Page 34 of Peril in Piccadilly
“Someone was awake and saw him at Marsden House,” I pointed out.
“Someone who doesn’t hide under the blankets and hope he goes away. Someone who goes after him instead.”
He sighed. “I thought better of Lady Laetitia, to be honest. I thought she would have been the type to shriek and send him packing.”
I would have thought the same. There’s one thing to see a burglar and actively attack him. I don’t know if I would expect any woman to do that, although had it been my bedchamber he had invaded, I would certainly have been tempted. But it’s quite another to hide under the blankets and hope the danger goes away. Laetitia wasn’t a shrinking violet in any other aspect of her life, and I was surprised that she hadn’t shown more gumption on this occasion.
“She’s lucky he was more interested in getting away than in her,” Tom added ominously, and I shivered.
“Indeed.”
“But sooner or later, someone will see him who won’t pull the counterpane up over their head. And at that point, depending on the situation, the only way he can get away might be to attack first. And if he does…”
I nodded. If he did, it could very easily turn fatal. A pistol, a knife, or even just a push from the top of a staircase if the burglar didn’t carry a weapon. Any and all of those could result in someone’s death.
“Is there any way to determine who might be targeted next, and warn them?”
“It’s high society,” Tom said. “The Bright Young Set and their families. So no, no real reason to suspect that anyone in particular is next. I’m sure word is getting around by now, but other than that, there’s not much we can do to put anyone on alert.”
“Laetitia and Lady Violet Cummings were both at Marsden Manor last month,” I said.
Tom nodded. “But Lady Latimer was not, nor were the Wickstroms. Or the Harrimans.”
No, they hadn’t been. I wasn’t sure I even knew the Wickstroms or Harrimans, and while I had come face to face with the elderly Lady Latimer at some point, it hadn’t been at Marsden Manor.
“Besides,” Tom added, “surely you’re not suggesting that this character was present in Dorset for Lord St George’s engagement party? That would make him one of the aristocracy.”
A gentleman thief. That creature of myth and bad penny dreadfuls. Popular in fiction but not in real life, where gentlemen generally have means of support other than stealing.
“Of course not,” I said. “If Dominic Rivers had still been alive, perhaps I would have considered him. He was dealing dope, so he might not have been above a bit of thievery, too. But he’s dead, so it’s a moot point. Almost everyone else at the Manor that weekend was a friend or a relative of mine. Christopher, Francis, Crispin… even Geoffrey, I suppose. He’ll become a family member once St George and Laetitia tie the knot.”
Tom nodded. “But Lord Geoffrey Marsden has been waiting for trial since then, so it couldn’t have been him last night.”
No, it couldn’t have been. “The only ones of the gentlemen I didn’t know before I got there, were Bilge Fortescue and Reginald Fish. I’m sure Lady Serena alibies Bilge…”
“I haven’t looked into Bilge Fortescue,” Tom said, “but yes, if there was a question about that, I’m sure she would do.”
Precisely.
“Not that I think Bilge had anything to do with it. I knew the bloke at Eton, and if there’s anyone who lacks the personality to be a gentleman thief, it’s Bilge Fortescue.”
No doubt. “The Honorable Reggie didn’t strike me as being the type, either,” I agreed. “So the whole thing is most likely just a coincidence, and Marsden Manor has nothing to do with it.”
Tom nodded. “Likely not.”
“Do you have any idea…?”
He shook his head. “London is a big place, and so far, he hasn’t left us much to go on.”
“No fingerprints? You’re checking the pawn brokers, I assume?”
“Yes, Pippa.” His lips twitched. “I don’t need you to tell me how to do my job.”
“Of course not. I was merely curious. Do you have no idea who might be behind it? Is there only one person, do you think, or several? A gang?”
“So far,” Tom said, “there seems to be just one. But unless he has a different existence during daylight hours, and runs his own jewelry store, he has to take the spoils to someone to deal with for him. So far, we haven’t been able to identify that person, or persons, either.”
“I don’t suppose it’s likely that he just wants to keep what he steals so he can gloat over it?”
