I glanced up at the office on the second-floor landing.
“And now?” I inquired. I had no desire to see the man.
“He left a note for Mr. Brodie, then said he would return.”
When I would have held the coachman over to take Lily back to Sussex Square, she had disappeared.
“I believe the young miss took the lift,” Mr. Cavendish informed me.
I glanced up to see that she had arrived and had entered the office.
I had hoped that she might be satisfied with the day, had decided that the inquiry business was quite boring, and be done with any further interest. It appeared that I was mistaken.
“We learned something that might be important,” she was saying quite excitedly as I entered the office.
Brodie glanced up from where he sat, the drawing I’d made before him on the desk, along with a note that he’d obviously just opened. He sat back in his chair.
“Is it important?” she inquired.
I was aware that I suddenly had two choices. I could proceed to explain what we had learned in our visit to White’s that included our conversation with the footman from that night when young Salisbery had departed the club.
Or I could let Lily continue, which of course, would naturally encourage her involvement.
I thought of that earlier conversation with Brodie. He was right of course. I couldn’t lock her up at Sussex Square to protect her from the outside world. Point of fact, she already knew a great deal more about that “world” from her years at the “Church” in Edinburgh.
The choice was obvious: Pressing the issue despite my feelings on the matter.
“Please continue,” I told her. “The information may be helpful.”
I must admit that Lily gave an almost perfect account of what we had learned. She didn’t embellish but gave a thorough description of our visit, our conversation with the director, and then our additional conversation with the footman who had seen the young man off after he left the club that night.
“It seems that he was quite into the drink and had difficulty making his way to the coach that arrived. The footman had called for a coach, as was his usual responsibility. He thought it odd that it arrived rather quickly,” she recounted what he had told us.
“Then, after he assisted the young gentleman aboard, he noticed that the driver stopped at the end of the street and a man stepped out. There was no fog that night, and he was able to see quite clearly.
“He thought it strange that the man did not seem to have any difficulties from having too much to drink, though it did seem as if the man was somewhat impaired with a limp in the left leg. The driver then carried on afterward.
“That is a great deal more than appeared in the police report,” Brodie commented. “There was no mention about what happened after the young man left the club.”
“Mr. Masterson also shared that the following day was his usual day apart from the club and he has not been questioned by the police. When he inquired with the director of the club, he was told that it was a private matter for Lord Salisbery, and he was not to speak of it among the staff at the club as it would only cause rumor and speculation.”
“Ye did well,” Brodie complimented Lily. “It is helpful. Ye might add the information to the notes on the chalkboard.”
I watched as Lily stepped to the board and took out the small notebook she had carried that morning. She was most serious as she began.
It did seem, as Brodie said, that I had very little choice in the matter, no matter what my concerns for her.
I caught that dark gaze watching me.
“And for yourself?” I inquired. “Were you able to meet with Lord Salisbery’s physician?”
“Aye, reluctantly at first on his part until I mentioned that we were inquiring on behalf of His Highness.”
I sat on the chair across from his desk. “You learned something important.”
“Doctor Chapman was verra thorough in his examination of the wounds. He is a surgeon as well as physician, and it was his opinion that any one of the wounds was sufficient to cause death.”
“Yet there were several,” I recalled from the notes in the report.
