“You’re right of course,” Linnie eventually replied. “And she does seem to have your strength and courage. I always envied that about you. You are not afraid of anything.”
Not precisely true, I thought but didn’t say it. There was something I was very much afraid of.
“Perhaps you should pour us a dram of whisky,” Linnie suggested, uncharacteristic for someone who preferred sherry.
“I think we’re all going to need it for this next adventure. By the way, do you have your costume for the All Hallows party tomorrow night? And what of Mr. Brodie? He will be there, of course.”
I didn’t have a costume and hadn’t the slightest idea about Brodie, although I could well imagine his response to that.
After sharing a dram with my sister and toasting our new adventure, I rang up the office on the Strand. However, there was no answer.
It was possible of course that Brodie’s plan to speak with the two constables who had found Amelia Mainwaring’s body had taken longer… waiting until they went off their latest shift, or meeting with one or the other at a location away from the police station. And then there was the chief inspector.
Lily was disappointed that Brodie would not be joining us for supper, but brightened at the excuse I made regarding our new case.
“Is it dangerous?” she asked, quite dramatic.
Considering our last adventure together I hoped not, however two young women were now dead and all we had was a scattering of information with no clear direction yet on who might have done it.
I left out the specific details of their deaths and simply told her that it was a simple missing person inquiry, somewhat near the truth as both young women had been missing before their bodies were found.
Her expression fell a bit and I had to admit that it sounded quite boring.
“It involves a photograph that was taken of the young woman before she disappeared.”
That piqued her curiosity. “Like them signs of naked women in the Old Town?” she asked.
To say that stopped the conversation at the supper table is an understatement. Linnie’s fork clattered down onto her plate and our aunt had the most amused expression on her face.
“I believe it is time for dessert,” she announced, eyes watering as she then attempted to keep a straight face.
“Signs with naked women?” Linnie whispered as we retired to the parlor after dessert.
“Only half naked,” I replied. “Advertising for…”
“I understand.”
After supper concluded, our aunt suggested a game. Not the usual game of whist or backgammon that one might find in other parlors after supper, but a rousing game of poker as our aunt called for a deck of cards.
I had mistakenly taught her the game after my friend, Templeton, returned from a tour of the United States where the game was quite popular. I say mistakenly as my aunt proved to be quite competent.
“Absolutely ruthless,” my sister declared after losing ten pounds to her. I did not share how much I had lost since introducing her to the card game.
Lily was equally proficient, picking up quite naturally all the nuances of the game, if there were such things.
At the end of the evening, after a half-dozen hands she had accumulated a considerable stack of the wooden chips while Linnie and I had barely survived.
“I cannot afford this,” my sister announced, at which Lily begged for just one more hand.
Linnie conceded. “I might as well continue. What would I do with only three chips?”
While I lost again and our aunt threw in her cards, the last hand seemed to be Linnie’s good fortune. I gave her the last of my chips.
She proceeded to consume yet another dram of Old Lodge, quite recklessly I thought, and then whooped with unladylike enthusiasm as she beat Lily’s hand and cleared the center of the table of the chips she had won.
“That was quite marvelous. All it takes is a little luck,” my sister announced. “It’s a shame the chips are not real coins.”
Lily winked at me from across the table. Luck indeed.
