Dangerous (18 page)

“No.” She managed a hasty smile of reassurance. “No, I am quite all right. Just a bit cold.”

“Are you certain you don’t want to go back to your room?”

“And miss the opportunity to observe your investigation techniques? Absolutely not,” she said staunchly. “Carry on, my lord.”

He gave her a last, speculative look. “Very well. But if you
become any more alarmed, you must tell me at once. I won’t have you terrified out of your wits by this business.”

“I assure you I am not in the least bit terrified.” Prudence sought for a way to change the subject. “Do you know, I cannot imagine using this as a guest room. It is far too bizarre.”

“I agree.” Sebastian stopped in front of the wardrobe and opened it. “There are not many houseguests who would be comfortable in such a chamber.”

“Is there anything inside that wardrobe?” Prudence stepped closer, momentarily distracted by the expression of intense concentration she saw on Sebastian’s face.

“No, it appears to be empty.” Sebastian leaned into the shadowed wardrobe. “But there are a number of small drawers built into it.”

“Let me see.” Prudence glanced inside. Several rows of drawers occupied most of the space. “I wonder what one would keep in here?”

“I have no idea.” Sebastian began systematically opening the little drawers.

They were all empty except for the very last one in the lower right-hand corner. Sebastian was about to close it as he had the others when he paused, frowning.

“What is it?” Prudence stood on tiptoe, trying to peer over his shoulder. She saw the gleam of gold in the corner of the small drawer. “A coin.”

“No, a button.” Sebastian plucked the little gold object out of the drawer and held it in front of the candle. “It’s engraved.” He studied it more closely.
“The Princes of Virtue.”

Prudence frowned. “Virtue? Do you suppose that button belongs to an Evangelical?”

“I doubt it.” Sebastian looked thoughtful. “Members of some gentlemen’s clubs often have their buttons engraved with the name of their particular clubs.”

“Have you ever heard of a club called
The Princes of Virtue?”

“No,” Sebastian admitted. “I have not. But I might be able to learn something about it when we return to Town.” He dropped the button into his pocket and closed the drawer.

“I suppose it’s highly unlikely that button will provide any clues about the nature of Ringcross’s death,” Prudence said, disappointed. “I doubt if there is any connection. I suspect the button has been lying in that drawer for years.”

“One never knows,” Sebastian said cryptically. He made to close the wardrobe doors and paused. He leaned forward once again.

“What is it?”

“There is an unusual joining in the wood,” Sebastian said.

Prudence looked closer. “It reminds me of the sort of joining I found in the section of the floor that concealed the Pembroke jewels.”

“I believe there is a false back in this wardrobe.” Sebastian pushed experimentally against the back of the wardrobe. Nothing happened. “There is probably a hidden spring around here somewhere.”

Prudence went around the side of the wardrobe to take a look from the outside. “The wardrobe is directly against the wall, Sebastian. Even if you manage to open the back, you would find only stone behind it.”

“Nevertheless, I would like to solve this small puzzle.” Sebastian continued to examine the inside of the wardrobe.

Prudence understood the impulse that drove him. She, too, was curious to see if there was a hidden mechanism designed to open the back of the wardrobe.

She got down on her knees to see if there was any sign of a lever or spring beneath the cabinet. Out of the corner of her eye she glimpsed a small object beneath the bed.

“Sebastian, there is something over there.”

“What is it?”

“It is under the bed. A little box, I believe.” Prudence crawled toward the bed on her hands and knees. “Hold the candle lower.”

“Let me get it.” Sebastian reached down and hauled her upright. “We do not know what else may be under that damn bed.”

She wrinkled her nose at his broad back as he went down on one knee. “Very well, my lord, but I want you to remember that it is I who spotted this particular bit of evidence, whatever it is.”

“I would have gotten around to exploring beneath the bed in due course.” Sebastian reached under the bed and picked up the little object.

“Well?” Prudence demanded eagerly. “What have you got?”

“A snuffbox.”

“Is there anything else under there?” Prudence asked.

“Just a chamber pot.” Sebastian got to his feet and turned the little snuffbox over in his hand. He opened it. “There is still some snuff inside.” He held the box close to his nose and inhaled cautiously. “A very distinctive aroma.”

