“I really don’t think—”
“So,” she continued, “you want to know what I know about Charlie.”
“If you don’t mind,” I replied with exaggerated politeness.
“I met him years ago when I was just a chorus girl,” she began, looking a bit wistful. “Well before I became Madame Fontaine.”
I frowned. “What is your real name?”
But she smiled and shook her head. “It will cost you quite a bit more for that information.”
“Go on, then.”
“I didn’t know him very well on a personal level,” she continued. “But he came by the theater regularly to see Miss Adeline Brooks, the leading lady of that particular production. It sent all of us chorus girls into a frenzy. He was so dashing, we thought he was like a prince. They married in secret once the show closed.”
“If it was in secret, then how do you know?”
“Theater people are the worst gossips in the world. If you want to spread a rumor, tell an actor you have a secret in the morning, and it will have reached every corner of London by noon.” When I did not join in her laughter, she continued. “Anyway, the story went that once his father heard about the marriage, he demanded an annulment. But it was too late for that, if you follow my meaning, so dear old Charlie paid Adeline to keep quiet about their marriage. Promised her he’d make a formal announcement once his inheritance was secured.”
From what I understood, his parents were both long dead. “And did he?”
Madame Fontaine shrugged. “Last I heard, Adeline took his money and went to Italy. I don’t think she’s been back in England since.”
My shock must have been clear on my face because MadameFontaine sobered. “Listen, love. I saw Charlie sniffing around your sister, and when she asked me about her future with him, I told her the truth: that as long as he was still married, they didn’t have any to speak of. At least, not in the legal sense. And she didn’t seem the type to be content as a mistress.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Not at all. She expected him to propose.”
Madame Fontaine’s gaze turned sympathetic. “Well, I could be wrong. Perhaps Charlie and Adeline had reached some kind of agreement so he could marry again. I haven’t a clue.”
I frowned. “Even if he had, that doesn’t excuse him lying to her about his marital state in the first place.”
“No. It doesn’t,” Madame Fontaine agreed. “But what I do know—what I believe deep down to the very marrow of my bones—is that men like Charlie are always looking for the next new shiny thing. And that sister of yours looked pretty new and shiny to me. I’m sorry she’s been hurt, but if you ask me, things would have been far worse for her in the end if she had been able to marry him.”
As callous as the sentiment was, I couldn’t say I disagreed with it. I sat back in my chair as I mulled everything over. “Do you think Adeline had a reason to kill him after all this time?”
She let out a barking laugh. “I think a lot of people had a reason to kill Charles Pearson.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What do you mean?”
Madame Fontaine waved a hand. “I overhear a fair amount in my line of work. And I know you can’t be a man about town like he was without running up a few debts and double-crossing someone. Charlie probably got himself into a situation he couldn’t charm himself out of. I’ve seen it more times than I can count,” she added, with a mournful shake of herhead. “Those fellows think they’re invincible right up to the very end. They can’t seem to help themselves.”
“A terrible shame, death by hubris,” I said dryly.
She let out a surprised laugh. “I must say, you’re quite different than the usual toffs at the baron’s parties.”
“Well, don’t be fooled,” I replied drolly. “I’m just as spoiled as the rest of them.”
She watched me for a long moment. “You’re here, though. Asking about him.”
I shifted a little, uncomfortable under her inspection. “My reasons are purely mercenary, I assure you.”
Her mouth curved in a slow smile. “I don’t believe that for a minute.”
I cleared my throat. Time to change the subject. “So this,” I began, gesturing to the room, “is all an act then.”
She tilted her head. “I prefer to call it a performance.”
“What about my fortune? You said I had come from a great distance. That I had suffered a loss. And that there was a man in my future I needed to be careful of.”
