lies behind their words.'
Vespasia folded her hands in her lap and paid attention like a schoolgirl in class. 'With whom shall we begin?' she asked.
'What do we know of Mr. Etheridge?' Charlotte inquired. 'Has he a widow, family, a mistress?' She saw with some satisfaction that Zenobia's face registered no horror, nor any indication that her sense of decency had been offended. 'And if those avenues prove fruitless, then had he rivals in business, or professionally?'
'The
'Excellent. That is where we shall start. It will always be easier for us both to meet with women and to make judgments and observations of them that may be useful. So we have Mr. Etheridge's daughter-'
'Helen Carfax,' Vespasia supplied.
Charlotte nodded. 'And Lady Amethyst Hamilton. Is the son married?'
' 'Nothing was said of a wife.''
Zenobia leaned forward. 'I have a very slight acquain-152
tance with a Lady Mary Carfax; it was some time ago now, but I believe, if I remember accurately, that her son was named James.'
'Then renew the acquaintance,' Vespasia said instantly.
Zenobia's mobile mouth turned down. 'We disliked each other,' she said reluctantly. 'She disapproved of me for going to Africa, among other things. She felt-and said- that I disgraced both my birth and my sex by behaving totally unsuitably on almost every occasion. And I thought her pompous, narrow-minded, and completely without imagination.'
'No doubt you were both correct,' Vespasia said tartly. 'But since she is unlikely to have improved with time, and you wish information of her, not she of you, then it is you who will have to accommodate yourself to her social prejudices and remember your niece profoundly enough to force yourself to be agreeable to her.''
Zenobia had faced the insects and heat of the Congo, the discomforts of trekking across deserts and sailing in canoes, fought against exhaustion, disease, outraged family, stubborn officials, and mutinous natives. She had endured heartache, ostracism, and loneliness. She was more than equal now to the self-discipline required of her to be civil to Lady Mary Carfax, since it was so evidently necessary.
'Of course,' she agreed simply. 'What else?'
' 'One of us will visit Lady Hamilton,'' Charlotte went on. 'Aunt Vespasia, perhaps that had better be you. None of us knows her, so we shall have to invent an excuse. You can say you knew Sir Lockwood through your work for social reform, and you have come to express your condolences.'
' 'I did not know him,'' Vespasia replied, waving one long hand in the air. 'Which I agree is immaterial. However, since it is a lie, you can tell it just as well as 1.1 shall go and see Somerset Carlisle and learn everything I can from him as to the political lives of both men. It is always possible that
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the crime is political, and it would be wise of us to cover that area of investigation as well.'
'Who is Somerset Carlisle?' Zenobia asked curiously. 'I am sure I have heard the name.'
' 'He is a member of Parliament,'' Vespasia answered. 'A man of anger, and humor.' She smiled as she said it, and Charlotte guessed precisely what wild adventure of the past she was remembering. Vespasia's blue gaze was faraway and almost innocent. 'And with a passion to reform. If I tell him our situation, he will help us all he can.'
Zenobia tried to look hopeful and nearly succeeded. 'When shall we commence?'
'When we have finished luncheon,' Vespasia answered her, and a flicker of satisfaction crossed her face as she saw incredulity, then a sudden real hope light Zenobia's eyes, and at last her body lost some of its rigid tension.
When the meal was finished there was very much to be done. The clothes each had worn for the consultation and the laying of plans were not at
