Page 55 of Evil at the Essex House
The Schlomskys,luckily, had not gone anywhere for supper yet. And although they seemed less than thrilled to see us, they did allow us inside the suite and consented to answer the handful of questions we had.
“Yes,” Hiram Schlomsky said, “the money’s all taken care of. Or as much of it as I could get on short notice.”
He gestured to a valise on top of one of the beds. I eyed it a little longer than perhaps I should have, since it was frankly a lot smaller than I had expected it to be. I would have believed fifty thousand American dollars to take up more space than that. But perhaps he had gathered very large bills, hundreds or thousands, even...
Hiram cleared his throat significantly. I flushed and dragged my attention away from the bag, and Christopher wiped a smirk off his face.
“You look nice, Miss Darling,” Sarah Schlomsky said, with an up-and-down look that was, frankly, less flattering than you might think from the words. There was a tiny wrinkle between her brows. Perhaps she thought my skirt was too short—her own was longer—or perhaps she thought the color of my frock was too bright. They were both dressed in shades of black and gray with some white. Mourning, I would say, if they were Brits, but perhaps the colonies held other traditions.
Although it wasn’t as if Flossie was dead, was it? Unless they knew something we didn’t, of course.
“Thank you,” I said. “I’m having supper with theGrafvon Natterdorff later. Christopher escorted me here.”
“TheGrafvon Natterdorff?”
“A German nobleman,” Christopher said. “The equivalent of a British earl.”
“And he’s staying here, is he? At the Savoy?”
“We assume he is,” I said, with a glance at Christopher. “The first time we met him, we were taking tea in the tearoom. Last time he invited me to supper, it was in the restaurant downstairs.”
It was the Schlomskys’ turn to exchange a glance. Years of silent communication was wrapped up in it, and we didn’t stand a chance of understanding what they were tacitly saying to one another.
“How pleasant for you, Miss Darling,” Mrs. Schlomsky said blandly. “And you, Mr. Astley? You’re just going back home? Alone?”
“I’m expecting my cousin up from the country later,” Christopher explained. “The two of us will be picking up Pippa after her date. Can I assume that you’ve already familiarized yourselves with St Olave’s? If not, we’d be happy to tell you what we know.”
The Schlomskys exchanged another look. “Are you familiar with it?” Hiram asked.
“We took the train out yesterday morning,” I explained, “to see the terrain. You’re planning to travel by Hackney, I assume? Unless you would like Lord St George to?—?”
“The doorman will arrange for a taxi,” Sarah said.
I nodded. “That’s probably best. Charing Cross isn’t far, but the docks district can be a bit questionable at night. Best if you have him wait while you leave the valise, I think.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” Sarah said and exchanged another glance with Hiram. I exchanged one with Christopher, who looked as if he found something about the whole situation humorous.
“If there’s nothing we can do to help,” he said, “I suppose we’ll leave you to it. All that’s left of St Olave’s, for your information, is the bell tower. The rest of the church looks as though it was demolished quite recently. It’s just a mound of dirt with some blocks of worked stone left behind. But the money ought to be safe in the tower. I’m sure it won’t be there long. The kidnappers will be keeping an eye out, I’m certain.”
“Ready to snatch up the valise as soon as it gets there,” I nodded. “I certainly wouldn’t linger.”
Christopher’s lips curved further. “No, Pippa. You’ve never been one to let the grass grow under your feet.”
“Precisely.” I nodded, and turned to the Schlomskys, who were standing side by side presenting a united front while watching us carefully. “If you will excuse me, I should go downstairs and find theGraf. We’ll be in the dining room for the next two hours, if you think of anything I can do to help you. And Christopher will be back here by nine-thirty, as well. Please let us know if there’s anything we can do.”
“Yes,” Christopher nodded. “Please do let us know if we can be of any further assistance. Come along, Pippa.”
He took my arm and tugged me towards the door, lips twitching. I smiled apologetically at the Schlomskys over my shoulder. “So nice to see you again, even under the circumstances.”
“Out you go, Pippa.” Christopher shoved me through the door and into the hallway before I could say anything else, and ducked out behind me before he shut the door behind us. The last thing I saw was the Schlomskys’ partly baffled, partly suspicious countenances.
ChapterThirteen
“Good grief, Christopher,”I said, as I let myself be pulled down the hallway towards the lift. “What on earth was that all about?”
His shoulders were shaking inside the tailored cut of his evening jacket, and I added, suspiciously, “Are you laughing?”
It was that or crying, and I didn’t see how it could be the latter. Flossie’s kidnapping was distressing, but not to that degree.
