Cecilia looked over at the maid. “Oh, all right,” she said doubtfully, her shoulders slumping. She held her hand against her face as she coughed slightly.
James took her arm. “Come with me. We have a letter from Mrs. Montgomery.”
“The woman who helped us find Soothcoor’s nephew when he’d been kidnapped?” Cecilia asked, looking back at the kitchen worktable one last time.
“She asks for our help,” James explained as he led her back to the main part of the house.
“Help?” Cecilia repeated, looking up at him.
He saw interest flicker in her eyes and part of him relaxed. “Let’s go to the morning room and I’ll let you read it for yourself.”
“It’s serious?” Cecilia asked between coughs. She pulled a handkerchief out from where she’d tucked it in her sleeve. Grains of flour came with it.
James nodded. “Very.”
He led her to the sofa before the fireplace and handed her the letter. He sat down next to her as she read the note from Mrs. Montgomery.
“What!…”Her left hand flew to her chest.“Impossible!…No! No! No!”she cried out as she read the letter. She looked up atJames, shaking the letter she held in her other hand. “James, we must be off to London immediately!” She bounded off the couch. “I’ll get Sarah to start packing!” Her enthusiasm set off a stronger coughing fit. She held her handkerchief to her face.
James grabbed her wrist before she could go running off. He repressed a smile at her enthusiasm yet worried for the continued strength of her cough. “Wait. We should discuss this first. And plan.”
“But Soothcoor!” Cecilia protested, trying to pull away.
“Yes,” James conceded. “He needs our help, but he is not in any immediate danger. Sit, please,” he said, encouraging her to resume her seat next to him.
She did as he asked, wringing the handkerchief between her hands.
Inwardly, James felt excitement at Cecilia’s reaction to this turn of events. This could be the event she needed to shake her out of the illness fatigue that plagued her, along with the lingering cough—so long as they could successfully rescue Soothcoor from this murder charge. He wondered who had been murdered, why, and why would Soothcoor be a suspect? Of all people to be a murder suspect, Soothcoor would be the last person he would consider.
“I can wish Mrs. Montgomery had provided more details in her letter, but by the tear stains, it appears she was highly distraught,” he said.
“I believe she is the lost love we all surmised caused Soothcoor’s confirmed bachelor status,” Cecilia said.
“Truly?” James asked. “What led you to that belief?”
“Their careful formality with each other after we rescued Krishan,” she explained, using the child’s Indian nickname. She raised her handkerchief to her face and gently blew her nose.
“Hmm…I hadn’t noted it at the time. Thinking back, you might be correct, my dear. She does state that Soothcoor is ina gaol in Lincolnshire. That is likely near where the murder occurred. In that case, we need to plan for an extended journey.”
“The new fast, light carriage for us and the traveling carriage for Sarah, William, and the luggage?”
James nodded. “We’ll send them—and a couple of outriders ahead to secure spare horses, meals, and lodgings—to an inn near the gaol, while we stop in London to meet with Mrs. Montgomery.”
“You don’t believe we shall need to begin our investigation in London and be there a few days?” she asked.
James shook his head. “No, not if the murder occurred elsewhere. We may need to return to London for another part of the investigation, but certainly not for the murder itself. We’ll take Romley as our coachman and John Coachman for the traveling carriage.”
Cecilia nodded. “Yes, Mr. Romley has proved himself a useful man in our other investigations. I’ll get the household organized. Will you write to Mrs. Montgomery and inform her we will be to see her tomorrow morning?”
“Yes…And Cecilia, how areyoudoing?”
She cleared her throat and smiled faintly. “I believe an investigation will be more beneficial as an activity to speed my recovery than learning to bake proved to be.”
He leaned forward to kiss her. “That’s my dear delight,” he said. He rose and helped her to her feet. “Let the adventure begin,” he finished.
Cecilia smiled. A true smile, the first James had seen in weeks. He smiled back, a weight lifting from his chest.
CHAPTER 2
