The Devious Duchess (7 page)

Belami was accustomed to thinking of himself as rather clever at solving criminal puzzles, but as he looked at Mr. Straus, he realized he still had a few tricks to learn. Not only clever but swift as well. He hadn’t wasted much time getting down to the post office. Had the circumstances been less desperate, he would have been happy to learn from Straus. For a long moment he literally couldn’t think of a word to say. Neither could anyone, apparently, for a silence grew and stretched to uncomfortable proportions. It was Deirdre who broke it.

“Was there anything else, Mr. Straus? If not, I believe my aunt would like to rest now. I’m sure you can appreciate it’s been an exhausting day for her.”

“It has, and it’ll get worse before it gets better, as the saying goes. Always does. I’m off, then. I have to take a run back to the Grange and have another word with the servants.” He arose and made a bow to the duchess. “G’day to you, your grace,” he said, and began walking toward the door. The ornaments on tables and mantelpiece rattled as he moved. Deirdre and Belami accompanied him. “I hear in town that Sir Nevil Ryder’s landed in. Would I be likely to catch him at the Grange?”

“He said he was going there,” Deirdre answered.

“He stopped by here then, did he?”

“Yes, at about three this afternoon.”

“Has he been to town, or how did you know he was in the neighborhood?” Belami asked. Both the Grange and Fernvale were west of Banting. Sir Nevil had come from the west.

“Oh, he made a stop at the inn around two. On his way from London, I expect. I’ll say
oh reevoir,
not good-bye. I
do
tackle the odd word of bongjaw when I find myself in high company that appreciates it, you see.” He laughed merrily, rammed his curled beaver on his head, and picked up his greatcoat.

Belami held the door for him and closed it behind him without saying good-bye. He leaned against the door and drew a deep breath. He felt as if he’d just managed to get out of a tiger’s cage by the skin of his teeth. He could hardly believe the man had left without arresting her grace, but his relief wasn’t long-lasting. Straus had left such a plethora of trouble behind that he hardly knew where to begin.

“Dick,” Deirdre said, frowning, “Nevil didn’t come from London. He came from Bath. If he was at the inn in Banting at two, he went right by our house and the Grange and didn’t stop. He didn’t get here till about three, just before we had lunch. Now what do you suppose he’s up to?”

“I have no idea, but at the moment, Nevil’s doings are the least of our problems. What ever possessed Charney to pilfer that bowl from Dudley’s table?”

Deirdre was besieged by as many doubts and fears as Dick. She was tired, and she was frightened—all her emotions at the moment were negative ones. When she answered, her voice was sharp. “Who says she did? I don’t understand why everyone’s so ready to jump on Auntie as the culprit.”

“We’re not left with a whole lot of alternatives, Deirdre. Of course she had the bowl taken, and why would she do that if the stew hadn’t been laced with arsenic? You could tell to look at her tonight that she was scared to death. I’m really beginning to think she did her brother in. It’s incredible, but what else can a sane person think?” Belami demanded.

The duchess banged her foot on the floor, which was an endearing habit she was using lately to summon her niece.

Deirdre made a tsking sound of annoyance, whether for the summons or his remark, Belami was uncertain. When she went to the saloon, he accompanied her. The duchess felt stronger once that horrible, vulgar constable was gone. In fact, she felt stout enough to turn her ire on her protector, Lord Belami.

“What’s this story Straus was giving us, Master Jackanapes?” she inquired. “Am I to understand that you’ve violated the hospitality of my home by collecting evidence against me? You’ve sent off a sample of my food to be analyzed by a total stranger without my permission?”

Belami could scarcely believe his ears. He had made himself appear an idiot for the old lady’s sake, and she had the temerity to speak to him as though he were an unruly boy. Deirdre looked at Belami, fully expecting to see his eyebrow rise in preparation of a setdown. What she saw instead was a face of blank astonishment. The lifting of the brow was an affectation, pure and simple. When he was really angry, he didn’t think to do it. She watched with a sinking heart as a black scowl collected on his brow, and Dick opened his lips to speak.

“No, madam, I didn’t send the sample to a total stranger, but to a friend and colleague. Neither was my aim to incriminate you, but to prove your innocence. Your question leads me inevitably to the conclusion that you are not innocent.”

