Lord Ashford's Wager (22 page)

* * * *

While Gideon had been with Mrs. Spencer, Drabble had bought himself time with Lizzie, one of the more experienced girls. Carrie had been about to give him Nancy, but Jim shook his head behind Drabble and she shrugged her shoulders and called Lizzie down. As Drabble went up the stairs behind her, he heard Carrie say, “Now Jim, I know you like Nancy, but you can’t be holding her back like that.”

Hit’s Fair’aven’s footman,
thought Drabble as he sniffed after Lizzie’s shapely bottom.
Well, now, Oi can enjoy myself tonight and inform Lord Fair’aven in the morning.

“He was not,” Lizzie announced to Carrie and Jim and Gideon later, as Jim and the girl stood in the hallway seeing the Runner out, “the most repulsive customer I’ve had. But that dripping and dropping great nose of his—and the snuffling! It was hard not to laugh, especially since he snuffled through the, er…crucial moment, if you know what I mean.”

They all laughed and Gideon bade them good night and set off for home. He had never gotten to question Jim, he thought, but then, that gave him an excuse to come back very soon.

It wasn’t until he had gone a few blocks that the memory stirred. The snuffling man in the Garrick’s Head. A snuffling man here at Mrs. Spencer’s. But surely there were plenty of dripping noses all over London. But what if someone had been following him the other night? What if Lord Fairhaven had hired a man so that if Gideon got to Jim, Fairhaven did too? Damn. If what he suspected were so, then Fairhaven would have the information in the morning. It looked as if he, Gideon, would have to do some following himself. And that meant no sleep tonight.

Gideon took up his watch across from Fairhaven’s. It was hard to stay awake, for he was not only tired, but relaxed. It was hard to keep his mind on the street and not get lost in recollections of his time with Blisse. Just before dawn, he dozed off for a short while, but luckily the early-morning clatter awakened him. He watched as the vendors filled the street, but saw no one else. He was wondering if his intuition had proved wrong when he heard and saw Drabble coming down the street. The man looked very sure of himself when he knocked on the door and was admitted by the butler.

He came out slightly subdued, and Gideon guessed that Mark Halesworth wanted no more connection between himself and his spy. Well, now, Mr. Snuffle was going to be followed. Followed and grabbed.

Gideon gave him fifteen minutes, so that they were out of sight of any spectators, and then, pushing by Drabble, stopped suddenly and pushed him back into an alley.

“Wot do you think you are doing?” whined Drabble. “Oi’ve committed no crime.”

“You’re lying. I am sure that Lord Fairhaven paid you a pretty penny for following an officer of the law and for the information you just gave him.”

Drabble tried to bluff. “Wot information? Lord Fair’aven give the loikes of me money? Walker!”

Holding Drabble against the wall by his throat, Gideon rummaged through his pockets and found a guinea. “A guinea per week, eh? Just like a Runner. Now why don’t you tell me exactly what Lord Fairhaven paid you for? Or I’ll see you in Newgate for interfering with the king’s justice.”

Drabble didn’t hesitate. Fear seemed to dry him up, for with only one or two sniffs, he got out the whole story.

“And what does Fairhaven plan to do?” asked Gideon when Drabble had finished.

“ ‘E asked me to meet ‘im at the Golden Crown tonight so Oi could take ‘im to Mrs. Spencer’s. ‘E’ll see wot this Jim knows…”

“And then?”

“Oi don’t know. Hit all depends on the boy. Hif ‘e saw somefing, well then… Oi don’t think Lord Fair’aven will be too pleased with ‘im, will ‘e?”

“Let me tell you what you are going to do, Mr.—”

“Drabble.”

“Mr. Drabble. You are going to do just what Fairhaven asked. And you are not going to tell him about this little conversation, are you?”

“No, sir. Of course not.”

“Good. I don’t know what Jim saw, by the way. He may not have seen anything. But I do wonder what Fairhaven thinks there was for him to see.”

“Oi don’t know, guv. Oi am sure Oi don’t, and ‘is lordship didn’t tell me.”

Gideon shook Drabble hard enough so that his head bounced rhythmically against the wall. “You will do as I say, won’t you, Drabble?”

“Yes, sir. Oi don’t want no trouble with the Runners, Mr. Naylor.”

“Good. Now off with you.”

Drabble tried for a little dignity as Gideon let him go. He straightened his collar and coat, but after one look at Gideon’s face, he scurried away down the street, as Gideon watched with grim amusement. “Well, Lord Ashford will be happy to hear about this development in the case,” he muttered to himself.

