With This Ring (28 page)

"Two streets away."

"We must stop and tell her that she may be in danger. Perhaps we should give her enough money to take her out of Town for a while."

Leo stood up slowly. "You may be right. This business grows more twisted with every step. I do not want Clarinda's blood on my hands."

The short walk to the street where Clarinda lived passed without incident. Occasionally Beatrice heard echoes of drunken laughter in the night. Once, when Leo hurried her

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past the entrance of a dark alley, she caught the sound of men's voices raised in a violent quarrel. But no one accosted them.

They passed unnoticed into Cunning Lane.

Leo slowed their pace. "At this hour Clarinda will no doubt be in her doorway, waiting for a few stragglers from the Drunken Cat."

Beatrice pulled her coat more closely about her. "I do hope that when this affair is over she will take you up on your offer to purchase the tavern."

"You cannot save someone who does not want to be saved, Beatrice."

"You sound like Lucy," she muttered. "What the devil do you mean by that?"

"Never mind. Leo, we owe Clarinda a great deal. There is no telling what might have happened to us the other night if Ginwilly Jack and his friends had discovered us."

"There is no need to remind me." Leo paused in front of a familiar, darkened entrance. "This is her customary place of business."

Beatrice stepped forward to peer into the shadows. "Clarinda? It's Beatrice Poole."

There was no response. A frisson of horror raced along Beatrice's spine. "Clarinda?"

, "She's not here." Leo stepped back to look up at Clarinda's window. "There is no light in her room."

"Oh my God. Something is wrong, Leo, I am certain of it."

"Calm yourself. It's late. She may have taken herself off to the Drunken Cat."

"No, something dreadful has happened. I know it. If only we had thought to stop here earlier." Beatrice tried the door. "It's locked."

"Let me deal with it."

Beatrice stepped aside and watched anxiously as Leo

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removed a picklock. It seemed to take eons, but in reality he got the door open in a matter of seconds.

Beatrice hurried into the tiny hall. "Quick, a light."

Leo obediently lit the lantern and followed Beatrice up the rickety stairs.

"What if we are too late?" Beatrice whispered as she flew along the corridor to Clarinda's room.

Leo did not respond. He overtook Beatrice just as she reached Clarinda's door.

"I will handle this." He knocked lightly. There was no answer.

Desperation threatened to overwhelm Beatrice. "Open the door, Leo. Hurry, for God's sake."

He was already at work with his picklocks.

A few seconds later the door swung open with a protesting squeak. The light from Leo's lantern splashed across the bed and onto the old crate that served as Clarinda's table.

Beatrice looked at the outline of a slender figure that lay very still and silent beneath the quilt.

Then the lantern light glinted on the small flask that stood on the crate beside the bed. It was identical to those she had seen in Dr. Cox's Apothecary.

"Clarinda. No.'

Ch ap 1e r 15

At the heart of the maze lurked a monstrous thing.

FRom CHAPTER FIFTEEN OF The Ruin BY MRs. AmELrA YORK

hat the bloody'ell?" Clarinda sat bolt upright in bed, clutching the covers to her chin. Her mouth opened on a high, piercing shriek.

"You're alive." Beatrice rushed toward the bed. "Dear God, you're alive."

"Of course I'm alive," Clarinda yelped. "What in the name o' the devil are the two of ye doing in me bedchamber?"

Leo winced as he set the lantern on the crate. "If both of you would refrain from carrying on a conversation at the top of your lungs, we would significantly cut down the risk of drawing unwanted attention."

Clarinda shrugged. "No one in this neighborhood will

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pay any mind to a few shrieks comin'from this room. What are ye doin' here?"

"You're alive." Beatrice clutched the windowsill and sagged against the wall in relief. "You must forgive us for frightening you half to death, Clarinda. My imagination ran wild."

"An entirely predictable effect brought on by an overindulgence in horrid novels," Leo muttered. He ignored Beatrice's sharp glare. "You are, I take it, feeling quite fit, Clarinda?"

"Right as rain, m'lord." Her thin features scrunched, she stared first at him and then at Beatrice. "What's this all about? I 'ope the two of ye didn't come back here tonight with some notion of havin' a little party with all three of us. I don't do that mangy troy stuff anymore."