“I am glad you do not use snuff,” Prudence remarked. “It is a very nasty habit.”

“But also a very common one. As is this snuffbox. It looks like dozens of others carried by gentlemen of the
ton.”
Sebastian got to his feet. “Nevertheless, this blend is quite unusual. It might be possible to discover which tobacconist created it and for whom it was created.”

“Perhaps it belonged to Ringcross, which will tell us little.”

“I’m not so certain about that.” Sebastian swept the shadowed chamber with another intent glance. “One would have thought that if it had belonged to Ringcross, it would have gone out the window at the same time he did. Unless
there was a struggle in this room before he died and the box somehow fell out of his pocket.”

Prudence stared at him. “You think this might really be a case of murder?”

“It is too soon to say. But the investigation grows more interesting by the moment.” He walked over to the window and swept the heavy black drapes aside.

Prudence studied the large window. “It would be awkward to fall from there unless one were standing on the ledge.”

“Yes. But one could certainly push a man over the edge,” Sebastian said.

Prudence shivered again as another wave of deep, endless cold assailed her. “Or one could jump.”

She was abruptly swamped with emotions that seemed to emanate from some source other than herself. Rage and terror mingled within her for an instant, sending another shudder through her. Prudence staggered beneath the onslaught, yet she understood that she was not the one who had actually felt these horrifying sensations.

Someone else had experienced these dreadful feelings here in this chamber. Another woman. Prudence was certain of it.

“Prudence?” Sebastian held the candle high and gazed down into her face. “What’s wrong?”

She looked up at him, willing him to understand. “I think I am encountering my first real ghost.”

“Enough.” He took her arm and started purposefully toward the door. “This has been too much for you. I am going to get you out of here at once.”

“Sebastian, this is not my imagination. I vow, something terrible happened in here. I’m not at all certain it has to do with Ringcross. I can feel a woman’s presence.”

“Calm yourself, my sweet.”

“But, Sebastian—”

He had her through the door. He paused long enough to
lock the chamber and then he urged her quickly down the black hallway toward the stairs.

Prudence was dismayed. “You think I am allowing my imagination to take control of my senses, don’t you?”

“You are a very creative and intelligent woman, my dear. Such talents sometimes have their drawbacks.”

“Fustian. Terrible events have occurred in that room, Sebastian. Perhaps they relate to Ringcross’s death, perhaps not. But I swear to you that something awful happened there.”

“I am not disputing you, Prue.” Sebastian whisked her along the long hall toward the stairs.

“You don’t believe me,” she said.

“I admit I do not believe in ghosts. I also admit that I have a strong preference for solid evidence before I reach my conclusions.”

“In other words, you think I am the victim of an overactive imagination.”

“My dear, the fact that you have chosen to investigate spectral phenomena as a hobby would indicate that your imagination is very active, indeed. No offense, but you must understand that my own hobby requires a more stringent investigative approach.”

“Hah. You think your approach is superior to mine?”

“Perhaps not in cases of spectral phenomena, but when it comes to investigating a crime, most definitely.”

“That is an insufferably arrogant, high-handed thing to say,” Prudence announced. “My methods are just as scientific as yours.”

Without any warning the door they were passing on the right suddenly swung inward. There was a scratching noise and then a candle flared. An old man with a scraggly beard peered at them.

“What in bloody hell?” Sebastian jerked Prudence behind him and whirled to face the wizened figure in the doorway. “Who are you?”

The old man ignored him and gazed at Prudence with rheumy eyes. “You ain’t her.” His deeply lined face collapsed in obvious disappointment.

“I beg your pardon?” Prudence stood on tiptoe to look at him from her position directly behind Sebastian’s right shoulder.

“I said, you ain’t her.” The old man squinted. “I been hiding up here ever since she done in the other one. I been watchin’ for her to come. Figured she’d be back to get the others. I wanted to see her for meself.”

“Who was it you were expecting to see?” Sebastian asked.

“The poor gel what jumped to her death from that cursed chamber.” The man gave Sebastian a shrewd look. “I’m the one what found her, y’know.”

“No, I didn’t know,” Sebastian said.

