Jayne Krentz: Late For The Wedding

He paused at the door and glanced back, frowning. “What is that?”

“I may have been one of the last people to see him alive.” She adjusted the bodice of her gown and reached up to feel for her hairpins. “Except for the maid, of course.”

“What the devil are you talking about?” Tobias opened the door and went out into the hall. “Do you know that man?”

“Not exactly.” She followed him out into the dim corridor and paused to close the bed chamber door. “We were never introduced, but I believe I saw him a short while ago, when I went to meet you in your bed chamber. To be more precise, I hid behind the staircase while he went by in the company of one of the maids.”

That got his attention. “He was with one of the servants?”

“Yes. I got the impression that they were on their way up to the roof to engage in what the gentleman referred to as a bit of sport. The maid seemed quite cheerful about the prospect. He no doubt promised her money.” She paused. “I wonder if Lady Beaumont knows that sort of thing is going on in her household.”

“I suspect there is a good deal of that sort of thing going on at this affair.”

They reached the top of the staircase and started down. Lavinia heard doors opening in the hall behind her. Bewildered and curious people began to emerge from their bed chambers to ask one another what had happened.

“I wonder how he came to fall from the roof,” Tobias said.

“It was no doubt an accident. He was quite drunk when I saw him.”

More doors opened on the floor below. People in various stages of dress and undress appeared. Some joined Tobias and Lavinia on the staircase. Most chose to remain in the hall, speculating on events with their neighbors.

When they reached the ground floor, Tobias led the way outside into the gardens. A small group had gathered around the body.

Lord Beaumont, short, round, and bald, rushed out of a side door. He was partially dressed, in trousers, slippers, and a silk dressing gown. He stopped abruptly when he saw Tobias. Then he altered course to intercept him.

“March. Thank you for coming down. Vale told me that you were an excellent man in a crisis.” Beaumont belatedly noticed Lavinia and bobbed his head. “Mrs. Lake. There is no need for you to put yourself through this ordeal. Please, you really must go back inside.”

She started to explain why she had come downstairs, but Tobias interrupted.

“Who is it?” he asked quietly.

Beaumont glanced uneasily at the crowd around the body. “The footman who came to fetch me said it was Lord Fullerton.”

“Have you sent for the doctor?”

“What? No. Everything has happened so quickly. I hadn’t even considered Beaumont broke off and made a visible attempt to gather his wits, Yes, of course. The doctor. He will know what is to be done with the body. Certainly cannot leave it here in the garden.

“Yes, yes, I shall summon him immediately. Excellent notion, March.”

Obviously relieved to have a specific goal, Beaumont turned and beckoned frantically to a footman.

“I want to take a closer look,” Tobias said softly to Lavinia. “Are you certain you wish to do this?”

“Yes.”

They walked to where Fullerton lay on the damp grass. Lavinia was not in the least surprised when the cluster of people gathered around the body parted to make way for Tobias. He often had that effect on others.

A thin man was on his knees beside Fullerton. Hands clasped, he rocked back and forth, moaning.

“Disaster,” he muttered. “Disaster. What am I to do? This is a disaster.”

Tobias glanced at Lavinia. “Are you all right?”

“Yes.”

It was not the first time she had found herself in the proximity of violent death, but she knew that she would never grow accustomed to the sight. In this case there was no blood, but Fullerton’s neck was twisted at an unnatural angle that caused her stomach to churn. For a few terrible seconds she was afraid she might be ill.

She forced herself to concentrate on details and immediately recognized the bald head, the plum-colored coat, and the elaborately tied cravat. This was, indeed, the man she had seen going down the hall with the blond maid a short time ago.

“Well?” Tobias prompted softly.

“Yes, that is the man I noticed earlier,” Lavinia said.

The thin man continued to rock and moan. “Disaster. What will I do?”

“Odd.” Tobias studied the body. “He is fully dressed.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“You said that he and the maid were evidently intent on a rooftop tryst, but he is still entirely clothed. His breeches and shirt are fastened and his neckcloth is knotted.”

“Oh, yes, I see what you mean.” She considered that for a few seconds. “Perhaps they, uh, did not have time to pursue their plans before he fell.”

Tobias shook his head once, coldly certain now. “He was up there for some time. Plenty of time to get his breeches open, at least.”

She looked up quickly. “Are you implying what I think you are implying?”

“I’m not sure yet.” Tobias raised his voice and spoke to the keening man. “Who are you?”

The thin man regarded him with a dazed expression. “Burns, sir. His lordship’s valet. That is to say, I was his valet. It was an excellent position. We had just finished placing an order for several new coats and a dressing gown. His lordship was to be wed, you see. He wanted to appear in the first stare of fashion for his new bride. I wonder what will become of all his fine clothes?”

“You will pack them up and return them to his family, of course,” Lavinia said.

“Oh, no, madam, I shall not do any such thing.” Burns scrambled to his feet and took a step back. “There is no one to pay me now. I must find a new position.”

“When did you last see his lordship alive?” Tobias asked.

“This evening, when he went downstairs to the costume ball. He looked his best tonight, I saw to that. He was very pleased with the knot in his cravat. I invented it and named it for him, you know.”

“You did not see him after that?” Tobias pressed.

“No. He instructed me not to wait up for him.”

“Was that unusual?”

“No, sir. His lordship was fond of a bit of sport with a willing wench before he went to sleep. He did not like me to be in the way.”

“Come.” Tobias tightened his grasp on Lavinia’s arm and steered her away from the scene.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“I want to take a look at Fullerton’s bed chamber.”

“Why? What do you expect to find?”

“I have no notion.”

Tobias stopped the partially dressed butler and asked him which room had been assigned to Lord Fullerton. The man gave him directions. Lord Beaumont, still quite agitated, trotted forward.

“What is it, March?” he asked. “Has something else happened?”

“No, sir,” Tobias said. “I merely wish to have a look around Fullerton’s bedchamber. Perhaps it would be best if you accompanied us.”

It was a thinly veiled command, but Beaumont did not appear to be aware that he was being ordered about by a man who was his social inferior.

“Yes, of course,” Beaumont said. He turned quickly and led the way back toward the house.

When Tobias spoke in that deep, resonant, utterly sure voice, people tended to obey without question, Lavinia thought. He had an uncanny ability to assume command at times when others were dashing about mindlessly. She suspected that the subtle skill was more complex than he knew or would ever acknowledge.

In the course of their last major investigation, an incident had occurred that had convinced her that Tobias possessed the raw, untrained talent of a powerful mesmerist. She was certain that the source of his abilities lay deep in that pool of midnight inside him. She was equally certain that he would never acknowledge those abilities, not even to himself. For reasons she did not fully comprehend, he had chosen to bury that side of his nature beneath several layers of stubborn logic and an iron will. Until he met her, he had labeled all mesmerists charlatans and frauds who preyed on the weak and the gullible.