Saffron straightened, her hand dropping to her side. Perhaps Richard Blake was Mrs. Henry’s lover. Hehadgiven Mrs. Henry the glass of champagne that likely contained the poison. Maybe it wasn’t meant for her. Maybe she was supposed to pass it on to Dr. Henry. Maybe his wife and her lover had botched an attempt to poison Dr. Henry and rid themselves of several problems at once. But something had gone wrong, and Mrs. Henry had drunk from the glass instead.
Body thrumming with the excitement of a new idea, she crossed to the door and made her way down the hall to Alexander’s office. He knew Blake better, or at least had spoken to him. Maybe he’d have something to add.
After knocking, she opened the door at his invitation and announced, “All right, Ashton, new theory.”
Alexander set down a magnifying glass on the botanical text laid out on his desk before him. “All right, Everleigh, let’s hear it.”
Saffron plopped into the chair across from him, eying the Marianne North illustration ofVictoria amazonicawith momentary interest.
He raised a brow. “You had a theory?”
“What if Richard Blake and Mrs. Henry plotted to get rid of Dr. Henry? She was embarrassed by his behavior with other women, even if she says she didn’t care. Blake was angry that Dr. Henry had gone around him to get to the donors. They could have devised a plan to get rid of Dr. Henry—killing two birds with one stone.”
Alexander narrowed his eyes. “Did you end up using your powers of persuasion to get a confession out of Blake?”
She laughed. “I didn’t see him, actually. I did see Eris Ermine, however. She implied that Mrs. Henry was just as disloyal to their marriage vows as Dr. Henry. Dr. Henry had been spending a lot of time with Miss Ermine, since she’s now incharge of her father’s money while he’s ill. I can guess exactly how Dr. Henry ensured his expedition would go forward.”
“And she suggested that Blake and Mrs. Henry were having an affair?” Alexander looked doubtful.
“No, no, Dr. Henry is having an affair withher,” Saffron said, leaning forward. “Or at least she would have me believe so. She obviously didn’t come out and say that either of the Henrys were having an affair. But it fits with what you heard Berking say, that Henry got his funding in a scandalous way. Seducing Miss Ermine for money certainly would be scandalous.”
“So, you think that Dr. Henry was the real target for the poisoning, and his wife and Richard Blake were trying to kill him? Why?”
“To get revenge and clear the way to be together, of course!”
“No, why do you think that’s the case?”
“Oh.” Saffron thought for a moment. Why had she jumped to this conclusion? “I suppose … well, I suppose my only reason was the meaningful looks they gave each other. Miss Ermine implied Mrs. Henry wasn’t faithful. And Richard Blake gave Mrs. Henry the glass that probably had the poison in it. Maybe she didn’t realize that was the glass she was meant to give her husband.”
Alexander frowned. “That’s rather sloppy. Wouldn’t Blake have indicated to her that it was the poisoned glass, rather than allow her to drink it? He wouldn’t have been able to watch her put it to her lips without a reaction. And if it was by accident, they must be terrible would-be murderers to choose a situation where they could poison the wrong person so easily.”
“I suppose you’re right.” She sighed, slumping back in her chair.
“Probably more likely that Blake tried to kill her instead, since he poured her the glass. Did you actually see him or anyone else touch it before?”
“The inspector already knows that both he and Dr. Henry poured into the glass.” Saffron stood and began pacing. She wasn’t pleased that her theories were so easily discarded. Now that the idea that Mrs. Henry and Blake were lovers had taken root in her mind, it was impossible to ignore. But how to prove it?
Silence settled between them. Saffron looked up from her musing to find Alexander straightening the book atop his desk, a frown creasing his brow. “Oh, I’m sorry! Am I distracting you from your work?”
“No … There’s just something about Richard Blake. Something about the papers on his desk when I was in his office. It’s probably nothing.”
“What seemed amiss?”
“He had his papers everywhere. He seemed to be looking for something; he was completely distracted from our conversation. I looked at the papers and saw what you’d expect—receipts, invoices, letters, order forms for the expedition. Quite a lot of forms were spread out.”
“Did you see what they had ordered?” Saffron asked. She was curious what had Alexander so tense. Although given how he’d cleaned Dr. Maxwell’s office during her experiment, and how he kept his own office, he clearly had a problem with clutter. Even now, he was prodding the book to make it perfectly parallel with the edge of the desk.
He shook his head, eyes unfocused. “No, I didn’t. Dr. Berking had one or two orders, and Somerville from geology had several, Robinson, Straithway … Dr. Henry’s name was all over the place. His signature is so large and messy, it’s easy to identify.”
“So, it was odd because …?”
“I don’t know. I suppose it was odd because Dr. Henry had ordered so many things compared to the other professors,although I’m sure not all the forms were visible. Mine wasn’t there, for one.”
“Perhaps it was the usual materials, and they were all laid out, so it looked strange,” Saffron suggested.
He stood and went to his bookshelf, straightening a book that wasn’t out of place. “I suppose. But his research is about people. It doesn’t require vast amounts of supplies—just crates and packing and cloth to collect artifacts, and he could get most of that in Brazil.”
“He is the leader. Perhaps it’s the materials for the whole team, tents and camp supplies and things.”
