Page 4 of The Trick of the Treasure
“Good,” said Constance roundly. “What do you think of Mr. Lloyd?”
“A basically conventional man,” Solomon said, sitting down beside her, “doing unconventional things.”
“Adventuring and treasure hunting?”
“While his wife stays at home keeping his house and looking after his children.”
“Maybe she’s not the adventuring kind,” Constance suggested.
“It’s possible. I look forward to meeting her. You didn’t tell Janey.”
“About what?”
“About our engagement,” he said dryly.
A faint flush stained the delicate skin of her cheeks. “Oh. Neither did you.”
“I didn’t want to assume you hadn’t changed your mind. Have you?”
She held his gaze. “No. Have you?”
“No.” He smiled at her, but her response was uncharacteristically distracted and she quickly began talking about the case.
“On the face of it, the thief must be someone who lives in the house. Which limits it to his wife, Christine, his unmarried sister Audrey, his son Sydney, and his two daughters, Jemimah and Rachel. Or one of his servants.”
“Your theory being,” he said, “that one of them copied the strong room key while he was away adventuring, waited until something really valuable was stored there, and then quietly extracted the treasure the very night he brought it back? How did they get it out of the house without being seen?”
“We don’t know that they did. It could still be there. Though I don’t see Mr. Lloyd giving us permission to search the house, including the bedchambers of his family.”
“He might let us search the servants’ quarters,” Solomon said, “but I doubt there’s much point. I can’t see a servant hanging around with his loot. Wouldn’t he or she bolt?”
“They would only be brought back by the police. Most domestic servants are so respectable that they’d have no idea how to lose themselves in London, let alone find someone to fence such a collection. Although,” she added, sitting straighter, “if they had planned it well enough, they could already be on a ship to America or anywhere…”
“Couldthey plan it so well?” Solomon argued. “They can’t have known exactly when Lloyd’s ship would dock, or when his treasure would enter the house, so booking passage on a ship would be risky.”
“And expensive on a servant’s wages. My money is on the household. I wonder what his wife is like?”
“I wonder what his strong room is like.”
Chapter Two
As a precaution,since neither Constance nor Solomon knew anything about the Lloyd family—none of the gentlemen frequented Constance’s establishment nor shared business interests or charity board membership with Solomon—they first called upon Lady Grizelda Tizsa.
Griz was a duke’s daughter who had disgraced herself by marrying a poor doctor who also happened to be a revolutionary refugee. As a couple, they were highly curious by nature and inveterate solvers of puzzles. It was amid one such puzzle involving an old acquaintance of Constance’s that she had first met them and been introduced rather dramatically to Solomon. But that was not the only reason she liked them. They treated everyone the same way, with courtesy, friendliness, and sincerity. They were also funny, eccentric, and charming, hanging on to the fringes of many societies.
Griz was delighted to receive them. They found her sitting on the floor of her drawing room, which looked more like a study, playing with her gurgling, kicking baby. An untidy young woman with golden-fair hair and spectacles, she seemed either unaware or uncaring of her own subtle beauty. She jumped up as soon as the maid announced them, and, smiling in welcome, swiped the child up with her.
“Come in and sit down! I’m so pleased to see you again. How are you both?”
“Well,” Solomon replied, “Constance has just agreed to marry me.”
“Goodness,” Griz said with awe but very little surprise in her smile, while she continued to bounce the happy baby up and down on her knees. “You will make a positively dazzling couple.”
“Like you and Mr. Tizsa?” Constance said, unreasonably irritated.
“Lord, no,” Griz said vaguely. “Congratulations. I know you’ll both be very happy together.”
“In among the challenges,” Constance said.
