Page 51 of Murder at the Dinner Party
Lord Whitchurch’s eyes widened. Then he grunted a laugh. “What a ridiculous accusation.”
I couldn’t tell if he was lying or not, so I pushed on. “You were seen arguing with him at the Coach and Horses on Hill Street.”
“By whom? A few drunks, I imagine. You can’t trust drunkards, Miss Fox.”
“You also argued with Mr. Hardy in the courtyard of the Campbells’ residence.”
“I did no such thing.” He peered down his nose at me. “If you represent the quality of female detectives, it’s no wonder the men get all the better cases.”
Harry stepped even closer, forcing Lord Whitchurch’s gaze to shift upwards. “Insult her again and I will have to force you to apologize.”
Lord Whitchurch swallowed. “This entire conversation is absurd. Good day.”
Drat. If I didn’t say something to make him stay, we’d lose the best, and perhaps only, opportunity to question him alone. “You lied about being in your room on the night of Charlotte’s murder.”
He rounded on me. “I beg your pardon?”
“You lied to the police. You weren’t in your room when the murder occurred.”
He stretched out his neck and pursed his lips in a show of bravado that I didn’t believe. “All right, I confess. I was out of the house for a few hours before midnight, visiting…a friend. I went nowhere near the kitchen when I came home, however, and learned about the murder along with everyone else in the morning.”
“Then why lie?”
“To protect my friend’s reputation.”
“Was it a woman?” Harry asked.
Lord Whitchurch’s lips pursed again and I thought he’d refuse to answer. Then he finally gave a single nod. “I suppose it no longer matters since she became my wife. Yes, I was with her that evening until midnight. I snuck into her bedchamber after dark so no one can verify my story. Except her, of course. Ask her if you don’t believe me.”
“Wives don’t make the best witnesses when their husbands are accused of lying,” Harry said.
Lord Whitchurch’s nostrils flared again, but he didn’t challenge Harry. He must know he’d be a fool to do so. “She was engaged to Rupert at the time, but he’d been beastly to her earlier, so I went to comfort her. We were in love. We had been for some time and were working up the courage to tell our parents when the maid died and Rupert disappeared. The point is, I didn’t tell the police because I was protecting her from scandal. Iwasin my room at the time of the murder. I didn’t lie about that. Satisfied, Miss Fox?”
I answered him with another question. “If you left her at midnight and went straight home, why were you seen by one of the maids leaving your room fully clothed when the body was discovered just before dawn? It implies that you had just come in.”
He slapped his hands together behind him. “I simply didn’t change. What of it? More to the point, which maid saw me?”
“I’m not at liberty to say.”
He huffed. “Is it Virginia? The one who left service to get married? If so, she’s lying, Miss Fox. The maids weren’t allowed to wander onto the floor where the family’s bedchambers are located during the night because of my brother’s lecherous ways. The rule was there to protect them. If Virginia was outside our bedchambers, then she was either disobeying the rules for some nefarious reason of her own, or she lied to you about seeing me.”
“Why would she lie?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he said hotly. “But I do recall that she disliked the deceased maid. Virginia was a zealot, and her strict beliefs made her hateful toward anyone whose morals didn’t live up to her own. She was always complaining to my mother about other members of staff that she considered unprincipled.” He glanced again at the doorman on the porch of White’s. “That’s enough questions. Good day to you both.”
He headed up the steps to his club, where the doorman greeted him and opened the door.
With a release of breath, I turned to Harry. “What do you think?”
“I think the doorman isn’t a young man.”
“That’s unkind.”
Harry took the steps two at a time and asked the doorman how long he’d worked there.
“Twenty-nine years, sir.”
Harry put out his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Harry Armitage and this is Miss Fox. We’re detectives.”
