“Perhaps later,” I replied. “You were saying?” I needed to know more.
“Blackwood was eventually caught, no doubt through Mr. Brodie’s efforts. There was a trial. He was found guilty by the court and sent to prison.” She added a bit more whisky to her coffee.
“A nasty affair.”
Retired Chief Inspector Dawes had gone to Burke for any information that might be found about Blackwood. For a book he may have hoped to write about his time with the Metropolitan, as Burke thought, that included that trial?
Or for another reason?
I remained at Sussex Square and took breakfast with Aunt Antonia and Lily. It usually reminded me of when I was somewhat younger than Lily and the lively conversations at the breakfast table with my aunt and sister.
Then, as now, there were lively conversations. That was particularly true with Lily, determined for her own adventures, quite adamant that she didn’t care to go to Paris as my sister Linnie and I had.
The last supper shared, Lily had been steadfast in her campaign to take the motor carriage out and about London. Ihad strongly spoken against it as a young lady out and about, alone, could be an easy target for mischief.
For her part, Lily had pointed out the knife she now carried, given to her by Munro, who had previously provided me with one as well that I carried inside my boot when out and about.
“She should be quite all right,” Aunt Antonia had assured me. “She has been taking lessons at the gymnasium where you have spent some time, I believe, dear.”
I had been overruled then, and she had taken herself out and about with no mishap. Brodie had pointed out at the time that he was far more concerned for anyone she might have encountered.
Munro had been against that adventure as well. I had learned only afterward that there had been strong words between him and Lily over the matter.
According to Aunt Antonia, she was certain she overheard Lily tell him to‘bog off,’ apparently a term well-known among Scots.
When I had questioned Brodie about it afterward, he had choked, then laughed until I was certain there were tears in his eyes. He then explained the polite version of the phrase.
“The best way to explain would be that it means‘go away,’although most usually with other less cordial words with it.”
It did seem as if her time in England had not completely transformed Lily from the somewhat wild, independent-minded girl I had first met in Edinburgh. Not that I would have changed that about her even if it was possible, which it obviously was not.
I had to admit that even now I smiled at the memory of that particular episode.
Brodie often said that Lily and I were very much alike. Birds of a feather, as it were. However, this particular morning, she was unusually quiet and ate very little, then asked to be excused from the table.
“Of course, dear,” Aunt Antonia replied.
When Lily had left the dining room, she then explained, “She has been somewhat withdrawn the last few days, not her usual self, since she received a post from Edinburgh.”
Lily had left Edinburgh, as there was nothing left for her there after her place of employment, as a maid, had burned, leaving her homeless as well as without a source of income.
She had assisted Brodie and me with an inquiry case at the time, and I might have found myself in great difficulty if not for her resourcefulness. I had grown quite fond of her and proposed that she come to London as my ward. That included a place to live, an education, which was sorely lacking, and the possibility of a better future than a brothel in Edinburgh.
Intelligent, wise beyond her years, stubborn and brave, she had accepted my offer. In the years since, she had acquired an education, become a member of our somewhat unusual family, with a keen intelligence, a wicked sense of humor, and a penchant for speaking her mind.
She had been a challenge for Aunt Antonia, who insisted that she live at Sussex Square. Or perhaps the other way round. They were like two peas in a pod, and my great-aunt adored her.
Our conversations were usually about Lily’s latest accomplishments or adventures, such as becoming lost in the old fortress, or taking herself off in the motor carriage. But I had noticed that she was especially quiet.
“Did she say who the post was from?” I inquired.
“Not a word.”
I was aware that she received posts from time to time from a couple of the ‘ladies’ she had once worked for.
She had shared those with me, yet there had been no mention of one this morning.
“She did seem quite distracted by it,” Aunt Antonia commented.
