong and shoved it into Maggie’s fingers.