Page 55 of The Bride Wore White

“Miss Ryland is hoping to avoid being murdered,” Jack said.

Rollins stared at him, shocked. “I assure you, my mother would never go so far as to attack Miss Ryland.”

“I don’t know about that,” Jack said. “From the sound of it, the woman is unhinged.”

“I promise you she is incapable of genuine violence,” Rollins said. He turned back to Prudence. “Please don’t worry, Miss Ryland. You are not in any serious physical danger.”

“I hope you are right,” Prudence said.

“I’m sure I am,” Rollins said.

He took Ella’s arm and started toward the door.

Frustrated by her failure to get a good look at the signet ring, Prudence jumped to her feet and hurried across the room to get ahead of Rollins and Ella. She reached the door first and wrapped her fingers around the knob. The couple stopped, waiting politely for her to open the door.

“Thank you for taking the time to stop by and explain,” she said.

“It was the least we could do,” Ella said. “Rest assured we will keep an eye on Clara. We want to avoid another awkward scene as badly as you do, believe me.”

“Thank you,” Prudence said. Unable to think of anything more subtle, she turned to Rollins. “I couldn’t help but notice your unusual signet ring, Mr.Dover.”

“What?” Rollins paused and glanced at his left hand and held it up to display the ring. “Old boarding school memento. No good memories, to tell you the truth. I wear it as a reminder that I survived. The school did not.”

She finally got a good look at the top of the ring. It was engraved with a key. It took everything she had to keep her smile fixed in place.

“How interesting,” she managed. “What school was that?”

“The Bennington Academy,” Rollins said. “I’m sure you’ve never heard of it. It was a private boarding school in Northern California. Burned down years ago. Now you must excuse us. We really do need to be on our way. I have some business calls to make from the hotel. Dover Industries never sleeps.”

“Of course,” Prudence said.

She yanked open the door and followed Rollins and Ella outside. Jack left his post at the window and moved to stand beside her. Together they watched the Dovers get into the Jaguar and drive toward the main road.

Jack did not speak until they were alone. Then he looked at Prudence, his eyes cold and knowing.

“Why is the ring important?” he asked.

She inhaled slowly and let the breath out with control. Her pulse was skittering wildly.

“Tapson, the client who collapsed on the floor of my reading room in San Francisco, wore an identical ring.”

“Did he?” Jack said very softly. He glanced in the direction of the departing Jaguar. The car had already vanished. “That is interesting.”

“Okay, we should not jump to conclusions,” she said. “San Francisco society is a relatively small community. The people who inhabit it belong to the same clubs. Go to the same parties. Shop at the same stores. They send their offspring to the same schools. This business with the signet rings could be a coincidence.”

“No.”

“Coincidences do happen, Jack.”

“Not in a murder investigation.” He turned and walked back into the house. “I need to make a phone call, and then you and I have to have a chat about what the hell happened to Tapson in your reading room in San Francisco.”

“I was afraid you were going to bring up that subject again.” Prudence hurried to follow him into the house. “Who are you going to call?”

“Raina Kirk. We need some more professional investigation work.”

She trailed after him as he went into the library. “I thought you were my assigned investigator.”

“How many times do I have to explain to you that I’m your consultant?” Jack sat down behind his desk and picked up the phone. “My job is to collect information and then find the connections.”

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