Page 34 of The Last Chance
Her eyes grew watery. “A remarkable one.”
Those words hung between them.
He didn’t ask her to elaborate. She was supposed to despise him, think him cold and arrogant. He couldn’t bear to hear her praise.
“I’m fighting next week. I shall save you a front-row seat.” She would see the animal—the ruthless beast who could tear a man to shreds. “Then I’m confident you will have a different impression.”
“Perhaps.”
He thumped the carriage roof and asked Godby to pull over, then faced the woman who haunted his dreams. “We’ll find a way to question Miss Fitzpatrick alone. I’ll speak to Daventry tomorrow about visiting Mrs Flavell. Today, I want to meet Miss Stowe’s maid and see if she resembles Venus.”
Miss Lovelace gasped in horror. “Lucia isn’t Venus. She remained in Miss Stowe’s hired carriage between performances, hiding from the amorous vultures who thought her mistress material.”
“She may have seen something important.”
The maid confessed to seeing nothing important. Despite hermobcap and drab dress, the young woman had an exotic appeal anyone would find enchanting.
“Who asked for the encore?” Aaron said as they stood in Miss Stowe’s drawing room, the worn upholstery hinting at the family’s dwindling fortunes.
Lucia shrugged, admitting in a mild, Italian accent, “I do not know. I waited in the carriage until Miss Stowe asked me to sing again.”
“The request came from someone in the crowd,” Miss Stowe replied. “Then people began calling for Madame Rossellini, and the initial voice was lost amid the chorus.”
“Did anyone enter the club while you waited in the carriage?” Aaron knew it was a pointless question. A maid could not identify the lords of theton.
Lucia looked at Miss Stowe. “I took a nap. My working days are long, singing is tiring, and I am usually asleep by ten o’clock.”
Miss Lovelace found it necessary to prove she was not exploiting the servant. “Lucia is saving to return home to Naples. She has a cousin there but wants to earn enough money to support herself until she finds work. She hopes to sail in the spring.”
“I offered to pay for her passage,” Miss Stowe said, “but Lucia insists on earning every penny.”
“How commendable.” Aaron might have a use for her after all. Someone who could enter a house and gossip with the staff might prove invaluable. “I’ll pay you five sovereigns if you accompany Miss Stowe on a visit to Miss Fitzpatrick. I’ll double the fee if you discover anything about her brother hiring someone to ruin her.”
Miss Lovelace had some reservations. “What if Miss Fitzpatrick recognises Lucia? On what pretext would they visit?”
“Maids are practically invisible,” he said, inclining his head,for he meant no offence. “And Miss Stowe is intelligent enough to think of something.”
Leaving Miss Stowe glowing from his praise, and with Fortune’s Den being a few minutes’ drive, they returned home to take refreshments and plan their next visit.
“We’re running out of options.” Aaron withdrew his key and opened the front door. “There’s nothing left to do but search Howard’s abode.”
He could not question Two-Teeth O’Toole or Mrs Flavell without something to trade. He could not accuse men of murder when few people knew Howard was dead. There would be calls for their arrest once the truth came to light. Gossip would spread through thetonlike wildfire.
But fate had other plans.
The smell of an unusual cologne assaulted Aaron in the hallway. The aroma roused a vision of spice markets in Marrakesh. It was the scent of a man who enjoyed many vices.
“Rothley is here,” he growled.
“Gabriel?” Miss Lovelace said.
Aaron hated that she used Rothley’s given name.
Sigmund hurried into the hall, quick to explain. “I wasn’t expecting you back for an hour or more.” He gestured to Aaron’s study. “I told the marquess to call tomorrow, but he insisted on waiting. Eloise is fetching coffee and a newspaper.”
Aaron did not ask the purpose of Rothley’s visit but glanced at Miss Lovelace. “He wants to know why The Burnished Jade is closed. He’ll insist you return with him to Studland Park.”
“Then he’s had a wasted journey.”
