The footman known as Jack worked at a different house on Moray Place, according to Agnes, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t slipped messages to Juliette through a member of staff in this household. “Had she made friends with any of the servants?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he said, frowning. “Certainly not among our staff, anyway.”
“Are you suggesting she made friends with the staff of other households?” Oscar asked.
“I’m afraid I don’t know.”
“Presumably her maid was questioned about Juliette’s acquaintances.”
“She didn’t have her own maid. Two of the female staff shared the extra work that came with having a young lady in the house. They’ve been questioned thoroughly by the police, as have the rest of the staff. I assure you, they’d have been found out by now if they were in any way a party to the abduction.”
We returned downstairs where Mr. Gordon told the butler to show us out. “Please don’t hesitate to ask more questions if you think of them,” he said. “We are all eager to have Juliette back.”
He returned upstairs while the butler led us to the front door. Mrs. Buchanan stood there, waiting, the damp handkerchief pressed to her nose.
“I’m sorry for leaving the room suddenly,” she told us. “My sister-in-law’s zealotry tries my patience.” Her face crumpled and she pressed the handkerchief to her mouth while she composed herself. After drawing in a deep breath, she continued, “She believes prayer will bring Juliette back. I’m more pragmatic. Anyway, I need to be here at the moment.”
“We understand,” Miss Wheeler said gently. “Do you mind if I ask one more question?”
“Go ahead.”
“Do you know anyone named Jack?”
She blinked in surprise. “No one we’re particularly close to, and certainly no one with a close connection to Juliette. Why?”
“It’s a line of inquiry.”
Oscar addressed the butler who’d busied himself retrieving hats and gloves to allow us to speak to Mrs. Buchanan in private. “It’s Anderson, isn’t it? Can you account for your whereabouts at the time of Juliette’s abduction?”
“I was asleep in the room I’ve been sharing with the coachman since a leak rendered my bedchamber uninhabitable. The floor creaks dreadfully and we are both light sleepers and would have heard if the other got out of bed. Before you ask, there are no other male members of staff here. The police have already asked this information, sir.”
The testy response didn’t put Oscar off his interrogation. “Are you familiar with the footman named Jack who works at number eight?”
“No, sir.”
He opened the door for us, but Mrs. Buchanan had more to say. “I know you think Juliette ran off with a man.”
“It’s just a line of inquiry,” Miss Wheeler repeated.
“Yes, but…” Mrs. Buchanan tapped the damp handkerchief bunched in her fist against her chest. “My daughter was taken against her will. Perhaps she was lured outside by someone she was corresponding with, but she certainly didn’t leave the garden willingly with that person.”
“Why do you say that?”
“For one thing, there’s a witness who heard her cry out. For another, she left this behind.” She removed a bundle of soft butter-yellow wool no bigger than my smallest finger from up her sleeve. “It’s wool that was used to make the hair of her favorite doll when she was a child. She keeps it with her, always, and has done so for years. Even before she discovered she was a wool magician, she kept this in the pocket of the outfit she was wearing. It’s her good luck charm. It may have fallen out of her pocket in a scuffle, but I think it’s more likely she left it behind for me to find, as a message, of sorts.”
Oscar held out his palm. “May I?”
Mrs. Buchanan placed the bundle in his hand. He briefly touched it before giving it back. “There’s magic in it.”
“Oh,” she murmured through her tears.
Anderson handed hats and gloves to Oscar and me and gave Miss Wheeler her umbrella. We started to leave when Mrs. Buchanan grasped my arm.
“Please find my daughter,” she said, the tears streaming down her cheeks.
I wanted to promise her. I wanted very much to assure her Juliette would be found alive and well and be home by nightfall. But it wasn’t in my power to make such a promise. “We’ll do everything we can,” I said instead.
It felt woefully inadequate.