Indeed, Tony was thrilled when he heard of Gideon’s progress.

“Don’t give me too much credit, my lord,” said Gideon. “I can’t believe he followed me for so long without my noticing. If he hadn’t given in to a certain appetite…” Gideon was very disappointed in himself.

“But you put two and two together, Naylor,” protested Tony.

“Yes. A sniffle here, a snuffle there,” he said sarcastically.

“You found Jim, and now you’ll find the connection to Fairhaven. All we have to do now is get Mark to confess.”

Gideon heard the ‘we.’ “I am calling in another Runner, my lord.”

“Oh, no, you’re not. We both think Mark Halesworth killed Claudia and let me rot in Newgate for it. Would have let me hang. I am going to take part in this,” said Tony, with a look in his eyes that his subalterns would have recognized.

“We don’t know for sure that Mark Halesworth killed Lady Fairhaven.”

“Do you have any serious doubts, Naylor?”

“Not a one, my lord. You are welcome to accompany me. I wish to be there by early evening so that we don’t miss him. I will be back to pick you up at five.”

“I’ll be ready.”

* * * *

When they arrived at Mrs. Spencer’s, Carrie opened the door and Gideon had a moment of panic. Maybe Jim had run again, or maybe Fairhaven had gotten here ahead of him. But when he inquired, Carrie only smiled and winked and said that Jim was spending a little time with Nancy.

“Is Mrs. Spencer around?” Gideon asked.

“She usually takes a rest in the afternoon, Mr. Naylor, since she is up most of the night.”

“Of course. We will wait in the parlor, Carrie. Send Jim in as soon as he comes down. And Carrie…”

“Yes, Mr. Naylor?”

“You remember Lizzie’s customer, Mr. Drabble?”

“The great snuffler?”

“That’s the one. He will be back tonight. Don’t admit him before you have told me.”

“Yes, sir. Er, does your friend here want to wait with you, or is he in the mood for some company?” Carrie batted her eyelashes at Tony and pulled at her dress as though to smooth it, although her real purpose was to make sure that more of her bosom was revealed.

Tony gave her a quick grin. “Not tonight, luv, I am sorry.”

“There is no harm in trying, sir,” she said as she whisked out.

Tony gazed around the parlor. “For the neighborhood, this seems a decent house, Naylor.”

“Yes, and when Jim is on, that only adds to the atmosphere.”

Tony smiled. “I can imagine. Of course, I don’t frequent these places myself. I’ve spent all my time at 75 St. James Street since I’ve been home. And on the Peninsula there were plenty of willing women.” Tony was silent for a moment and then asked: “Are you married, Naylor?”

Gideon looked over at him in surprise. “No, my lord. A Runner’s life is hardly one a woman would want to share. Out all hours. Consorting with thieves and worse. No, I wouldn’t ask a woman to put up with that.”

“It must be a lonely life. Rather like a soldier’s.”

“About the same, my lord. Although when I was in the Forty-seventh Foot I thought I had someone to come home to. But she got tired of waiting.”

“After this is all over, I suppose I will be settling into a rather monkish life myself, Naylor. Up early in the morning, riding the estate and early to bed. A life of virtuous maturity,” Tony added with a whimsical smile. “Not how I ever pictured myself. But I suppose we all have to grow up.”

Gideon was too curious not to ask. “What of Lady Joanna, my lord? She is a good friend and still unattached.”

“She is most definitely not waiting for me, I can assure you. She just hasn’t found her match yet. And Joanna deserves someone…someone less like me and more like Ned,” Tony finished slowly.

“She was certainly very concerned about you, my lord.” Gideon felt he had gone far enough. There was only so much he could say without seeming to pry into what was the private affair of an earl, no matter how accessible that earl was.

“We have cared for each other a long time, Naylor, but only as friends.”

Gideon was about to risk one more hint, but the parlor door opened and Jim walked in.

Tony stood up and Jim looked at him, dumbfounded.

“Lord Ashford!”

“Yes, Jim. Come to thank you for your statement, as far as it went,” Gideon commented dryly.

“Now, Naylor, I
am
grateful to Jim.”

“It was the least I could do,” Jim answered, looking down at the floor.

“And what would be the most, Jim?” Gideon asked. “Telling us that Lord Fairhaven was the last person to see Lady Fairhaven alive? Or perhaps that you saw the murder itself?”

