Christopher arched his brows. “Are you sure you don’t just want her away from Crispin, Pippa?”
“Positive,” I said. “Honestly, Christopher, aren’t you the one who told me to pretend so Lady Laetitia would think someone else was interested in him? Of everyone here,youshould know better.”
He shrugged, conceding the point. “Do you think he means that much to her, though? That she’d commit murder to keep him?”
“If he told the truth when he said that he hadn’t seen her since January, perhaps not. Although as long as someone else looks like they’re trying to take him away, she seems keen enough.”
I eyed her. “She’s quite as tall as Johanna was, so she would have had a much easier time strangling her than someone small like Constance. And she was alone in her room last night, so she could easily have gone across the hall to the Dowager’s Chamber and no one would have known better. She was the last one down for breakfast this morning, too.”
“What does that matter?” Christopher wanted to know.
I glanced at him. “That cufflink and note in St George’s pocket wasn’t put there while the three of you were in the bedroom, asleep. It had to have been done after you all came down for breakfast this morning. That’s the only time your room was empty between the time Johanna was strangled and when Tom and Constable Collins searched everyone’s room. At that point, only Constance and Laetitia were left upstairs.”
Christopher looked enlightened. “So Constance could have done it, or Laetitia. Or, I suppose, Crispin, although that doesn’t make any sense.”
No, it didn’t. He’d been the last of the three of them out of their shared room this morning, so in that sense he could have hid the evidence in his own pocket, but it made absolutely no sense that he would have done.
“Peckham left the dining room for a couple of minutes,” Christopher added, “didn’t he? To talk to Dawson about luncheon? He might have had time to run upstairs and plant the cufflink and note.”
He might have. The note could have been written to him, where it had obviously not been written to Lady Laetitia. Although she might have appropriated it from her brother, who had also ducked out of the dining room for a minute or two this morning. Perhaps not enough time to run upstairs and plant evidence in Crispin’s pocket. Then again, maybe it had been enough.
“Look,” Christopher said, nudging me. “Her brother is taking her away from Crispin. And Peckham’s waiting.”
“Planning to enumerate all the reasons St George is bad news, I expect.” I sniggered. “Go fetch him, Christopher. Let’s see if he’s learned anything new in all this time of her hanging on his arm.”
“It’ll be more effective ifyougo fetch him,” Christopher said.
I cut my eyes to him. “Surely I’ve debased myself enough for one evening?”
He merely looked at me, and I sighed. “Fine. St George!”
Crispin turned at the sound of my voice, and I crooked my finger at him.
“That’s one way to do it,” Christopher muttered as his cousin obediently started across the floor toward us.
I smirked. “Surely it’s even more effective if I simply call his name and he comes running?”
“Yes, Pippa.” It was his turn to roll his eyes, although he had got them under control again by the time Crispin reached us.
“Let me guess, Darling.” He glanced over his shoulder at where Laetitia stood beside her brother, with Gilbert Peckham hovering two feet away. “Your doing?”
“I just happened to mention to Gilbert all the many, many reasons you’re not an acceptable suitor for his cousin’s hand. Funny enough, they all had female names.” I smirked. “He thought her brother ought to know.”
“Although by now,” Christopher added, “I’m sure they all think you only did it so you could get Crispin away from Laetitia and over here.”
I sighed. “What tangled webs we weave…”
“Yes, yes, Darling,” Crispin interrupted. “What did you want?”
“To know whether Laetitia has said anything useful. Peckham actually seems to believe his mother came through from the other side to assure him that she died by accident, and he seemed quite gratified to know it, too…”
“No,” Crispin said. “Mostly she spent the time asking me about you.”
“So it worked?”
“She seems convinced you’re after me,” Crispin confirmed. “Be sure to lock your door tonight. If she did kill Johanna, she might try to kill you, too.”
“Do you think she might have?”
