Page 26 of Murder at the Dinner Party
“You want Victor to break into the house and look for the references?” Harmony asked.
I chewed on my lip and glanced between her and Victor. I wasn’t sure which one I needed approval from. She might worry about his safety and forbid it. From the look on her face, I could see she was imagining all the things that could go wrong.
She hesitated too long, however. “I’ll do it,” Victor said.
Harmony stayed quiet, which I took as her assent.
“Thank you, Victor. Perhaps take Goliath with you as a lookout.”
Frank snorted. “He’ll stand out like an elephant at a tea party. Take me. I’m good at blending in.”
“That’s because you’re unremarkable,” Goliath said, getting to his feet. “Come on, we’ve got to get back.”
The men filed out while I stayed to gauge Harmony’s thoughts. She made no comment about my request, however, and seemed more concerned with what I was wearing that evening to a ball I needed to attend with my family.
“I know you wore the blue dress with the white trim three weeks ago, but it does look very fetching on you, so I think you should wear it again.” She tilted her head to the side and studied me. “May I try something different with your hair?”
“I’m in your expert hands, Harmony. As for the gown, I think everyone has ceased to notice who wears the same ones. Nobody could possibly wear a different one to every single ball. Their frequency has become ridiculous at this point and I, for one, am quite sick of them.”
“They are good for information gathering,” she said with a wicked smile.
She had a good point. While she helped me dress and did my hair, we tossed around ideas for ways I could subtly find out more about the Campbells and Whitchurches.
* * *
My first targetfor the evening wasn’t the friends of Lady Campbell or Lady Whitchurch, but my aunt. She was excitable after having taken her tonic, and I wanted to question her before her good mood faded and she became sulky and riddled with pain. Upon entering the ballroom, she spied a cluster of her friends and looked as though she’d forge a path to them. I wrapped both my hands around her arm to keep her at my side. Her muscles twitched beneath my grip.
“May I ask you something, Aunt?”
She looked at me, although her enlarged pupils seemed to peer right through me. “Of course, Cleo, dear. Is it about the maharaja’s son?”
“Who?”
She nodded to where Flossy had cornered a young man I recognized from the hotel. He’d been a guest with his father in April, before heading off to Oxford University for the term. Flossy seemed quite taken with him this evening. His expression was more reserved and I couldn’t tell if he liked her company or would prefer to chat with his chums.
“It’s not about him,” I said.
“He’s very handsome.” Aunt Lilian shifted from foot to foot. “Shall I go and help her, do you think? She’s likely to say something silly and put him off. I hear he’s very intelligent and she can be a little foolish. Oh, wouldn’t it be wonderful if they married!”
“I think he’s moving back to India when his education is complete. Flossy wouldn’t like the heat.”
Aunt Lilian waved off my concern. “Ronald can find him a position here in London. He’s very well-connected. There he is now, looking quite dashing and not at all troubled. Have you noticed that about him lately, Cleo? How troubled he is? He’s not himself. When I ask him what the matter is, he won’t tell me. I don’t know why. He used to tell me everything.” She sighed. “That’s the way with marriages, I suppose. After a while, they become stale. A couple who once talked all the time stop talking. I never thought it would happen to us, but here we are.”
“I don’t think your marriage is stale.”
“He married me for my money, you know. There. I’ve shocked you, haven’t I?”
“I—”
“Don’t pity me, Cleo. I married him because his family is nobility, albeit a minor branch.” She giggled behind her fan. “At some point, we grew to love and respect one another. I’m not quite sure when it happened. He was so full of energy and ideas that one couldn’t help admiring him.” She lowered the fan. “He adored your mother more than me, however, but she had no interest in him. She’d met your father by then and nobody could compare in her eyes.”
Good lord, I needed to stop her before she told me something she’d later regret. “Aunt, what did Mr. Chapman want with Lady Campbell yesterday?”
Her gaze darted around the room, although I wondered how much she was taking in. “Hmmm?”
“At afternoon tea, Mr. Chapman tried to speak to Lady Campbell, then he approached you. What did he want?”
She fluttered her hand in the air, wriggling her fingers. “I don’t recall now, Cleo. Hotel business, I should imagine.”
