Murder at the Brightwell: A Mystery (5 page)

“Lovely evening, isn’t it?” said Larissa Hamilton in a soft voice beside me. I turned to greet her. Her light-blue gown with ruffled skirt and sleeves was lovely, and I told her so.

“Thank you. Nelson picked it out,” she said, smoothing the skirt. “He’s got quite an eye, really.”

I had noticed as much. At the moment, his eye was on Anne Rodgers as she sauntered into the room in a beaded lavender gown that was cut just high enough to avoid absolute scandal. Mr. Rodgers followed, apparently oblivious to the effect his wife’s appearance was having upon the gentlemen present.

“Nice crowd here tonight, eh, Rupert?” Mr. Hamilton asked when the Rodgers had reached the table and seated themselves. He pulled a cigarette from his pocket.

“Very nice, indeed,” Rupert agreed, offering Mr. Hamilton his lighter, before turning his attention back to Emmeline and adding in a tone still loud enough to be heard by half the table, “Though it would be nicer if it were just the two of us. I look forward to the days when we can travel alone.”

Emmeline blushed and smiled, and Gil stiffened ever so slightly beside me. He tried to hide it, but it was perfectly apparent how little he cared for Rupert Howe.

“Nelson likes blue, but I love the shade of your gown,” said Mrs. Hamilton, suddenly picking up our conversation where it had dropped off several moments ago.

“Yes, you look quite stunning, Mrs. Ames.” It was Lionel Blake who spoke as he approached and took his seat at a neighboring table.

“Thank you both. And call me Amory, please. I wish you all would.”

“Anne-Marie. Such an uncommon name,” said Veronica Carter from across the table, looking at me through the smoke of the cigarette she held carelessly between two fingers. It was the first time she had spoken to me since I arrived at dinner, and the mispronunciation, combined with the somewhat sneering tone in which she said it, led me to believe it was not a mistake that she had misheard my given name.

“It’s Amory,” Gil corrected her.

She did not reply but descended again into silence, a sulky expression marring her pretty features.

“Amory Ames. Such a striking name,” said Mrs. Hamilton. “There is almost something musical about it. What a happy coincidence your husband’s name so complemented your Christian name.”

I began to give her the long answer but decided against it. “Thank you,” I replied simply.

The truth was that I didn’t take Milo’s name, per se. In actuality, I was born Amory Ames. I had met Milo Ames, who was no relation of mine, and had been amused by the coincidence. We married, and I had been stuck in limbo, bearing a name that was not entirely my own yet not truly my husband’s. It was, somehow, strangely indicative of our entire relationship.

Dinner was delicious: light soups, impeccably cooked sole, roast lamb with mint sauce, a fresh salad, followed by a pudding that melted in the mouth and cheese and crackers with sweet, rich coffee. Conversation was light, superficially pleasant. Afterward, everyone began breaking off into pairs for dancing.

In the style of many of the more prestigious London hotels, the Brightwell had engaged an orchestra for the summer. As they struck up the opening strains of “All of Me,” Gil stood and held out his hand. “Dance with me, Amory?”

“I would love to.”

He led me to the dance floor. There was an instant of hesitation before he pulled me toward him and our bodies touched. For a moment, my mind drifted back to one of the last times we had danced together: our engagement party. I had been so in love that night, so very sure of the future. What fools the young are, so full of confidence and blissful ignorance.

The orchestra was really very good, and the music flowed sweetly over the room, the lyrics of this particular song hauntingly appropriate. We did not speak but danced, lost in our own memories. I felt oddly happy, happier than I had for a long while.

The dance came to an end, and Gil and I stepped apart, but only just. Our eyes lingered. “Amory…” he began.

“Do you mind, old boy?” It was Rupert who had ambled over to us. He turned to me and held out a hand, brows slightly raised in inquiry.

I took his hand as Gil stepped out of the way, annoyance barely perceptible in his eyes, and I allowed myself to be pulled into Rupert Howe’s arms.

The music started up again, and a young man stepped to the microphone and began to sing. Rupert, as much as I hated to admit it, danced beautifully.

“The music is very good,” I noted, to break the silence.

“They’re no Henry Hall and his orchestra, but they’re passable,” Rupert replied. “Something to dance to, at any rate. I’ve seen the men here looking at you, Mrs. Ames. You’re going to be a popular partner tonight.”

