Don't Look Back (37 page)

He hesitated and then retied the reins.

Without further argument, he went to the door of the warehouse and opened it. She walked in slowly, giving her eyes a chance to adjust to the dim light.

The interior was crowded with a number of coiled ropes, empty crates, and shipping casks.

Howard Hudson lay, bound and gagged, in the corner.

Lavinia hurried forward and removed the strip of cloth that sealed his lips. He groaned and sat up so that Tobias could cut the ropes around his wrists.

"Thought you two would never get here," he said.

That night, after Tobias had dealt with the authorities as only he could, thanks to his many connections, they gathered in the parlor together with Emeline, Anthony, Joan, and Vale.

Her study, Lavinia had quickly realized, was much too small for such a crowd, and it certainly was not impressive enough for the likes of Lord Vale. Not that the parlor was much grander, she thought uneasily. But at least there was more space.

In spite of not yet having received any fees to cover the expenses of the affair, she poured everyone an extra large glass of her precious sherry. Surviving a close brush with a murderer inspired one to be generous, she thought.

"All three of them wanted the Blue Medusa," she said, sinking down onto the sofa alongside Joan. "Each for a different reason. Howard, I regret to say, actually put some credence in the legends surrounding it. He wanted it for his experiments. Celeste hoped to sell it in order to purchase another rung on the social ladder. And Pelling, who had become quite demented, had concluded that it would give him power over the ghost of the aunt he had murdered in his youth."

Joan shuddered. "It was a near thing. How fortunate that Mr. March arrived at the Banks mansion just as you were forced into Pelling's closed hackney."

"Indeed." Emeline took a fortifying sip of sherry. "I cannot bear to think about what might have happened had he not seen you and managed to follow you."

Vale contemplated Tobias, who occupied the chair across from him. "After this incident you will be obliged to concede that there is such a thing as coincidence, eh, March? Joan is right: If you had not happened to call at the Banks mansion this afternoon, you would never have seen Mrs. Lake getting into the hackney."

There was a short pause during which everyone took a swallow of sherry.

Tobias turned his glass between his palms and looked at Lavinia. He smiled slightly.

"It was not luck or coincidence that took me to the Banks house this afternoon," he said quietly. "I followed Lavinia because she had left a note informing me of where she had gone. Just as she had promised."

She met his eyes and saw a reflection of the same absolute certainty of knowledge that had coalesced deep inside her. Regardless of the clashes of will that lay ahead—clashes that were inevitable, given their strong temperaments—a bond had formed between them. Tobias was far more than her lover and occasional partner. The metaphysical link was now so strong that she knew it could never be severed.

"How unfortunate that you are left with no client," Joan said with a good deal of sympathy. "I understand that Mr. Hudson has postponed payment indefinitely due to a lack of funds, and Mr. Nightingale, of course, has canceled his arrangement with you."

Lavinia looked up from her musings. "Oh, I have every hope of salvaging at least one of our clients. Mrs. Rushton, to be precise."

Emeline frowned. "But she will pay you only if you return the relic and arrange a profitable sale."

"I hope to take care of that little outstanding matter first thing in the morning," Lavinia said.

They all looked at her.

Vale's eyes glittered in the firelight. "Are you telling us that you know where Celeste Hudson hid the bracelet?"

"Yes," Lavinia said. "As it happens, I was on my way to collect it this afternoon when Pelling got in my way."

Dr. Darfield looked up from a journal of accounts when Lavinia and Tobias were ushered into his office. He was not wearing his exotic blue robes, Lavinia noticed. Instead, he was attired in a manner more appropriate to a successful man of business: fashionably pleated trousers, a well-cut coat, and an intricately knotted cravat.

He studied his visitors for a long moment and then he closed the leather-bound volume and rose slowly to his feet. He gestured toward two chairs.

"You have come for the bracelet, I assume," he said to Lavinia.

"Yes." She sat down and arranged her skirts. "This is my partner, Mr. March. He has been involved in this affair from the start."

She was not surprised when Tobias ignored the offer of a chair. He moved to his favorite location in any room that contained a person whom he did not know or trust. He stood with his back to the window, watching Darfield.

