Page 14 of The Last Chance
“The past, the present, the future, it’s all one and the same,” Daventry said cryptically. “I’m only preparing you both for what lies ahead. Better we have this conversation now than before the magistrate. I advise you not to mention it when he arrives. It may buy you some time.”
A tense silence ensued as Aaron tried to absorb the information. He would need to be one step ahead of the authorities if he hoped to catch the culprit.
He moved to stand over the man he would throttle if Howard wasn’t already dead. “We should search his pockets before the magistrate arrives.”
Daventry agreed and began rifling through Howard’s coat.
They found no letters or papers, nothing but the fop’s gold watch hidden inside a black velvet pouch, not tucked into his waistcoat pocket.
Daventry inspected the face before opening the back case and showing Aaron the initials engraved into the metal with an image of a stallion.
Aaron’s blood ran cold. “What the blazes? Let me look at that.”
He took the watch, an unwelcome memory invading his mind. His father hadn’t paid off his debts with the money Aaron earned from one particular fight. While he nursed a black eye and fractured finger, his father bought a racehorse.
“That watch once belonged to my father,” he said, his tone as hard as the protective casing around his heart. “He sold it to pay his debts a month before he died. A man from Ballingers Auction House bought everything of value.”
For long seconds, no one spoke.
Miss Lovelace broke the silence. “It’s hard to know which one of us is being framed for murder.” She paused to look at Daventry. “I know this may be considered unlawful, but perhaps Mr Chance should take the watch. If it’s his father’s, it will be one more piece of evidence against him.”
Daventry agreed.
Aaron did not. “The devil who planned this is already one step ahead. I mean to do the opposite of what he expects. Leave the watch on the body. It shows I have nothing to hide.” He did not believe in bad omens but wanted nothing belonging to his father.
Daventry slipped the watch into Howard’s pocket. “Then you must waste no time investigating the crime. The pouch is from a pawnbroker’s in Regent Street. I’d start there and then interview Madame Rossellini and the female members in attendance tonight. I’ll do everything possible to avert suspicion elsewhere. Howard’s debt to Two-Teeth O’Toole should suffice. But time is of the essence.”
“I shall gather my ladies here later today,” Miss Lovelace suggested. “One of them may have seen something untoward.”
Daventry put paid to her plan. “This is a crime scene. I suggest you reside at Fortune’s Den until we resolve the matter. Working together will be easier if you’re living under one roof.”
“Under one roof?” Aaron’s pulse soared. And he thought finding his father’s watch was shocking. “Miss Lovelace cannot live at Fortune’s Den.”
“Why? You have plenty of room. You’re a logical man. If you’re going to tackle this problem together, surely you can see it makes sense.”
Have Miss Lovelace sleeping mere feet from his chamber?
Meet her in a state of undress on the landing at night?
Impossible.
“If you’d rather solve this on your own,” Daventry began, “I’m sure the Marquess of Rothley will accommodate her at Studland Park. He’s shrewd enough to help her find?—”
“The man is a damned hedonist.”
“Can you blame him?” Miss Lovelace countered. “Gabriel is haunted by my brother’s mysterious disappearance. He’s carried the blame for years. Have a little compassion.”
“I’ll save my compassion for someone more deserving.”
“Someone like Miss Lovelace?” Daventry asked. “If she’s forced to interview her ladies at Studland Park, you’ll miss the opportunity to ask crucial questions.”
“I’ll not have a woman living at Fortune’s Den.”
“All your brothers’ wives stayed there for a short time.”
Yes, and their brief stay ended with a trip down the aisle.
“I lack my brothers’ patience. She’ll not tolerate my beastly moods.” He rummaged in his bag of ungentlemanly traits to find a few others. “I fight and curse and drink to excess.”
