Jayne Krentz: Late For The Wedding

In the next breath she realized what the difference was. The ring was gone.

An uneasy sensation fluttered across her nerves. Tobias was no thief. He had taken the ring for some very good reason, one that he had chosen not to confide to her or to Beaumont.

Her partner had been acting in an exceedingly odd manner since his conversation with Aspasia Gray.

“I really do not care for that woman,” she said aloud to the empty room.

The servants’ floor mirrored the same scene of confusion, curiosity, and excited dread that Lavinia had seen on the lower floors. Small groups of people hovered in the narrow, low-ceilinged corridor, talking in soft voices.

At the sight of Lavinia and Tobias, all conversation ended abruptly. Everyone turned to look at the intruders from the guest floors.

Tobias focused on the nearest person, a young maid in her nightclothes.

“Where are the stairs to the roof?” he demanded.

The girl gasped and went as still as a rabbit confronted by a wolf.

She gaped at Tobias, eyes widening with fear. She made several attempts to speak but only managed a meaningless stammer.

“The roof, girl,” Tobias repeated, voice accented with faint echoes of impending doom. Where is the bloody staircase?”

Her companions retreated rapidly, leaving her to face Tobias alone.

“Puh-puh-please, sir-” The girl stopped altogether when Tobias loomed closer. She looked as if she was about to burst into tears.

Lavinia sighed. It was time to take charge.

“Enough, sir.” She stepped between Tobias and the maid, who was now trembling visibly. “You are terrifying her. Allow me to deal with this.”

Tobias came to a halt, clearly annoyed at having been deprived of his prey. He did not take his icy gaze off the shivering girl.

“Very well,” he growled to Lavinia. “But be quick about it. There is no time to waste.”

She did not blame the poor maid, Lavinia thought. Tobias was extremely intimidating at the moment. His attitude tonight put her in mind of the first time she had met him.

She recalled the occasion quite vividly. On that fateful night in Rome, he had swept into the small antiquities shop she and her niece, Emeline, had operated and proceeded to smash every statue in sight. She had thought at first that he was a madman, but then she had seen the chilling intelligence in his eyes and realized that he knew precisely what he was about. Somehow that had only made him seem all the more menacing.

“Calm yourself,” she said to the maid. She fingered the silver pendant at her throat and spoke in the low, soothing tones that she used when she wished to induce a light mesmeric trance. “Look at me. There is no need to be afraid. All is well. No need to be afraid. There is nothing to fear.”

The girl blinked once or twice and tore her anxious gaze away from Tobias’s implacable face. She stared at the pendant.

“What is your name?” Lavinia asked gently.

“Nell. My name is Nell, ma’am.”

“Very good, Nell. Now, where is the staircase that leads to the roof?”

“At the end of the hall, ma’am. But Drum has instructed the staff not to go up onto the roof. He’s afraid someone might fall. The wall is very low, you see.”

“I understand.” Out of the corner of her eye, Lavinia saw Tobias move off down the hall, heading toward the staircase. She was about to follow, but she paused for one last question. “Do you know all of the members of the household staff, Nell?”

“Yes, ma’am. We all come from the village or one of the farms.”

The girl was talking freely now. There was no need to hold her attention with the pendant. Lavinia stopped manipulating the necklace. The maid blinked again and raised her eyes to meet Lavinia’s.

“Are you acquainted with a maid who is somewhat taller than yourself and perhaps a few years older? She has very bright blond hair. Lots of heavy corkscrew curls. This evening she wore a large cap trimmed with a blue ribbon. It looked new and it had a brim that was much wider than yours.”

“A new cap with a blue ribbon?” Nell seized on what was evidently the most important aspect of the description. “No, ma’am. If one of us was lucky enough to get a new cap, we’d all know about it, I can tell ye that much.”

“Are any of your companions tall and blond?”

“Well, Annie’s tall but her hair is dark. Betty’s got yellow hair but she’s shorter than me.” The girl’s features knotted with concentration. “I can’t think of anyone quite like the girl you described.”

“I see. Thank you, Nell. You’ve been very helpful.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Nell gave a tiny curtsy and cast an uncertain glance down the hall at Tobias, who was opening a door. She swallowed uneasily. “Will sir be wanting to ask more questions?”

“Don’t be alarmed. If he wants to talk to you again, I will be sure to accompany him.”

Nell looked relieved. “Thank ye, ma’am.”

Lavinia went swiftly down the corridor. By the time she got to the staircase door, Tobias had already disappeared. Lacking a candle, she was obliged to feel her way up the narrow flight of steps. But when she reached the top, the door was open. She stepped out into the moonlight and saw Tobias at the low wall. He was looking down into the gardens. She walked toward him.

“Is that the place where Fullerton fell?” she asked.

“Yes, I think so. There are marks in the dirt on the wall here. Do you see them?”

He raised the candle to angle the light across the barrier. There were several smears in the dust, soot, and grime that caked the stone. They certainly appeared to be traces left by a man grasping desperately to keep himself from plummeting to a certain death. A chill went through her.

“Yes,” she whispered. “I see.”

“It would appear that the woman lured him up onto the roof. Tobias paced deliberately along the wall. You said Fullerton was quite drunk. He would no doubt have been unsteady on his feet. It would not have required much strength to topple him over the edge, merely careful timing.”

“I know that for some reason you have yet to explain, you are convinced this was murder,” she said quietly. “But I have seen nothing yet that indicates it could not have been an accident.”

“What of the tall, blond maid?”

She hesitated. “Nell could not think of anyone who matched my description,” she admitted.

He paused at that and looked at her. In the candlelight, his face had a decidedly sinister aspect. She could understand Nell’s reaction. If one were not well acquainted with Tobias when he was on the hunt, she thought, one would be strongly inclined to run for one’s life.

“One of the guests, perhaps,” he said slowly. “Dressed in a costume that she wore to the ball earlier this evening?”

She summoned up the brief glimpse she’d had of Fullerton’s female companion. “I do not think it was a costume that any of Beaumont’s guests would have worn to a ball. It was too ordinary, too realistic, if you see what I mean. The materials were not fine enough for any of the ladies here tonight. The gown was fashioned of a dull, sturdy fabric. The shoes, stockings, and apron looked very much like those worn by Beaumont’s chambermaids.”

“Not a costume, then, but a true disguise,” he said slowly.

“Tobias, I think it is time you told me precisely what is going on.”

He said nothing for a moment, resuming his prowl of the rooftop instead. She knew that he was looking for other signs of what had taken place here a short time ago. She feared that he would attempt to avoid her question. But when he reached the far corner he began to speak.

“I have told you that during the war I conducted several confidential inquiries for the Crown on behalf of my friend Lord Crackenburne.”