Eleanor couldn’t help but think he’d made the statement ironically.
“Sue loved her family.” Miss Abbott scraped her teeth over her lower lip. “But it was the fondness one might feel for a benevolent jailor.”
“Did Bannister know his mother viewed him as a chain?” Eleanor could hardly credit it. Lady Richford had appeared rash at times but not a radical. She’d been a viscountess, and appeared to enjoy every privilege that endowed. But Eleanor hadn’t been her intimate. The woman could have hidden a subversive streak she only shared with those to whom she was close.
Miss Abbott shrugged. “He most likely didn’t care enough to learn his mother’s thoughts.”
“Do you think Bannister hated his mother enough to kill her?”
Miss Abbott frowned. “As he was murdered as well, that hardly seems likely.”
“One was strangled, the other shot.” Eleanor lifted one shoulder. “It could have been two different people. Perhaps someone getting revenge on Bannister for his crime.”
Miss Abbott pursed her lips, humming softly. “I hadn’t considered that. I don’t like to think of Susan being killed by someone she loved, but that is a possibility.”
“Since it is a possibility, I must ask where you were Friday night, around midnight.”
“Are you asking for my alibi?” Miss Abbott hissed out a breath. “I usually appreciate bluntness in a woman. In you, however, I find it most unbecoming.”
Eleanor couldn’t disagree. It was an unbecoming question, fit only for these unbecoming times. She knew only too well how insulting it was to be accused of such a heinous act, however briefly. Her shoulders dropped an inch. At least now Frederick no longer had any doubts. He knew she couldn’t commit murder.
At times, though, she feared he still suspected her mother.
“Will you answer?” she prodded.
“I was home sleeping,” Miss Abbott bit out. “I can’t be out every night with friends only to provide myself with a defense.”
A frisson of excitement warmed Eleanor’s heart at the fact that the woman was unaccounted for during Bannister’s murder. That Frederick would have another suspect besides her mother to look at. It was quickly followed by shame. She shouldn’t wish Miss Abbott’s life to be burdened by accusationand doubt merely to relieve Eleanor from worry. She should care only about finding the truth.
And the truth was, Eleanor didn’t have any reason to accuse the woman. She went down her last avenue. “Do you make much money sitting for paintings?” She infused her voice with casual curiosity. “When I had to work, I never thought about it as an option.”
“For some women, it isn’t an option.” Miss Abbott slid her gaze down Eleanor’s body.
The back of Eleanor’s neck heated. She might not be a diamond of the first water, but she was comely enough. Frederick seemed to appreciate her form. And it wasn’t as though Miss Abbott was accounted a great beauty.
Giroud left his painting to pour water into a mug from a carafe on the side table. He gave Eleanor an assessing look. “I would paint her.”
All gnome-related thoughts vanished from Eleanor’s mind. She gave the painter a warm smile.
“You would, and have, painted a corpse.” Miss Abbott snarled and turned back to Eleanor. “And he doesn’t pay much, if you were thinking of earning some extra blunt. Not that you need it anymore I hear.”
No, Eleanor couldn’t pretend she needed financial assistance. Her unbecoming bluntness would have to continue. “You are a member of The Minerva Club, and those fees are dear. You live on a lovely street. If you will forgive my impudence, how do you support yourself? Did you inherit money?”
Planting her palm on the floor, Miss Abbott rolled to her feet as gracefully as a cat, her lithe body tensing. “Most of us aren’t fortunate enough to have a rich papa. Most of us have to earn our way. I model, I write for periodicals, I earn money wherever I can. How I spend it, or where I live, are none of your bloody concern.”
Eleanor took a step back. The aggression in the woman’s stance was unmistakable. Eleanor’s leg still hurt from the burn she’d received. She would not add injury from grappling with a naked woman to her aches.
Even if Eleanor managed to do the injuring, she still wished to avoid a scuffle. Naked. Woman. Her cheeks heated from merely thinking of such a situation.
“Of course.” Eleanor held up a placating hand, inching back toward the hall that would lead her out. “Not my business at all. Thank you for your time, Miss Abbott. Try not to catch a chill.” And with that she fled, wondering just how violent Miss Lydia Abbott could be.
And whether she had it in her to strangle a friend.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Lady Mary
“So glad thatyou could join me.” I sniffed, put out that it took Mr. Rollins and Eleanor a full three hours to respond to my summons. It was past my usual tea time, and I become cranky without that repast.
