“I beg your pardon?”
“The Latin name for the harpy eagle. A thoroughly nasty bird that will tear a small deer into pieces so it can devour the poor creature. I cannot imagine why that particularly predatory beast came to mind just now.”
She waved an airy hand. “I am impervious to insult, Veronica, and you are stalling. Tell me.”
So, recognising the inevitability of my defeat, I gave a bone-deep sigh and capitulated. She listened attentively, asking intelligent questions and homing in on pertinent details. It was, I found, not so much a chore to share the story with her as an unexpected pleasure. I had not realised how much I feared for Tiberius’ safety until I halved the burden, as it were. That I would have had a true partner in this endeavour if Stoker had not proven intransigent was a bitter thought and one not worth dwelling upon.
“And those two arrogant foozlers have actually wagered against you on the outcome of this case?”
“They have. I suspect they have done so as much to keep Tiberius from meditating too much upon the possibility of his imminent demise as from any true sporting spirit.”
“Oh, you think so?” she demanded. “Then why did they find it necessary to cheat?”
“Cheat! They would never. They are gentlemen of honour.”
J. J. grimaced. “Imightconcede that point where Stoker is concerned, but Lord High-and-Mighty? Never. He wants to win this wager and he is prepared to soil his pretty hands to do so. In fact, he has already begun.”
“How?”
“After the ladies withdrew from the table, the gentlemen remained behind for port and cigars and a spot of gossip.”
“Gossip! Of what sort?”
“Lord T-V shared the newspaper cuttings.”
“He did what!” It was my turn to shout, and J. J. shushed me to silence.
“His lordship’s suite,” she reminded me. “And we don’t need him alert to the fact that we are working together.” I ignored her certainty that we would be partners and gestured for her to go on. “He gave them the broad strokes of what you told me, then said he had been threatened and handed round the cuttings.”
“And what were the reactions?”
“Stoker looked like thunder. Of course, he often does, but this wasproperlystormy. It was very clear he didn’t approve of Tiberius sharing the story with his friends. Young Merryweather looked bewildered, like a lost puppy.”
“And the others?”
She tipped her head, thinking. “Timothy Gresham, the medical fellow that looks like a rabbit? Well, by the time his lordship finished, Gresham looked like a perplexed rabbit. As if you had asked him how to do advanced mathematics in his head. He said precious little. Sir James blustered that it must be a joke but that it was in damned poor taste. And Count Salviati simply murmured some phrases in Italian. I think he was saying it was a pity or a tragedy. They hadn’t much time to talk about it because they did not want to keep you lot of ladies waiting, so they resolved to discuss it another time.”
“That is why there was an air of tension when they came to the drawing room,” I said slowly. “They had just been informed a murderer is likely walking amongst us.”
“Indeed. And it is up to us to find him,” she finished happily.
“J. J.,” I began.
She held up a hand as she slid from the bed. “Do not bother, Veronica. I am going to help you whether you like it or not.”
“And no doubt find yourself a meaty story,” I said acidly.
She shrugged by way of response and said nothing, waiting for me to reply.
“I suppose I cannot stop you,” I said finally. “But you will confine your efforts to the servants’ quarters. If you are caught someplace you oughtn’t be, you can always plead losing your way. If you’re discovered in any of the family or guest rooms, I shall not lift a finger to protect you.”
“Agreed,” she said, putting out her hand. I shook it, feeling that if I were not quite making a deal with the devil himself, I was certainly throwing my lot in with one of his lesser demons.
J. J. made to leave.
“Wait,” I called, and she stopped at the door, her hand resting on the knob. “How do you know what they said in the dining room after dinner? Female staff are never permitted in the room when port is being served.”
“Poor old Collins was rushing so much between the dining room and the drawing room, he left the door ajar. There’s a particularly large potted aspidistra just outside. Very handy for hiding behind.”