Darfield nodded, his expression somber, quietly resigned. "I have been expecting you since I heard about Pelling's death."

He crossed the room to a bookcase, removed several volumes from the middle shelf, and opened a small safe set into the paneled wall. He removed an object wrapped in black velvet and went back to his desk.

Without a word, he untied the cord that bound the small pouch and spread the folds flat on the desk. A large, intricately worked gold bracelet of curious design gleamed softly against the black velvet. A strange blue cameo was set into the center of the band.

Lavinia got to her feet and went to the desk, impelled by the sheer wonder of such an ancient object. The pierced work had been done with exquisite artistry. The repeating pattern of entwined snakes was so finely detailed that the bracelet appeared to have been fashioned of gold lace rather than cut and shaped from metal.

She picked it up carefully. It had looked so delicate and airy sitting on the velvet that she was somewhat surprised by the substantial weight of it in her hand. The gold was warm against her palm.

The cameo of Medusa was masterfully carved in the stone's alternating shades of blue. The tiny snakes writhed in the Gorgon's hair, her eyes stared with chilling intensity. The small, distinctive wand beneath the severed throat was precisely rendered. There was a sense of menacing power about the miniature sculpture that made her aware of icy fingers on her spine.

"Celeste arranged to encounter Mrs. Rushton while she was out shopping one afternoon." Lavinia did not raise her eyes from the bracelet. "She put her into a mesmeric trance."

"Mrs. Rushton is quite susceptible to mesmerism," Darfield said. "An excellent client."

"While she held Mrs. Rushton in the trance, Celeste instructed her to make an appointment with you for therapeutic treatments. She also ordered her to take the bracelet from Banks's safe and bring it to you."

"Which is precisely what Mrs. Rushton did." Darfield watched Lavinia handle the bracelet. "Afterward she recalled nothing about the incident, of course. Celeste was actually quite skilled at mesmerism, although she was careful to conceal the full extent of her abilities from Hudson. She trusted no man. She always said that a woman did well to keep as many secrets as possible. She did not want Hudson to worry that she might be a threat to his business."

Tobias folded his arms. "I presume you taught her the art of mesmerism?"

"Yes. I studied with a practitioner who took instruction from Dr. Mesmer himself."

Tobias cocked a brow. "Why did Celeste join with Hudson? Why not work with you?"

Darfield sat down on the edge of his desk. He was quiet for a moment, obviously sorting through his thoughts.

"Celeste was born on the wrong side of the blanket, the illegitimate daughter of a shop girl and the wastrel son of a member of the country gentry," he said eventually. "Her father never acknowledged her. He was already married to a neighbor's daughter, whose family's land adjoined his. Unfortunately, he had no aptitude for farming. He managed to drive himself into bankruptcy."

Lavinia closed her fingers very gently around the bracelet. "Celeste fought her way up in the world, didn't she?"

"Yes. Her sole ambition was to acquire sufficient money to allow her to bury her past and take up a position in Society. To that end, she used any man she thought capable of assisting her toward her goal."

"Last year she met Hudson in Bath," Tobias said.

Darfield glanced at him and then looked away. "Celeste was a very clever woman. She formed a connection with Hudson after she grew suspicious of certain jewelry thefts that had occurred among some of his wealthier clients. Her own training in mesmerism and some careful observation allowed her to conclude that he was likely the thief."

"Oh, I really don't think that Howard had anything to do—"

"Bloody hell," Tobias interrupted forcefully. "She seduced Hudson because she wanted him to teach her to become an accomplished jewel thief."

Darfield smiled wryly. "She also wanted access to his wealthy clients. As I said, she was a decent mesmerist, but she lacked the social connections required to attract a truly exclusive clientele." He moved a hand, palm up. "I could not offer her access to clients in wealthy circles. My own business is flourishing nicely, but I do not cater to the High Flyers. The right references make all the difference, you see."

Tobias caught Lavinia's eye. "So I've been told."