“Are you calling me a murderess, sir?”

“By God, I’m not a hairsbreadth from it!” he retorted. “Why else did you scamper across the meadow in the dead of night with that bowl of awful stuff? Why did you take the precaution of removing the bowl? Why is the arsenic missing from the house? If you’re not guilty, you’re putting on a performance that convinces me you are, and you’ve convinced Straus as well.”

“What arsenic are you talking about? There was never any arsenic in this house,” she stated firmly. Her sharp gray eyes bored into his.

“Deirdre,” Belami said, turning to her for support.

She didn’t hesitate a moment. “That was years ago, Belami. I told you I hadn’t seen it for years. I’m not even sure it was arsenic. One of the servants once warned me away from it, that’s all.” She turned to her aunt then and explained, “Belami is referring to a little envelope that used to be in the rose vase in the china cabinet, Auntie. You probably weren’t even aware of it.” She turned her cool gaze back to Belami.

Their eyes locked in silent battle. The world had suddenly turned upside down on Belami. Here he was trying to help the old lady, and all he got for his trouble was lies and insults.

“I can’t help you if you don’t tell me the truth, both of you,” he said, trying to control his temper.

“Help us! Ha, is that what you call it?” her grace exclaimed.

“Yes. If you are innocent, why should you try to hide the fact by stealing that bowl and washing it? And I don’t understand, Deirdre, why you’ve suddenly changed your mind about the white arsenic in the vase! There’s obviously something going on here that I’m not aware of. If I’m expected to help you, we have to be frank with one another. You’ve got to tell me, Duchess,” he said slowly, emphatically, “did you kill your brother?”

Charney’s nostrils pinched into black slits. “I consider that question an impudence and an insult, sir. I will not be insulted under my own roof.”

“Would you care to step outside, madam?” Belami shot back before he got a hold on his short temper.

"I would not, but I suggest you step outside with your bag and baggage and do me the favor of not returning. Deirdre, you will return that little chip of diamond you made the error of accepting from Lord Belami.”

Deirdre pulled the ten-carat “chip” from her finger and handed it to him. She looked even angrier and more intransigent than Charney. “We must remember our manners, Auntie. We haven’t thanked Lord Belami for his help.” The last word nearly sunk under the load of irony she heaped on it.

He accepted the ring without a word. The world had gone mad, or he was having a nightmare. Soon he’d awaken and everything would be all right. He quite often dreamed he was losing Deirdre. She left him nearly every night. Ran off with rajas and kings, and rakes and rattles of all manner. But the diamond felt so very cold and hard and real as he squeezed his fingers around it.

After a long silence, he finally spoke. “What was I supposed to do? Just what was my intended role in this charade?”

“One never expects much from you, Belami,” the duchess informed him. “I had some hopes that you could at least keep a civil tongue in your head and behave like a gentleman, but then that is expecting a bit much of any son of Lady Belami, the peagoose.”

Belami’s mother held a very special place in his life. To cast a slur on her was tantamount to a slap in the face. Had the duchess been a gentleman, she would most certainly have found herself issued a challenge. But she was a lady, so he did the next best thing and gave her a good setdown.

“The company one keeps is bound to rub off on one. I was a gentleman before I made your acquaintance, madam. I bid you good night. “

He performed a stiff, graceless bow and left the room, listening all the while for the sound of Deirdre’s footsteps following him. All he heard was a muffled “Good riddance, say I,” from the duchess.

Chapter 6

Deirdre had no desire to be in the saloon when Belami left the house. To avoid it, she went upstairs with her aunt, who was indeed exhausted. The duchess was in a strangely soft mood.

“Was I overly hasty in expelling Belami? I’ll go to his room now and speak to him if you like. He’s an excellent parti, Deirdre. It won’t be so easy to find a replacement if I . . . after the scandal of Dudley’s death.”

She sank onto her bed with a sigh. Deirdre had to lift her bony legs up for her. She placed a blanket over her aunt and held her hand. It was only the second time in her life that she could remember doing so, the first having occurred in the saloon during Straus’s visit. The new mood of intimacy prevailing between them made Deirdre’s next question possible, though by no means easy.