"M6nage 5 trois," Beatrice corrected the young woman absently. "Clarinda, you cannot know how alarmed we were when we did not see you downstairs."

"Is that a fact?" Clarinda released her grip on the bedding and scooted into a more comfortable position against the aged headboard. It was immediately obvious that she did not wear a nightshift. "Why did that scare ye?"

Beatrice blinked at the sight of Clarinda's bare breasts. "Would you, uh, mind covering yourself?"

"Huh?" Clarinda glanced down at her unclothed chest. "Ch. Sorry. Ye get sort of accustomed to bein' stark naked in my line of work." She obligingly tugged the covers back up to shoulder level. "My former line of work, that is. Now tell me what this is all about."

"It's a long story." Leo propped one shoulder against the wall and folded his arms. "To summarize, we have reason to think that you might be in danger because you agreed to assist us."

Clarinda looked baffled. "Why would I be in danger? No one knows about our little arrangement, m'lord. And no one knows I let ye hide in me room the other night."

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"Unfortunately," Leo said quietly, "someone may know more than we had previously believed."

"I don't understand."

Beatrice picked up the flask on the crate. Gingerly she removed the stopper and sniffed cautiously. An unpleasant odor made her move her nose away from the opening very quickly.

"Where did you get this concoction?" she asked. "That?" Clarinda glanced at the flask with a dismissive expression. "Someone gave it to me today. Told me it was excellent for makin' certain a woman in my line of work didn't get herself pregnant."

Beatrice exchanged a silent glance with Leo. She saw the understanding in his eyes. They had very nearly been too late. He turned his attention back to Clarinda. "Who was it who gave you the flask?'

Clarinda frowned. "A street boy named Simon. He lives in the neighborhood. Does whatever comes to hand. Picks a few pockets, runs errands, that sort of thing. He's a good lad. Very helpful."

"Did he tell you where he got the flask?" Beatrice asked swiftly.

Clarinda tilted her head to one side. "He said Dr. Cox gave it to him and that it was to settle his accounts."

Leo looked at her. "Dr. Cox availed himself of your services?"

"He was accustomed to come around now and again." Clarinda grimaced. "For scientific purposes, he said." "What scientific purposes?" Leo asked.

"He liked to experiment with some of the potions he mixed up to cure impotence."

"Cox suffered from the problem himself?"

"Aye." Clarinda flapped one hand. "Sad to say, none of his potions seemed to work on him. He didn't come around much in the past few months. I suppose he just gave up and stopped experimenting on himself."

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Beatrice's pulse pounded. "But you say he sent you this potion to settle his accounts?"

"That's what Simon told me." Clarinda shrugged. "I didn't recall that he owed me anything. Told Simon to take it back, but he said he couldn't do that or he'd have to give back the coins Dr. Cox paid him."

"So you took the flask." Beatrice's knees felt weak. "Seemed like the easiest thing to do."

Leo moved away from the wall and walked to the window. "Do you know where I can find young Simon?"

"'He comes and goes. Sometimes he hangs around the Drunken Cat." Clarinda scowled. "Like I said, he's a good lad. What do ye want with him?"

Leo gazed down at the street. "I merely wish to ask him some questions."

"Well, I suppose there's no harm in that," Clarinda said slowly. "But he won't be able to tell ye anything more than he told me."

"You are no doubt correct." He folded his hand into a fist. "Damnation, this thing grows like some lethal weed. We must find the root."

Beatrice stirred. "Clarinda, when, precisely, did Simon bring you this flask?"

"Late this afternoon, it was." Beatrice looked at Leo.

"'He was likely killed no more than a few hours ago," Leo said quietly. "Early in the -evening, perhaps."

"After he had sent the flask to Clarinda, it would appear.-

"Perhaps it was at that point that someone decided he was no longer useful."

"Killed?" Clarinda stiffened. "Dr. Cox is dead?"

"Yes," Beatrice said. "That is the reason we are here. You say that no one knows you hid his lordship and myself here the other night?"

"No, I'm certain of it." Clarinda looked dazed. "I told no

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one, and if anyone had seen you, you can wager your petticoat that Ginwilly Jack would have come pounding on my door."

"Do you think it's possible that someone knows of your financial arrangement with me?" Leo asked.

"I never told a soul, m1ord."

