Page 43 of The Locked Room

‘Hugo de Courcy,’ Percy replied. ‘Rumoured to be the illegitimate son of the Earl of Dover, although he gets his looks from his mother. Unfortunately, he’s also a compulsive gambler. I think you can probably work out the rest.’

‘But the Dover estate is vast,’ Harry replied, her forehead furrowing. ‘Legitimate or not, surely his father can cover his debts.’

Percy’s eyes glittered. ‘He might well have, had it not been for the small matter of an ill-advised elopement.’ He lifted an eyebrow. ‘With a dance hostess, I seem to recall.’

Harry stared at him. Examples of wealthy men having their heads turned by a pretty face were nothing new, but she could not ignore the coincidence. ‘Do you mean⁠—’

‘And here is the other half of our quarry,’ Percy cut in, turning to watch the entrance of a blonde-haired woman Harry had seen once before, walking down a staircase beside Beth at the Hot Spot. ‘The present Mrs de Courcy, I believe.’

At once, everything dropped into place. ‘Mama was right,’ Harry breathed, as she watched Serafina Eccleston pause to drop a kiss on the head of Hugo de Courcy. ‘She does only want Rufus for his money. But if she’s already married…’

‘I imagine she was hoping to keep that information to herself,’ Percy said dryly. ‘At least until after she’d milked your brother for the funds to clear Hugo’s debts. Once that was achieved, she would probably have left him.’

Indignation burned in Harry’s chest at the thought. Rufus could be headstrong and irresponsible, but he was also loveable and generous, and she had no doubt he thought himself in love with Serafina. He did not deserve to be so cruelly used. Drawing herself up to her full height, Harry thrust her glass into Percy’s hands.

‘What are you going to do?’ he asked, looking more amused than alarmed.

She took a fortifying breath. ‘I’m going to make sure Serafina Eccleston, or Ida de Courcy, or whatever she calls herself, breaks off her engagement to Rufus and never comes near my family again.’

Percy nodded, as though he had expected nothing else. ‘And how are you going to do that?’

At that moment, Serafina looked around the room. Her eyes came to rest upon Harry and she visibly paled. Reaching into her handbag for the money she had tucked there before leaving her apartment, Harry smiled. ‘I’m going to beat her husband at poker.’

14

News of the recovered Sora-Sora diamond did not become public until Monday morning, but the story dominated the headlines of every newspaper.

MISSING DIAMOND DISCOVERED!

Criminal Gang Unearthed at Circus

Death in Mayfair an Accident

Beth had bought several copies of the most popular morning editions on her way to Hamilton Square, allowing Harry the luxury of taking in the details over a breakfast of tea and toast and a soft-boiled egg.

‘It says they found the diamond in the false bottom of a costume chest belonging to Angelique Monroe,’ she said, without looking up. ‘Along with several items from other burglaries around the country, including a necklace belonging to Lord Robertson’s wife that was stolen last year.’

Beth grunted. ‘I’d have shifted them sharpish.’

‘Me too,’ Harry replied. ‘But I don’t suppose she expected to get caught.’

‘And she wouldn’t have, if it wasn’t for you,’ Beth pointed out. ‘Did it all happen how you said?’

Harry scanned the tiny newsprint. ‘It appears that way. Hercules Jones admitted his involvement but claimed Polly fell to her death in the process. He says embalming her was Angelique’s idea, to prevent the body from being discovered until after they’d got away.’

Beth looked up from checking the teapot, her expression disbelieving. ‘Seems like a lot of trouble to me. Risky, too. They’d have been better off chucking her in the Thames.’

It was a thought that had occurred to Harry too. ‘I think they were made to do it. By someone who saw an opportunity to use poor Polly to send a twisted message and gave precise instructions about what needed to be done.’

‘Moriarty.’ Beth spat the name like a curse. ‘What about the letter? How do they explain that?’

‘There’s no mention of it,’ Harry said, frowning. ‘I’ll have to remember to ask Inspector Wells.’

‘How about our friend Solomon Pole? Did they catch him too?’

Harry forced down a now familiar quiver of unease at the mention of his name. ‘It says Scotland Yard raided the shop in connection with the theft, but it was empty, completely cleaned out.’ She paused and checked herself. ‘Or almost completely. Pole himself has vanished.’

The other woman was quiet for a moment. ‘Do you really think it’s him? That he’s Moriarty, I mean?’