“I can’t imagine why I should be,” I answered, immune to his flattery, “with so many ladies from which to choose.”

Rupert let out a short laugh. “Thorough bores, most of them. The married ladies are dowdy frumps.” He smiled. “Yourself excluded, of course. Mrs. Rodgers fancies herself a society beauty, but she’s well past her prime, and Mrs. Hamilton is too much of a mouse to make any long-lasting impression. As for the unattached ladies, Veronica Carter is not so grand as she thinks she is, and Olive … well, let’s just say Olive and I don’t get along as well as we used to.”

So discreet, I thought irritably. If he and Olive had a past, it was unkind of him to flaunt it, especially given the circumstances. I glanced at Olive Henderson, who had been sitting quietly at our table, making very little conversation throughout dinner. I certainly didn’t know her well, but it seemed to me that something was troubling her. Perhaps her tender feelings had not been forgotten as effortlessly as Rupert’s apparently had.

“And what of your charming fiancée?” I inquired.

The briefest flash of something crossed his eyes, as though he had momentarily forgotten Emmeline. Then he smiled, and I was surprised at the warmth in it. “It goes without saying that I adore Emmeline.”

“Do you?” I asked breezily. “I should think you would. She’s a lovely girl.”

“Very lovely,” he replied, unaffected by my pointed remarks. “How nice that you find the same admirable qualities in her brother.”

So it was to be a game of verbal sparring, was it?

“Gil and I have been friends for a very long time.”

“And more than friends, I understand,” he went on. “It’s admirable, really, that you have been able to remain on such good terms … despite your unfortunate marriage.”

I smiled, unwilling to be bated by his audacity. “We are not all possessed of your good luck in finding a mate.”

The music ended, and I stepped back. He leaned slightly forward, a smirk marring his handsome features. “It was a pleasure, Mrs. Ames.”

I found myself unable to return the compliment.

*   *   *

I WAS SPARED
the overbearing charms of Rupert Howe for the rest of the evening. I danced in turn with Mr. Rodgers, Lionel Blake, and Mr. Hamilton.

I learned that Mr. Rodgers was a solicitor, the majority of his experience in criminal court. He talked unenthusiastically of his work while we danced, and he seemed to find his stories as dull as I did.

“Not many imaginative crimes these days,” he said as the dance came to an end. “Mainly stupid people doing stupid things.”

“Really?” I asked. “I somehow thought that criminals were getting cleverer as time went on.”

“Nonsense. It’s almost impossible to get away with things these days, with all the modern advancements. Take the Crippen case. Even twenty years ago, the fellow couldn’t escape the law. Caught him by wiring the ship he was trying to get away on. Things are far more advanced now. You would think criminals would learn, but they don’t. I suppose that’s because it’s as I said: stupid people doing stupid things.”

I danced next with the polite and very well-behaved Lionel Blake. His natural gracefulness translated well to dancing, and I had the fleeting thought that he might have a career in musical cinema should he tire of the stage. As we moved around the floor, he told me of the play in which he was soon to appear, a murder mystery set in a country manor.

“I’m afraid it’s not a terribly good play,” he said with a rueful smile. “But the chief backer is rather a good friend of mine. When he asked me if I would do it, I felt that I could not really refuse.”

“The play may not be very good, but you’ll be wonderful,” I said encouragingly. “I’ve heard marvelous things about you. I’m certain the play will be a great success with you in it.”

His eyes dropped from mine, as though he was embarrassed by my compliment, and he quickly began to speak of the weather. This apparent timidity was not at all what I expected of a handsome actor, especially not one as well-received as Mr. Blake. But perhaps I was unfairly typecasting.

Mr. Hamilton was my next partner. He was his jovial self, and I noticed his gaze travel admiringly down my neckline more than once.

“Have you known the Trents long?” I asked, in an attempt to draw his eyes upward.

“We got chummy with Rupert and Emmeline in London. It seemed we were always turning up at the same events. Rupert is from my part of the country, you know. Mr. Trent I don’t know well. What I do know is that he and Rupert don’t care much for one another. That’s always been apparent.” He laughed, as though he had a made a joke. I had not, it seemed, been the only one to notice the tension between Gil and Mr. Howe.