Leo was silent for a moment. "Someone could have seen me stop to talk to you after I left Sibson's shop the first time." "Anyone who saw us would have assumed that I was

just plyin'me trade," Clarinda argued. "And that ye declined to come up to me room. He wouldn't think anythin' of it." "Unless he noticed that I gave you some money for services not rendered."

Beatrice closed her eyes. "And unless he also knows that you are in the process of buying the Drunken Cat and wonders how you came into so much money so soon after talking to Monkcrest."

A short, heavy silence settled on the room.

"Yes," Leo said eventually. "That news would raise some questions, would it not?"

Clarinda slumped. "Not many women in my line o'work make enough to buy a tavern, do they?"

"No," Leo said.

Beatrice glanced at the flask. "It is clear that whoever is behind this believes that you know too much. Murder always carries a great deal of risk for the perpetrator, however. The question is, what made Dr. Cox decide to poison you today of all days?"

Clarinda's eyes became huge. "Are ye sayin' there's poison in that little bottle?"

Beatrice nodded. "Very likely."

Leo narrowed his eyes at Clarinda. "You told me the other night that you had seen nothing out of the ordinary at Sibson's shop."

"That's true."

"Have you,seen anything unusual since then?"

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"No." Clarinda's brow furrowed in concentration. "It was quiet over on his side of the street today. One of his regular customers came to see him, but that was all."

"When was that?" Beatrice asked.

"Around noon, it was. I had just come out of the Drunken Cat with a meat pie. I've been thinking that when I take over the Cat I will improve the pies. They require more spice. And I believe I'll add somejellied pig's ears and potted eel to the bill o' fare too."

"Was there anything that struck you as unusual about this regular customer of Sibson's?" Leo asked.

"He got into a fine row with Sibson, but that's nothing new. A lot of Sibson's customers come back to complain. I told him once that in the long run, it's never good business to deceive the clientele with fraudulent merchandise. But he refused to listen to me."

"Did you overhear the argument?" Beatrice asked. "Bits and bobs of it." Clarinda looked at her. "Something about a statue in a museum. Probably one of Sibson's frauds. The customer was right furious, he was. I could hear him through the windows. Nearly knocked me over when he charged out the front door. Swore at me, he did. Not a gentleman like yerself, m'lord."

"Can you describe this man?" Leo asked. "Ye think it might be important?" "Perhaps."

"He's very nice-lookin' with hair the color of gold. Handsome, he is. Always wears a fine coat. In his late twenties, I should think."

Leo stilled. "Was he wearing a pair of spectacles, by any chance?'

7f "No.

"Dear God." Beatrice's eyes flew to Leo's. "Surely you, do not suspect ... Do you think it's possible that it was..." "Your great admirer?" Leo asked dryly. "It certainly sounds as though it may have been Mr. Saltmarsh."

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"But Clarinda just told us that he was not wearing spectacles."

Leo shrugged. "'Perhaps he does not wear them at all times."

"He may simply have been engaged in further inquiries," Beatrice said swiftly.

"He gave us his word that he would stick to the business of finding out the name of the new owner of Trull's Museum."

"Yes, I know, but-" She broke off.

Clarinda looked from Beatrice to Leo and back again. "What is it? What is going on?"

Beatrice sighed. "Clarinda, his lordship and I feel it would be best if you left town for a while. We will give you enough money to spend a week or two in the country."

"Leave town?" Outrage leaped in Clarinda's eyes. "But I can't do that. I'm going to become the proprietress of the Drunken Cat in a fortnight. It's all arranged. Tom said he'd give up his lease on the first o' the month."

Leo pulled some notes out of his pocket. "Then stay out of Town until the day you are to take over the tavern. Don't fret. I'll keep an eye on the Drunken Cat while you're gone."

"But I don't want to leave," Clarinda wailed. "Me whole life is about to change."

Beatrice reached out to touch her arm. "Listen to me. Someone tried to poison you today. Dr. Cox, who sent the flask to you, has himself been murdered. The man you saw at Sibson's this morning may be involved."

"It is beginning to appear as though Sibson is mixed up in this mess as well," Leo said. "You may have seen too much for your own safety today when you witnessed the argument between Sibson and his customer. That may have been why Cox sent you the flask."