Jim’s face became set and white, but he said nothing.

“Come now, Jim, I know it all. Or almost all,” said Gideon. “Far better you tell me now. I suspect we don’t have too much time before Lord Fairhaven gets here.”

Jim looked ready to bolt. “How did he find me?”

Gideon sighed. “Unfortunately, through me, I hate to confess. Drabble—you remember Mr. Drabble?” said Gideon with an exaggerated sniff. “He was hired by Fairhaven to follow me.”

Jim’s shoulders slumped. He looked over at Tony apologetically. “Shortly after you left, my lord, Lord Fairhaven arrived and I admitted him to the library. Dawson had asked me to stay up so that I could see her ladyship to bed. I was getting tired, and I thought if I looked in to see if she needed anything, she might take pity on me and send me up too.” Jim stopped.

“Go on,” Gideon said softly.

“Lord Fairhaven had his hands around her neck and I saw her collapse. I panicked and ran. I don’t think he saw me, but I didn’t wait to find out. I didn’t know you had been charged, honestly, my lord,” he said to Tony.

“No hard feelings, Jim. I probably would have done the same thing.”

“I couldn’t tell you the other day, Mr. Naylor. I was too scared that if I came forward as a witness, Lord Fairhaven would somehow find a way to keep me quiet.”

“I would have pushed you harder, lad, had I needed to.”

“What do we do now, Naylor?”

“I think we’ll let Jim answer the door. He’s not going to kill you on the doorstep, Jim,” he added with a grim smile, seeing the look of fear on Jim’s face. “You’ll show him into the parlor and we’ll wait down the hall.”

“But I’ll be alone with him.”

“Remember, he doesn’t yet know that you saw him. If you feel you are in immediate danger, just—” Gideon looked around the room. “Just knock over that vase. We’ll be listening for it and come right in. Can you do it?”

Jim took a deep breath. “I think so, sir. I owe it to Lady Fairhaven. She was always very kind to me.”

It was only half an hour before Jim opened the door to Drabble and Lord Fairhaven, but it had felt like eons. He was almost relieved to see his former employer give him a patently false smile and telling him he was delighted to have found him.

“Come in, my lord. I will find Mrs. Spencer, who can take care of whatever you need.”

“No, no, Jim, what I need is to speak with you,” said Fairhaven. “Is there someplace we can be private?”

“Yes, my lord. We can use the parlor.”

“Drabble, keep watch at the door, will you?”

“Yes, my lord.”

Fairhaven walked ahead of Jim and opened the parlor door himself. “After you, Jim,” he said. He closed the door behind them. “Sit down, lad, sit down,” he added.

Jim sat, and Mark stood over him. “You left Lady Fairhaven’s very suddenly, Jim.”

“Yes, my lord,” Jim answered, trying to sound matter-of-fact about it.

“Would you care to tell me why?”

“Well, my lord, you see, Lord Ashford had told me of their betrothal on his way out and I thought that after I gave you that piece of information, my job was over anyway.”

“But you never
did
come to tell me that, did you, Jim?”

“Er, no, my lord. I was planning to that next morning, but then, when I heard about Lady Fairhaven’s murder, it didn’t seem to make any difference anyway.”

“But why didn’t you just come back to your job at the warehouse?” Mark’s voice was calm and reasonable, but Jim felt as if he were being stalked, very slowly and carefully, by a tiger.

“I found I enjoyed my short time as a footman, my lord. It must be in the blood,” he added, with a nervous little laugh.

“So you sought out a job as footman in a bawdy house? Does your family have a history of that sort of employment, Jim?” Fairhaven asked sarcastically.

“It seemed a beginning, my lord.”

“I would have thought a reference from me would have given you a better start, Jim.”

“Uh, yes, but I didn’t want to trouble you in the middle of your family tragedy, my lord.” Jim had had some time to think of a vaguely plausible story, but the more he said, the more ridiculous it seemed. But what else was he to say?

Mark leaned forward and put his hands on the arms of Jim’s chair, effectively trapping him.

“I don’t think I believe you, Jim.”

“I swear it is the truth, my lord.”

Mark continued as though he had not heard. “I think you saw something that night and were terrified and ran for cover. I think you may even have seen Lady Fairhaven’s killer.”

What the hell am I to do now?
thought Jim.
I
can’t knock over the vase. I can’t even get out of the chair. And he hasn’t confessed anything. He has to admit to it in someone’s hearing so if anything happens to me, he won’t get away with it.