He merely lifted a shoulder and looked over my head again.
“You introduced her to Lord Rumford, didn’t you?”
He snorted. “Introduced? He demanded to see her after a show. I couldn’t refuse him, could I? Not a bloody lord.” He suddenly straightened. “Do you know, Miss Fox, I think she might have killed herself, after all.”
“Why do you say that?”
“I think she killed herself andhewas the reason. Rumford. I’m sure he was giving her up, or had at least threatened to. That’s probably what was troubling her these last few weeks. He was threatening to give her up because he knew she didn’t love him.”
“I don’t understand. If she didn’t love him, why wouldshe kill herself if he was going to give her up? Wouldn’t she be pleased, or at the very least, relieved?”
“Relieved to give up the trinkets and flat? Not Pearl. She might not have loved him, but she loved his gifts.” His jaw hardened and his eyes turned cold. “I’m sure it was suicide, andhedrove her to it by threatening to withdraw his generosity. You ought to confront Rumford about it. He deserves to feel guilt. He deserves to rot in self-loathing and pity for sending her to her death.”
It hardly seemed like a reason to throw oneself off a balcony. Pearl was still young and beautiful; she could find another benefactor. Not only that, but Mrs. Larsen had mentioned her sister was excited about going on a holiday with Lord Rumford in the autumn. That didn’t sound like he was going to give her up soon.
I was beginning to think Mr. Culpepper was jealous of Lord Rumford and was trying to place the blame onto him for Pearl’s death. That was the action of a guilty man.
Chapter 5
Imanaged to speak to Dorothea Clare before she left the memorial, but not on her own. She was always surrounded by an admirer or colleague, sometimes several. I took my chance as the memorial drew to a close, when she was with just one other man, the fellow I’d seen crying at the burial.
He introduced himself as Perry Alcott and bowed over my hand. Like Mr. Culpepper, Mr. Alcott was slickly groomed with an impressive head of hair sculpted into a wave above his forehead. He was cleanly shaved and wore a fine pin-striped suit with a pink tie and matching pink rosebud in the lapel. The color must be chosen for Pearl.
“I am so sorry for your loss,” I told them both. “It must be very difficult for you.”
“It’s been awful,” Mr. Alcott said. “Just awful.”
“A very distressing day,” Miss Clare agreed. She couldn’t have been more than twenty or twenty-one, with wide gray eyes fringed with dark lashes and full lips. She wore makeup, but it was subtle, and an evening gown of cream silk that seemed an odd choice for the occasion.
“I saw you at the funeral and wondered where you fitted into Pearl’s life,” Mr. Alcott said. It wasn’t posed as a question, but he was certainly fishing for information.
I told them what I told Mr. Culpepper, withoutmentioning that it was Lord Rumford who hired me. Like Mr. Culpepper, Mr. Alcott guessed anyway.
“I agree with his lordship,” Mr. Alcott said. “Anyone who thinks Pearl killed herself didn’t truly know her. She would not do that. Not in a million years. Pearl had everything to live for. Her career was like a dream, she had an attentive friend in Lord Rumford, and an adoring public. Don’t you agree, Dotty?”
Miss Clare nibbled on her lower lip. When she let it go, a little lip color had come off on her teeth. “Shewasa little upset lately.”
Mr. Alcott put his hand on an outthrust hip. “Upset? Darling, she was hardly upset enough to throw herself over the balcony.” He turned to me. “Something certainly troubled her, but not enough to take her own life.”
“Dearest Perry, you would defend her.” The acerbic edge to Miss Clare’s otherwise sweet tone was unmistakable. “How can you say that when she never told you what the problem was?”
Mr. Alcott sniffed. “She might not have confided in me, but I don’t believe it wasthatbad, and you must stop suggesting it, Dotty. Pearl was a dear friend, and I won’t hear a thing said against her now she’s not here to defend herself.”
Miss Clare turned her back on him to face me. “The truth of the matter is, the police think she killed herself and so do I. Nobody wanted to kill her. The suggestion is ridiculous.”
“What about a jealous admirer?” I asked. “Someone she rejected, perhaps.”
“I can’t think of anyone.”
Mr. Alcott barked a laugh. “Can’t you? I can. Men wanted to see her after every performance. She would flirt with them, but that was all. She never accepted their offers. She was content with Lord Rumford and not looking to move on yet.”
“Not until she’d milked him for everything she could get.”
Mr. Alcott’s jaw dropped, and he stared at Miss Clare.
Miss Clare tossed her head, making her blond curls dance jauntily. “Lord Rumford was good to her, and Pearl was indifferent, at best. I’m not suggesting she entertained other men, but she should never have allowed them into her dressing room after the show. Someone ought to tell LordRumford now that she’s dead, just so he knows what she was truly like.”
“Looking to step into her shoes in more ways than one, Dotty?” Mr. Alcott sneered.