“Found her in the stream. They said she’d fallen in and drowned, but I seen her jump. They carried her body to the stream and dumped her in so folks would think she fell in and drowned. But I know better.”

The man was half mad, Prudence realized, but he believed every word he was saying. “Who are you?”

“Higgins. Halfwit Higgins, they call me.” Higgins laughed soundlessly, revealing a mouth that was virtually empty of teeth.

“When did the girl jump, Higgins?” Sebastian asked.

“A long time ago.” Higgins spoke in a singsong voice now. His eyes seemed to be focused on something far away. “But I ain’t forgot.”

“Was Ringcross responsible for causing her to jump?” Sebastian demanded.

“They was all responsible.” Higgins nodded wisely. “And they’ll all pay. You’ll see. They’ll all pay. She cursed ’em afore she jumped, you see. Told ’em she’d be avenged. Now it’s started.”

“She came back for Ringcross?” Prudence gripped Sebastian’s arm. “Is that what you mean, Mr. Higgins?”

“She’ll come for the others, too.” Higgins moved out of the doorway. He started down the hall.

“Wait. Who are the others?” Sebastian asked quickly. “When did the girl jump?”

But Higgins paid no attention. He hummed tunelessly and kept walking away down the hall. Sebastian made to go after him.

“Let him be,” Prudence said. “The poor man is mad. If you try to question him further, you will only agitate him. There’s no telling what he will do. He might cause a stir and alarm the household. It would ruin any chance we have of completing our investigation.”

“Hell and damnation, he knows something about this affair.” Sebastian watched in frustration as Higgins turned a corner in the dark hall and disappeared from sight.

“Perhaps less than you think,” Prudence said thoughtfully. “He seemed to be suffering from some sort of delirium. The girl’s death might be merely an old legend that he has somehow gotten confused with Ringcross’s death.”

“Who do you suppose he is?”

“I don’t have any idea. An old family retainer long since pensioned off, perhaps.” Prudence smiled. “Or mayhap he was a ghost.”

Sebastian scowled at her as he took her arm and guided her toward the stairs. “That was no ghost.”

“How do you know? You’ve never met one.”

“I’ll know one when I see one.” Sebastian reached the stairs and extinguished the candle. There was a faint glow from the sconces on the floor below. “You, on the other hand, have seen one too many tonight.”

“Nonsense. I won’t allow you to make it sound as if I am in the habit of seeing apparitions. I assure you, I am not. Just because I felt something odd in that chamber does not mean I am weak-minded.”

“Hush.” Sebastian came to a halt midway down the staircase.

He flattened himself against the wall and pulled Prudence into his arms. He turned her so that her face was hidden against his chest.

“What are you doing?” Prudence mumbled into his shirt.

“Quiet,” he whispered into her ear. “The traffic in the hall seems to have become somewhat brisk again.”

“Oh.”

Somewhere in the corridor a door closed. Sebastian waited a moment longer before releasing Prudence. “I think we are safe. It was Larkin. He tiptoed past the bottom of the stairs and never glanced up. Come, let’s get you back to your bedchamber. We may not be so lucky the next time.”

“This is really very exciting, isn’t it, Sebastian?” Prudence allowed herself to be hauled swiftly to the bottom of the stairs. “I do believe I am going to enjoy our partnership immensely,”

“I trust you will, my sweet,” he muttered. “I, unfortunately, fear my nerves are going to suffer somewhat from the experience.”

They reached the door of Prudence’s bedchamber without further incident. Prudence could feel Sebastian’s sigh of relief. He opened her door.

Prudence heard the squeak of another door down the hall. She hurried into her room and whirled about to make certain Sebastian was not seen by whoever was now traipsing down the busy corridor.

Sebastian was right behind her. He closed the door so softly that it did not make a sound.

“Damnation.” He released the doorknob. “That was close.”

“Yes, but we are quite safe now.” Prudence lit a candle. The flaring flame revealed the determined expression on Sebastian’s face. She looked at him in surprise. “Is something wrong? I am certain you will be able to return to your own room in a moment or two.”

“As it happens,” Sebastian said, “there is something I
wish to discuss with you.” His gaze moved over her with unmistakable possessiveness. “Now seems as good a time as any.”