Solomon leaned forward. “You could begin by telling us all about him. And by allowing us into his study to see his private papers.”
Chapter Eleven
Bella’s mouth droppedopen. “I can’t do that! It’s up to my mother, and she has locked his study door. She won’t let anyone in there.”
Constance and Solomon exchanged startled glances.
“Haven’t the police been through his papers?” Constance asked.
Bella shook her head. “Mama forbade it. Inspector Harris did not insist.”
“Does she spend much time in there?” Solomon asked, rather deliberately keeping any unease out of his face and voice.
But Bella shook her head. “No, she cannot face it yet. But she won’t let anyone else in either.”
Constance said carefully, “We know of no one who wanted to hurt your father. But we also believe that he was anxious over the last couple of weeks, something he did not reveal even to his closest friends. Did he talk to you about it?”
“No. No, he seemed just the same to me.” Bella’s frown showed as much guilt as concern. “Did I miss something? Too caught up in my wedding to notice my own father was in pain!”
“He would have hidden it from you,” Constance said. “Men often do. Was he ahappyman, Miss St. John?”
Bella opened her mouth, then closed it again. “No,” she said slowly. “I don’t think he was. Oh, he wasat times. On birthdays and at Christmas, when we did well in our studies—particularly Anthony, who is very clever. Also, when we went on excursions,or when he’d heard a lecture that impressed him. But there was always a sadness in his eyes. A sort of…” She trailed off, shaking her head.
“Discontent?” Solomon suggested. “Restlessness? Some past tragedy, perhaps, that he shared with no one?”
“I don’t know. All of those perhaps. Sometimes I thought—” She halted, pressing her lips tight together to stop them blabbing.
“Your opinion is the most valuable of all,” Constance said gently. “You were his daughter, and if you want the truth, we need to know what you think. Mr. Cordell will tell you we are bound to discretion in all things except the criminal.”
Bella drew a sharp breath. “Sometimes, I thought there was no love between my parents, and it made them both unhappy.”
A first fringe of suspicion brushed against Constance’s mind. She dismissed it for later. “When did you first think this? Recently?”
“No… A few years ago.”
“Why?”
“They spend no time together that is not formal. They rarely argue because it seems neither of them cares enough. But occasionally, I could see that they irritated each other. And then, when Han—Mr. Cordell—asked for my hand and we became engaged, they were so delighted that I thought I was mistaken in such a foolish belief. They actually discussed the wedding together and began to plan… That too was part of my own happiness.” Bella looked down at her hands. “And now it is all gone.”
“No,” Constance said. “It’s just a little lost in grief. It will find its way out again. Now, how can we get into your father’s study?”
Cordell said, “You and your mother are going to Veronique’s tomorrow, are you not?”
“I don’t know if there is any point now,” Bella said, with a return to petulance.
Ignoring that, Cordell persevered. “If you can somehow get the key from your mother and give it to me, I’ll let them in. The servants are quite used to my running tame in the house and will let me wait there with friends.”
Constance bit back that there was no need. She could pick most indoor locks. But a key would certainly speed matters on and make their intrusion less likely to be noticed.
Bella didn’t look at her betrothed but glanced doubtfully from Constance to Solomon and back. She knew that agreement meant breaking her mother’s trust. The question she had to consider was if the end justified the means. No one could answer that for her, but Constance was already contemplating the alternative method of breaking and entering.
“If you think that it’s important,” Bella said in a rush, “and that it will help, then I’ll try.”
*
Having agreed tomeet Cordell in the gardens at Grosvenor Square at half past ten the following morning, Constance and Solomon left the opening of the office to Janey and Hat while they called at the establishment to make sure all was well.
They alighted from their carriage before nine o’clock, and Constance was ridiculously relieved to see the front doorstep clean and pristine. On impulse, she set off down the area steps, and Solomon followed her. The path was swept and the borders tidy all the way around the side path to the back garden.
