Page 68 of The Art of Theft
Charlotte passed a hand over her face. She was awake now, but her brain was still dull from a lack of sleep. “From your description of the two women’s conversation, it sounded as if they did not know each other well, or even at all. Why would Lady Ingram go to a stranger’s place?”
Lord Ingram rubbed his bloodshot eyes. “I wonder if Madame Desrosier’s people found Lady Ingram and, to demonstrate their goodwill, arranged for her to get into Eastleigh Park to see the children. Left to her own devices, she couldn’t have achieved that without alerting anyone at all.”
Eastleigh Park was no bastion. Still, it was far from other dwellings and had a full complement of staff and gates that were locked and watched. For Lady Ingram to infiltrate the children’s nursery, then to depart without leaving a trace, she must have had extremely competent help.
Which wasn’t something a woman who no longer had any backing could count on, normally.
“Why would anyone take such trouble for her?”
Lord Ingram raised a brow. “During the investigation at Stern Hollow, weren’t you the one who said that she would be an asset in many situations?”
“I was arguing that it made no sense for Moriarty to kill her—and I was proved correct on that account. But Lady Ingram is no longer in the same position she was then. She’s made accusations against Moriarty in front of both Scotland Yard and the biggest gossips in London, and brought notoriety to the doorstep of theman who’s always preferred to operate in shadows. In short she’s declared herself an implacable enemy.”
“Moriarty must have other implacable enemies. Perhaps Madame Desrosiers is one, too. Perhaps she and Lady Ingram wish to band together and capitalize on that shared enmity.”
“Perhaps.”
The Marbletons were also implacable enemies of Moriarty, but while they could keep themselves safe, would they have expended so much energy to aid Lady Ingram?
Lord Ingram rose. “I have to set a few things into motion, and then I plan to return to Eastleigh Park. I’ll be back in London tomorrow.”
Charlotte got to her feet. “I’ll see you out.”
At the door of the parlor he turned around and took her hand. “Be careful, Holmes.”
She gave his hand a squeeze. “You too, Ash.”
She expected him to let go of her hand and open the door. Instead he enfolded her in an embrace. A brief one. Before she understood what was happening, he was already descending the stairs in the direction of the breakfast parlor.
Only his scent of wool and sandalwood lingered.
She inhaled deeply, and sighed.
?Mrs. Watson half-heartedly stirred her tea. Livia spread more butter on her muffin, without intending to consume either. They glanced at each other again, wondering what had brought Lord Ingram to confer with Charlotte at this unexpected hour.
“Mrs. Watson, Miss Olivia,” said Lord Ingram from the door of the breakfast parlor.
They rose hurriedly. “Is everything all right?” asked Mrs. Watson.
“Nothing is amiss,” said Lord Ingram. “I learned something yesterday evening that Miss Charlotte needed to know without delay.”
Without taking a seat, he asked them about their doings sincethey parted ways and then took his leave. Livia and Mrs. Watson saw him out, then climbed up to the afternoon parlor, where Charlotte told them about Lord Ingram’s suspicions.
“Lady Ingram!” Mrs. Watson cried. The next second she covered her mouth and looked around, as if someone might be spying on her in her own home.
When she spoke again, her volume was much lower. “Do you think he’s right, Miss Charlotte?”
Charlotte tapped the pad of her index finger against her chin. “I have no way of verifying anything—I wasn’t in the secret passage, and I wasn’t there during Lady Ingram’s visit to Eastleigh Park. But Lord Ingram isn’t the sort to jump to conclusions. For him to rush over here like this, at leastheis convinced.”
“But you aren’t?” asked Livia.
“I’m not sure whether my belief matters one way or the other. Does the identity of a guest at Château Vaudrieu change anything for us, as far as our task and the Van Dyck painting are concerned?”
Livia blinked. The news that Lady Ingram might be lurking about Château Vaudrieu was so sensational that she hadn’t even once considered that it mightnotmake any difference.
“If everything Lord Ingram reported was accurate, then Lady Ingram doesn’t know and doesn’t entirely trust her hostess—and the feeling is very much reciprocated. When she still moved in Society Lady Ingram disliked balls and considered them a chore. I doubt she would take part in the masquerade ball, let alone participate in any of Château Vaudrieu’s schemes. If her presence doesn’t change what we need to do, then why do we need to know with complete certainty whether it’s her in the château?”
“So we are to completely disregard her presence at Château Vaudrieu? To think of it as altogether tangential to our plans?” asked Mrs. Watson, sounding incredulous.
