Page 55 of A Murder in Bloomsbury

“You must face her when you speak,” Lark said, “so she can read your lips.”

I turned properly to the girl and bowed. “Lady Linnet. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

Linnet bit back a smile and curtsied.

Mrs. Selwyn stood near the drawing room door wearing the expression of a woman who had lost one argument that morning.

My gaze returned to Lark. “What are you doing?”

“Going out.”

“Where?”

“To find the editor of The Quill and Crown.”

For one second, I simply stared at her. “The editor,” I repeated carefully, “of the offices that burned down last night.”

“The very one.”

A pulse began to beat behind my eyes.

“Lark,” I said slowly, “tell me you are not seriously intending to go searching for that man by yourself.”

Her brows lifted.

Miriam folded her arms with immediate satisfaction. “For once, I find myself entirely in agreement with His Lordship.”

Linnet smiled—not politely, but with unmistakable amusement.

Lark ignored them both. “Good morning to you as well, Lord Everthorne.”

“There is nothing remotely good about this morning.”

She turned to fully face me. “I disagree. We now know Lydia delivered the poem.”

“We also know someone burned down that building to stop it from being published.”

“Which means we were right. And I intend to speak with The Quill and Crown editor before he disappears.”

“He may have already disappeared, if he had any sense.”

She paused for a moment as she considered my words. “You may be right. He wasn’t there this morning.”

I stared at her in disbelief. “There? As in the offices of The Quill and Crown?”

“Yes.”

“You went to the fire in the middle of the night?”

“Miriam and I did. We were hardly alone. Half the square was there.”

“And you considered it sensible to involve yourself as well?”

“I considered it sensible to determine whether my neighborhood was burning down.” Her calm was making the situation markedly worse.

I took one step toward her. “You’re not going out to look for him.”

“Yes, I am.”