“We aren’t exactly certain,” Byron said. “It’s something to do with some treaty. Saint something or other.”
“San Stefano,” Mira said.
Castel frowned. “I suppose this has some connection to the burglaries?”
“It’s the entire reason for them. To continue my theory, last summer, Circe began their search at the Harris house in London. They broke into the house in the middle of the night but found nothing. Each time they were a little more brazen. During the third burglary, Mr. Harris caught them, was shot, and died. Maureen Harris moved to Bath to live with her aunt,but the house and most of its contents remained.”
“Hence the other two break-ins?” Mira said.
“Precisely. But no matter how many times they searched, they couldn’t find the documents. The only explanation was that Maureen Harris took them. But it would have been incredibly suspicious if the burglaries had continued in Bath. Much better to have someone on the inside to search without too much question. They murdered Maureen’s aunt and found some way of arranging for one of their own members to be assigned as guardian.”
“Admiral Hoddle,” Mira said, feeling queasy. “That must be why he is considering sending Maureen to the asylum in Wells. No one would question it and it would be even easier to search for the documents with her out of the house.”
“And the other burglaries here in Bath?” Castel asked.
“A red herring, so that when he does find the documents, they can blame their disappearance on the thieves.” Byron stood, pacing away. “I am glad you found us before we left for Henrietta Street, Castel. Otherwise we may have tipped Hoddle off without realizing.”
“I would have come sooner, but I wanted to be thorough.”
“And here I thought you disliked detective work,” Mira teased. “When all the while you’ve had the makings of a rather fine sleuth yourself.”
Castel rolled his eyes. “I shan’t make a habit of it, I assure you.”
Byron rubbed his hands absentmindedly. “Might I make use of this change in attitude before you revert to your proper self?”
“That all depends. What do you want me to do?”
“Can you keep Hoddle occupied while we make our search? It should be enough if you can keep him in the sitting room. We don’t want to make him suspicious.”
“Certainly. Though, I hope it doesn’t take you long. I’m notthe best at making useless conversation.”
“It’s hard to say. Circe has been searching for a decade already. I’d imagine it will take us more than one afternoon.”
“We have something they don’t,” Mira said.
“And what’s that?” Byron asked.
“A good relationship with Maureen Harris. If anyone knows of a mysterious package that Mr. Harris received before his death, she would.”
“We’ll see what we can do with the time we have,” Byron said, consulting his pocket watch. “We had best get over to Henrietta Street by noon.”
“To think, if Hoddle had only boasted about something else, you never would have known,” Mira said, following the men from the room.
Castel shook his head. “I would wager the barony that that man has never been on the sea for anything more than a pleasure cruise.
February 15, 1889: Midday
The ride to Henrietta Street was fraughtwith tension and nerves. There were too many possibilities in how the investigation could play out, too many uncertainties. The main factor was whether or not Castel could adequately distract Admiral Hoddle while they made their search. And then there was the matter of Maureen, about which Mira and Byron did not agree in the least.
“It would be much easier if we just told her the truth,” Mira said. “We can’t exactly ask her the right questions if we are still hiding your profession.”
“It would be simpler, yes. But it would put her in danger. Think of what would happen if we told her and then didn’t find the documents today. She would be left with the knowledge that her guardian is an imposter and have the burden of keeping it a secret.”
“But if we tell her, won’t we be more likely to find what we are looking for?”
Byron sighed. “I’m not prepared to take that chance. It is bad enough she is under his guardianship as it is, and we don’t want to give him reason to harm her.”
Castel folded his arms. “I still don’t see why we don’t turnthe matter over to the police.”
