His gaze narrowed further. “So…?”
“So I’ve come to ask for your help but am not giving you a thing for it in return. Except my company over a cup of Luigi’s excellent coffee, of course,” I added with a smile for Luigi as he set a cup down in front of me.
“Excellent coffee? Ah,Bella, you make me a very happy man to hear you say that. Very happy indeed.”
“I’ll even pay for the coffees today,” I said to Mr. Armitage, once Luigi left us alone. “So what do you think? Will you help me?”
He sighed and sat forward. “How can I resist such an offer? So how can I help?”
I removed the photograph from my purse and slid it across the table to him. “Do you know this man?”
He studied the photograph and nodded. “It’s Lord Wrexham.” He passed the photograph back. “He and Miss Westwood were lovers?”
“I think so. What do you know about him?”
“Very little. He came to the New Year’s Eve ball twoyears in a row, but that was at least two years ago. He was never a guest at the hotel. That either means he stayed at another hotel when he was in London or he has his own townhouse. I’m going to assume the latter. If he’s a regular guest at another hotel, he’s less likely to come to the Mayfair’s ball, although it’s not unheard of.”
I studied the couple in the photograph again. Pearl looked so fresh faced and beautiful and Lord Wrexham’s skin was clear. “Did Lord Wrexham have lesions when you saw him?”
He frowned. “No. Does he now?”
I told him about seeing him at Pearl’s funeral and indicated where on his face he sported warts or sores. “I’m surprised he hasn’t grown a beard to cover them up.”
He sipped his coffee thoughtfully. I studied him over the rim of my cup, and allowed myself to be distracted from the task at hand by his handsome face. Good looks didn’t last, so Mrs. Larsen told me. Beauty might not last forever, but it certainly helped a woman in Pearl’s line of work get ahead, although I wasn’t sure it mattered as much for men. In my experience, powerful and wealthy men got what they wanted. Sometimes the clever and enterprising ones did too. It didn’t matter what they looked like. Being handsome was more likely to make a man complacent in his youth and enjoy the attention too much, but it rarely had a long-term effect.
Mr. Armitage was not the usual sort of man, however. He might not be powerful and wealthy, but he was enterprising and clever. His good looks could be an asset in gaining business from wealthy women if he coupled it with his charm.
“I wonder when they were together,” he said, setting down his cup. “Before Pearl was with Rumford or during?”
“And was he upset enough to kill her out of jealousy,” I added.
“What will you do now?”
“Question Lord Wrexham, I suppose.”
Hehumphed.
“You have something to say?”
“Good luck with your questioning.”
“Thank you.” I finished my coffee and rose. “And thank you for your help.”
He stood too and buttoned his jacket. “My uncle could have answered these questions for you.”
“I couldn’t find him. I did try. I would certainly rather speak to him in the warmth of the hotel than come all the way over here in the cold.”
He smirked.
I decided not to ask him why he was smirking, as I suspected that was what he wanted me to do. What I needed was another reason to call on Mr. Armitage that would convince him I had to come here and not wait for Mr. Hobart. “There was one other thing, as it happens, and this is something I couldn’t ask your uncle. It’s a somewhat awkward matter. Also, your uncle is not at the hotel overnight, but you were when you lived there.”
“Are you going to say something to make me blush, Miss Fox?”
“That depends on how delicate your sensibilities are.” I glanced towards the counter where Luigi spoke in Italian to the two customers. I lowered my voice so they couldn’t overhear. “Did my cousin Floyd often bring back…women to his suite without my uncle’s knowledge?”
Mr. Armitage leaned down a little and matched his tone to mine. “You hesitated before saying women. Are you not sure?”
“I was about to say whores, but decided to give them the benefit of the doubt.”
