Page 93 of The Trick of the Treasure
But it was so much better than the alternative.
“Don’t you ever,” she said, “do anything as foolish as that again. Or I’ll shoot you myself.”
She felt his smile in her hair. “I do love you, Constance.”
*
It was noteven midday by the time Constance and Solomon were able to leave the house. Captain Tybalt had left shortly before, expressing sorrow to the bereaved family. Subdued, he hadnonetheless pressed Audrey’s hand by way of farewell, as though reminding her that she was not alone.
Audrey, of course, remained with her brother and his family, who were stunned by their loss. She seemed bewildered rather than numb.
“Why?” she murmured, when no one but Constance was listening. “Why did he do such a thing? He was never cruel like Barnabas, never bad natured. How could hekill? Joshua, himself… Destroying his family. How did he reach that place and no one saw?”
“No one saw that you were at the end of your tether, either,” Constance pointed out. “We all withdraw behind the faces we show the world. To some extent.”
“But Sydney is not—was not—evil. Iknowhe was not.”
“He had been brought up with his father’s example of rather monstrous self-belief. Whatever he wanted was right.”
She nodded slowly. “I did that too, didn’t I? I wanted to hurt Barnabas, even if I would have mitigated it for the others if I could… And now they are in pieces. I can’t leave them like that. Unless they cannot bear the sight of me.”
“They will need you. But Miss Lloyd?”
“Yes?”
Constance took her hand, drawing her surprised attention back. “Don’t lose yourself again. Your Joshua might be gone, but your life is not over. You can still find another place to live it. If you wish. You have friends.”
A spark lit Audrey’s eyes, perhaps only curiosity. “You are a very strange and very kind young woman. Brave, I think. I ran away. The next time, I shall walk. For now, there are the children…at least until the funeral is over.”
Rachel, shivering, came and sat very close to her aunt. Jemimah, horror still in her eyes, had her arm around hermother, while Lloyd was saying an awkward farewell to Ben Devine and the policemen.
“We should go too,” Constance said. “Goodbye, Miss Lloyd.” She tucked a Silver and Grey card into Audrey’s hand. “Don’t forget where we are.”
She was still shaking with reaction to Solomon’s near brush with death as she took his arm and murmured the correct words of sympathy to the family. To her surprise, Lloyd chose to show them out.
The shock of what had happened stood out in his face, the loss he was only beginning to comprehend. And yet somehow Constance was not surprised when he said abruptly, “I trust I might count on your discretion? As to what happened here today.”
“Of course,” Solomon said. “But you will find it difficult to hide. Obviously, there can be no charges against your son now, but a shot was fired here and speculation is inevitable.”
“Inspector Harris has already promised me he will be as discreet as he can be. I am acquainted with some of his superiors.”
Of course he was.
“Discretion is part of our business,” Constance said. “But I believe you would limit talk if you divided your treasure as your sister intended. You have more to deal with now than the next adventure.”
He stared at her. “You mean I should reward her for stealing from me?”
“Is that really all she has ever done for you?”
His eyes fell. “No,” he admitted, reaching for the front door. “Goodbye, Mrs. Silver. Mr. Grey. You will receive my final banker’s draft for your services in the morning.”
They walked out of the house with a shared sense of release—that they could walk away from someone else’s grief, that it was not their own.
“Do you think we really will receive his draft?” Solomon said cynically.
“Maybe. Though we might have to wait until he sells the wretched treasure.” She stopped, gazing at Solomon’s carriage, which awaited them in the street. “I can walk from here.”
“No,” Solomon said, guiding her with firm gentleness toward the carriage. “You are in desperate need of rest. I shall see you safely into bed at last.”