“Auntie, did you put arsenic in Uncle Dudley’s stew?” she asked, and stared hard while awaiting an answer. “I’m not condemning you. If you did it, there must be an excellent reason that I know nothing about, but I must know what the results of that chemical analysis will be. If—if there is poison in it, you see, we must hire you a very good lawyer.”

“I certainly did not, my dear. I didn’t dislike Dudley in the least. I only went to see if I could learn from him why he had called his lawyer. He was annoyingly coy. I finally had to ask him point-blank if he had changed his will. He said he had not, but he was planning to. That is what makes it look so very bad for me. It is generally understood that I stand to get half of what he possesses. As Nevil had just left, it seems he meant to hand it all over to that rogue, barring whatever he gives to Adelaide, of course. That is why I know Nevil didn’t kill him. He might have done so after the will was changed, but never before. I am the one who had a—motive, is that what Belami calls it? I had a motive. I was there, which gives me the opportunity, and now that Belami has gone sounding off about the arsenic in the vase, it looks as though I also had a method. But I promise you on my honor, my dear, I didn’t kill him.”

Deirdre nodded her head in acceptance. “I believe you. I never believed anything else. But who could have done it?”

“As that dreadful man said, it is a mystery. I have even been wondering whether Dudley didn’t do it himself. That is something that didn’t occur to anyone else. Perhaps you should mention a word to Belami . . ."

“I shan’t be seeing him, Auntie,” she said, her voice hard.

“Don’t be overly hasty. I really feel I must consult with him on one matter, Deirdre. No one would know better than Belami what lawyer could best defend me.”

“It won’t come to that!” Deirdre exclaimed. “How could it possibly? You’re innocent. They can’t prove you did it.”

“No, but they could drag me into court to try to prove it. There—that sounds like him leaving now. Run out and speak to him.”

Deirdre felt a strong impulse to do just that. She opened the door and saw that it was only the valet carrying down Belami’s case. “Where is Lord Belami?” she asked.

“He is gone, miss. He left a note for you shoved under your door.”

“Thank you.”

He must have scribbled off the note and left in a great hurry. Eager to get away, and no wonder! Was any fiancé ever treated in such a shabby fashion? But really his behavior to Auntie was unforgivable. She went to her room and retrieved the note. Written at the pitch of his anger, it could hardly have been less conciliating.

Dear Miss Gower:

Thank you for a delightful visit. I would appreciate it if you would also convey my thanks to her grace. Your faithful servant, Belami.

Not even a mention of where he was going. Would it be back to London? To Beaulac, perhaps? Or would the scent of an intriguing mystery not keep him in the neighborhood? Very likely he would be required to give testimony. And he was expecting that analysis from James Marsh. No, he wouldn’t leave. He would go to the inn in Banting. And if she knew anything about Dick, he would be making investigations within the hour to discover what Nevil had been doing in town.

She wouldn’t sit on her thumbs either. She had learned a little something about criminal investigations from him. She’d go over to the Grange right this minute and see what she could learn from Nevil and the servants. First she had to go to tell Auntie that Belami had left. Her aunt accepted the news with resignation. She lay quietly on the bed with her eyes closed, looking exactly like a corpse. She didn’t even ask what Deirdre meant to do.

Though it wasn’t much after five o’clock, darkness had already fallen. It was faster to run across the meadow than to have the carriage harnessed up and the horses put to. There were no fearsome shadows in the meadow, no menacing trees with clawing branches to frighten her. The moon cast a cold, white light on the ground, giving plenty of illumination for her journey. She went to the kitchen door, as there were lights burning there and none in the front of the house. She opened the door and let herself in.

“Oh, miss, you scared the daylights out of me!” Polly gasped, jumping a foot from the floor.

“I’m sorry, Polly. I should have knocked.”

“Oh, that’s all right, miss. If I’d thought a minute, I would have known it was someone from Fernvale. It couldn’t be Bagot, you see. Lord Dudley let Bagot take Mrs. Haskell to visit her aunt.”

“There’s been no word from her yet?”

“We don’t expect to see her before tomorrow.”

“Is Mr. Straus here?”

“He’s been quizzing the life out of me and Anna all day, but he’s gone now, thank the Lord. Would you care for a cup of tea, miss?”