Page 31 of A Murder on London Bridge
“I saw her drink two cups too many.”
“No wonder she stumbled.”
“Perhaps she was meeting a man.”
Their explanations came too quickly, too easily. I wondered if any of them were true. At the base of the steps, a dark stain marred the stone where her head must have struck. Unfortunately, I was not able to see her body. It had already been borne away. One slipper still lay, however, on the landing above, as though snatched off, either in struggle or flight.
I studied the stairs. No broken tread, no torn hem snagged on the railing. Nothing to suggest an accident. But caught between the stones, I spied a small white bead, its pale sheen dulled against the stone flags. I crouched and lifted it carefully, the cool weight delicate in my palm. It was a drop pearl, the kind that dangled from a golden clasp. I closed my fingers over it before anyone else noticed.
A myriad of questions made themselves known. Had Lady Margaret been careless, drunk, or had she been silenced? Why had she been on the back stairs at all? A tryst? A foolish errand? Or had she overheard something she ought never to have known? So many questions with no ready answers.
I thought of the venomous whispers that coiled through Whitehall, of the men bold enough to dream of a Queen’s death. Lady Margaret had been young, ambitious, hungry for advancement. If she had overheard such talk, she might well have thought to profit from it. Blackmail, perhaps. A dangerous game—one she had lost.
As I rose from the steps, a shadow fell across me.
“You see it too.” Hollingsworth stood a pace behind, his eyes narrowing as they flicked from the stair to my closed hand.
“This was no accident,” I murmured.
“No.” His voice was grim. “I don’t believe it was.”
He guided me away from the throng, down a narrow passage and into one of the long galleries where only the echo of our footsteps kept us company.
“Show me what you found,” he said once we were alone.
I opened my palm, showing him the pearl. “It was torn from her earring. Look at the clasp—the gold is bent, twisted. Earrings do not simply fall away. Someone wrenched it free.” I turned it in the light, my stomach tightening. “There are strands of her hair caught in it … and a trace of blood. She struggled.”
He took it, turning the pearl in his fingers, his brow furrowed. “What do you know of her?”
I hesitated, then said, “She longed to be part of the Queen’s inner circle and was eager to be noticed.”
Hollingsworth’s gaze sharpened. “Ambition can be perilous. She may have allowed that craving to guide her actions.”
“What do you mean?”
“My friends tell me Lady Margaret kept company with Nathaniel Asquith. His circle has long been whispered against, their loyalty to the Crown in doubt.” He closed his hand around the pearl. “If Margaret overheard more than she ought…or sought to use it for her advantage…”
“She was silenced to stop her from speaking.”
He inclined his head. “I fear so.” His gaze held mine, grave. “Have you spoken to the Queen? This may well herald an attempt against her life.”
A shiver ran through me. “I meant to do it this morning, but?—”
“You must not delay.” His tone brooked no argument. “A life has already been taken. The Queen must know to guard herself.”
I nodded, my resolve hardening. “I will speak to her today.” A pause. “And afterward, I will inspect Lady Margaret’s bedchamber.”
His eyes widened. “You risk being discovered.”
“It is worth the risk, if it leads to the truth.”
A crooked smile touched his lips. “The last time you revealed who you were—where you came from—I only half believed you. But now? This confidence you bear? It was not there before.”
Something in his look lingered, admiration unspoken yet plain in the curve of his smile, in the warmth that softened his dark eyes. For an instant, my breath caught. Lady Halloran might well fall in love with such a man. But I was not she. However handsome Hollingsworth might be, my heart belonged to Robert who grieved for me in my own time.
“Beware, Lady Halloran,” he said softly. “They’ve killed once. They will not hesitate to kill again.”
I could only nod.