“Have you been to the Brightwell before?” I asked, as his eyes wandered once again.

“No, never. We came at the invitation of Rupert and Emmeline. When they invited us to join them, we thought it sounded nice. Larissa’s got some foolish fear of the sea, but I told her that was all nonsense. I knew she’d enjoy it once she got here.”

I glanced at Mrs. Hamilton and saw her watching us. She didn’t seem to be enjoying herself much at all to me. I couldn’t help but wonder how aware she was of her husband’s wandering eye. I hoped that she would begin to relax and have a nice evening, but a moment later I saw Rupert Howe asking her to dance, and she looked as uncomfortable as ever.

“You look simply divine this evening, Mrs. Ames,” cried Mrs. Roland, as she appeared beside me from out of nowhere. She was dancing with a gentleman perhaps a foot shorter than she, but they were managing to keep an excellent rhythm to the orchestra’s rousing rendition of “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Roland,” I said. “You look quite striking yourself.” It was true. She wore a long gown of bright blue bedecked with silver beads that clicked together as she swayed to the music.

“So many handsome gentlemen here, don’t you think?” she asked me with a wink, before her partner whirled her away. “I shouldn’t wonder if there was a trail of broken hearts left after this week.”

I hardly thought that likely. From what I had seen thus far, it was only Emmeline who was in danger of being brokenhearted.

Our dance seemed to have worn Mr. Hamilton out, for back at the table, he wiped his face with his handkerchief before he pulled a cigarette from his pocket. Rupert Howe, returning to the table with Mrs. Hamilton, offered him his lighter, and Mr. Hamilton puffed contentedly on his cigarette, his gaze traveling from one attractive woman to the next while his wife sat silently beside him.

The night was spent pleasantly enough, but as the evening drew to a close, I was more than ready for bed. It had been a long day, and I was tired in mind as well as body. I bid everyone good evening, and Gil accompanied me to my room.

“I’m happy you’re here, Amory,” he said, as we stopped outside my door. The hallway was deserted, and we were alone in the soft yellow glow cast by the sconces against the striped, yellow-papered walls. There was something intimate about the setting, and I felt that I should avoid what Gil was leaving unsaid as he looked down at me with those warm brown eyes.

“I think you’re right about Rupert Howe,” I said, by way of a subject change. “He doesn’t seem at all trustworthy. There is something about him…”

“Yes, I’m glad you noticed.”

“You’ll need more than a feeling to convince Emmeline, I’m afraid. I can tell she’s rather taken with him.”

“I wish there was some way to send the fellow packing,” he said, his eyes flashing suddenly.

“I’ll have a heart-to-heart with her tomorrow,” I said, “tell her the woes of married life to serve as a warning.”

His eyes met mine, both sympathetic and hopeful. “Do you think it will do any good?”

“I don’t know.”

He nodded, suddenly brusque. “Well, I guess we shall find out. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Good night, Gil.”

I entered my room, shut the door behind me, and stood there for a moment, lost in thought. I had a feeling that Emmeline Trent was not going to be convinced by me or anyone else to give up Rupert Howe. His charm was transparent enough, but the veil of love could do wonders to even the most reprehensible character. It was, as I had predicted, a lost cause. I think Gil knew it, too. But I admired his wanting to try.

Sighing, I moved into the bedroom, kicking off my shoes as I went. The thick rug was soft beneath my feet.

I stepped out of my dress and threw it over the back of a chair, then peeled off my stockings, letting them fall where they lay. They would keep until morning. I would tidy up the room then. For the most part, I was enjoying not having a lady’s maid at the moment. Even if I had had the time to find a replacement for Eloise before my trip, I should have hesitated to submit my current movements to a near stranger’s scrutiny. There was too much potential for gossip.

I put on my black satin nightgown and pulled a loose negligee over it. I found, despite my weariness, that I was not exactly sleepy. I picked up a book and moved to a chair near the window. Pushing the window open to feel the breeze and better hear the sound of the sea, I began to read.

The chair was comfortable, and the lulling noise from outside combined with sodden prose to do just the trick. I drifted off to sleep but awoke suddenly a few moments later to voices below my window.

“I mean what I say.” I recognized instantly that the hushed, angry whisper belonged to Gil.