"Even if I had been able to offer a more refined list of clients, I would not have been inclined to become a thief. I never had Celeste's raw nerve, you see. Stealing valuable jewelry is an excellent way to wind up on the gallows, in my opinion."

"It is certainly a risky profession," Tobias agreed.

"One day Pelling walked into Hudson's office and offered him a commission to steal the Blue Medusa." Darfield paused. "I expect that you know the rest."

"Pelling was mistaken in believing that Dr. Hudson was a professional thief," Lavinia said quickly. "But Howard was researching mesmerism, and he no doubt became obsessed with the notion of obtaining the Medusa for his experiments. He turned down Pelling's offer, but he decided to try to acquire the stone himself. Celeste, however, was ready to move on and needed a financial stake. She decided to take things into her own hands and made her own bargain with Pelling."

Darfield inclined his head. "That was Celeste. Always willing to take a gamble." He paused. "Do you know, in the beginning, when I first learned that she had been murdered, I was certain that it was Hudson who had killed her. I was hatching my own notions of revenge, imagining various ways to kill Hudson without getting caught, when you two undertook your investigation. My first inclination was to try to frighten you off."

"You sent the coachman with the note to scare Anthony and Emeline," Lavinia said.

"Yes. But that same day you came to my rooms pretending to seek a treatment. I pretended not to know who you were. I decided to see what came of your inquiries."

"Thank heavens you did decide to wait," Lavinia said fervently. "You might have murdered the wrong man and risked the noose for nothing."

"You and Mr. March saved me that fate and exacted justice for Celeste." Darfield met her eyes. "For that I will always be in your debt. If there is ever anything I can do to repay you, Mrs. Lake, I hope you will come to me. I can offer free therapeutic treatments—"

"No, no, that is quite all right, sir," she said hastily. "The return of the Medusa is sufficient compensation, I assure you."

She was uncomfortably aware of another unpleasant trickle of cold energy along her spine. Imagination, she thought. Or maybe my nerves. She reminded herself that she had been under something of a strain lately.

Nevertheless, she quickly put the bracelet back down on the velvet. To her enormous relief, the uneasy sensation vanished.

"There is one thing I do not comprehend," she said, rewrapping the relic.

"What is that?" he asked.

"You said yourself that Celeste did not trust men. Yet she obviously entrusted this bracelet to you for safekeeping." She picked up the velvet pouch. "What made you different in her eyes from other men?"

"Oh, yes, I forgot that part, didn't I?" Darfield's smile was sad, almost wistful. "You will recall that I mentioned that her father was married to the daughter of a neighbor landholder. The pair had a son, who was obliged to go into trade for financial reasons."

"I understand now," Lavinia said gently. "She was your sister."

Tobias strode into Lavinia's study three days later, looking exceedingly pleased. "The bargain has been struck and we have been paid our fee."

Lavinia put down her pen. "Bargain?"

"Mrs. Rushton arranged to sell the Blue Medusa to an anonymous collector through the auspices of Mr. Nightingale."

"She certainly did not delay that business long, did she? Banks expired only yesterday."

"Mrs. Rushton is a businesswoman." He settled into one of the chairs in front of the fire and smiled. "In any event, she received her money this morning, and she was so delighted with the transaction that she paid us immediately."

"That is excellent news. I had no notion the sale would take place so quickly." She chuckled. "I think I can wager a guess as to the identity of the anonymous collector."

"Go ahead, try your hand at it."

"Lord Vale bought it, I assume."

He smiled. "You assume wrong. Joan Dove is the name of the mysterious collector."

Lavinia stared at him, astonished. "I was aware that she inherited her husband's collection, but I did not know that she herself had a personal interest in antiquities."

"I suspect it is a rather new hobby," Tobias said dryly.

She recalled the blue gown Joan had chosen to wear the night of her ball. And the mystery of her connection to the Blue Chamber.

"Joan is rather fond of blue," she said very carefully. "You don't suppose she wants to use the Medusa as some sort of personal emblem or seal, do you?"

"I prefer not to speculate on the notion of a possible new master of a criminal organization or on her choice of an appropriate seal."