Page 174 of Storm of Bells
Reaching for the snuffbox, I pulled it open.It was time to put thoughts of the past aside and concentrate onthe here and now. We had a task to accomplish!
I peered suspiciously into the snuffbox. Atfirst glance, there didn’t seem to be anything inside except snuff,but with Lord Dalgliesh, you never really knew. Still, I wasn’twilling to infect myself by sticking my fingers into that stuff.Spreading the handkerchief on the seat, I turned over the box aboveit. The snuff fell out—but nothing else. There was nothingconcealed inside. Gathering up the handkerchief, I shook it outthrough the window.
Next, I reached for the wallet. This turnedout to be of more interest. It contained several letters andreports that I determined to study at a later date. The only otherthing of interest I found…
I smiled.
‘Here.’ Reaching into the wallet, I pulledout a thick bundle of notes and handed it to Mr Rikkard Ambrose.‘Consider it another early wedding present.’
The notes disappeared into Mr Ambrose’spocket faster than I could blink. Then he reached out to gentlytouch my face. ‘You truly know the way to my heart.’
I grinned. ‘I’d better. I had to look fornearly two bloody years.’
Leaning forward, his eyes closed, he gentlytouched his lips to mine. His grip on me tightened.
‘I appreciate your persistence, MissLinton.’
Never mind my feminist principles ofindependence. I glowed. I simply glowed, and basked in his look fora long, long moment. A moment that was abruptly cut short whenKarim drove over a pothole and catapulted me against the luggagerack.
‘Ouch! Watch where you’re going, yousabre-swinging oaf!’
My friendly encouragement was swiftlyreturned in Punjabi. Mine and Karim’s friendship really wasdeveloping admirably.
‘So…’ Rubbing my aching head, I sank downonto the seat and peeked out of the window. ‘How far is it to thisplace of Dalgliesh’s?’
‘At the current travelling speed,thirty-seven minutes and fourteen seconds.’
‘Hm.’ I stroked my chin, wishing I had amoustache to curl for the occasion, like any decent evilmastermind. ‘Just enough time for us to think of a plan. What shallwe do once we arrive?’
He cocked his head. ‘Care to explain?’
‘Well, I suppose you don’t just intend tomarch up to Dalgliesh’s door and demand of his butler to be let in,do you?’
‘I might send Karim to do it. I don’t know abutler in England who would have the courage to refuse.’
‘Let’s call that Plan B, shall we?’
Twirling my imaginary goatee, I consideredthe matter. Mr Rikkard Ambrose might be a tenacious fighter andfinancial genius, but when it came to being sneaky, he was not themost proficient expert one could hope for. I, on the otherhand…
I smiled.
What did I have to work with?
Again, I considered the objects at mydisposal. Watch. Handkerchief with a bloodstain on it. An emptywallet—
I paused.
A handkerchief with a bloodstain.
My smile widened.
‘I think I know what we have to do.’
‘Indeed.’
‘Get that superior scepticism out of yourvoice, you chauvinistic son of a bachelor! Women can have smartideas, you know.’
‘Indeed?’
