At four o’clock, the parlormaid opened the door and asked if the ladies would receive Mr. Alan Ross, who had called to offer his family’s sympathies.
Lady Ashworth jumped to her feet, seizing Mrs. Pitt by the hand. “Come, Charlotte, we really must not monopolize the whole afternoon.” She turned to May. “I fear we have enjoyed your company so much we have forgotten our manners. If you will permit us to take our leave before Mr. Ross arrives, we will not make him feel uncomfortable by appearing to avoid him.”
Mrs. Woolmer was startled. “Of course, if-if that is what you wish. Marigold, have Mr. Ross wait in the morning room for a moment, if you please.”
Marigold closed the door behind her.
Lady Ashworth bent to May with a confidential whisper. “My sister and I were once acquainted with Mr. Ross’s family during a period of tragedy which must be most distressing to him. I think it would be a kindness, my dear, if you were not to mention our names to him. I’m sure you understand?”
May did not understand at all, but she was perfectly capable of taking a hint. “Of course. You will merely be two ladies who have called by in friendship. I appreciate your sensitivity, and I hope I shall have the good fortune to meet you again in more fortunate circumstances.”
“I am sure of it,” Lady Ashworth said confidently, with the slightest of nods.
May understood; it was all she wished.
Outside in the street, Charlotte turned on Emily. “What are you thinking of? Surely it would have been to our advantage to meet with Alan Ross again? Max may have used his old connections to find these women!”
“I know that!” Emily exclaimed. “But not in there. He won’t be long-we can wait out here for him.”
“It’s freezing! Why on earth should we stand around here? He’ll know we are forcing an acquaintance if-”
“Oh, don’t be so silly. William!” She waved her hand at the coachman. “Find something wrong with one of the horses-keep yourself occupied until Mr. Ross comes out of the house.”
“Yes, m’lady.” William obediently bent and ran his hand down the near horse’s leg, and began to examine it.
Charlotte shivered as the wind cut through her coat. “Why on earth couldn’t we simply have stayed in there and met him?” she demanded, glaring at Emily.
“I always thought General Balantyne was very fond of you.” Emily appeared to ignore the remark.
Charlotte had liked to think so, too. The memory brought a pleasant glow, a tinge of excitement. She did not argue.
“Christina moves in just the right circle to know the sort of women who might be used by Max,” Emily continued. “She could be of great assistance.”
“Christina Ross wouldn’t assist us across the street if we were blind!” Charlotte remembered Callander Square vividly. “The most likely assistance she could give me would be into the nearest ditch!”
“Which is why we must pursue the general instead,” Emily said impatiently. “If you conduct yourself properly, he will help you to anything you like! Now be quiet. Mr. Ross is coming out. I knew he wouldn’t be long.”
As Alan Ross approached, Emily smiled dazzlingly at him.
He smiled back and raised his hat a little uncertainly. Then his eyes moved to Charlotte and his face eased in recognition.
“Miss Ellison? How charming to see you again. I hope you are well. Do you have trouble with your carriage? May I take you somewhere?”
“Thank you, I am sure it is nothing serious,” Charlotte answered quickly. “Do you recall Mr. Ross, Emily? My sister, Lady Ashworth-” She wanted to tell him delicately that she was Mrs. Pitt. During the Callander Square murders, she had found a position in the Balantyne house by pretending she was a single woman in need of respectable work. “Mr. Ross-”
Emily cut in, offering her hand to Alan Ross. “Of course I remember Mr. Ross. Please give my best wishes to Mrs. Ross. I confess it is quite some time since I have seen her. One becomes so busy with people one is obliged by courtesy to visit that one misses those one is genuinely fond of. She is such an entertaining person. I look forward to meeting her again.”
Emily detested Christina and always had. Her smile did not waver a fraction. “And Charlotte has spoken of her frequently. We really must call upon her. I hope she will forgive us for our neglect.”
“I am sure she will be delighted to see you.” He gave the only possible answer he could.
Emily smiled as if equally charmed by the prospect. “Then please tell her that Lady Ashworth and Miss Ellison will call upon her next Tuesday, if she receives upon that day?”
“I am sure she will. But why do you not come to dine? That would be far pleasanter. It will be only a small gathering, but if Lord Ashworth is not engaged-?”
“I am sure he is not.” Emily accepted with alacrity. She would make sure that George was not. Other engagements would have to be dispensed with.
He bowed slightly. “Then I shall see that invitations are sent. If you are sure I can be of no assistance?” He looked at William, now standing to attention by the horse’s head.
“I am sure we shall be perfectly all right,” Emily said.
“Then I bid you good day, Lady Ashworth, Miss Ellison.” He met Charlotte’s eyes for a moment, smiled, then turned and walked back along the pavement to his own carriage.
Emily accepted William’s assistance into the carriage, and Charlotte followed after her, landing in a bundle.
“What on earth is the matter with you?” she said furiously. “Why did you let him go on thinking I am Miss Ellison? I hardly need a job in Christina’s household!”
Emily yanked her skirt free from where Charlotte was sitting on it. “We’ll hardly be in a position to discover much if they know you are married to a policeman!” she pointed out. “Let alone the very policeman who is investigating the murders. Added to which, it will do no harm for the general to see you as still unmarried.”
“What are you-” Charlotte began, then stopped short. There was considerable good sense in what Emily was saying. People like Christina Balantyne did not dine with policemen’s wives! If they knew she and Emily were bent on inquiring into murder, they would never even get through the front door.
After all, they had a certain moral duty to discover as much as they could-it was every person’s duty. And, in truth, they had proved unusually skilled in the past!
“Yes,” she said meekly. “Yes, I suppose you are quite right, Emily.”
If she and Emily were to investigate effectively, they must have all the knowledge available. But to get it from Pitt was no easy matter. So far, he had spoken of no further discovery. It seemed he was trudging day after day through the squalor of the Acre, pursuing a word here, a suggestion there. But if he was any nearer find- ing a connection between Max, Dr. Pinchin, and Bertie Astley, he had not told Charlotte of it.
“Thomas?” she began softly.
He opened his eyes and looked at her. It was late; he was half asleep by the fire in the parlor. She had chosen her time with care, and tried to sound casual. “Have you learned anything more about Max?”
“I know everything there is to know about Max,” he replied, sliding a little farther down in his chair, looking at her through his eyelashes. “Except who his clients were, who his women were, and who killed him.”
“Oh.” She was not sure how to pursue it. “That means he kept no sort of record. Or else it was taken?”
“He was killed in the street,” he pointed out. “Unless it was his house manager who did it, there would be no chance to look for papers. Anyway, according to all I can find out, there were none. He kept names in his head, and all business was strictly cash.”
No records! “Then how could he blackmail anyone?” she asked curiously.
“I don’t know that he did.” He moved his feet off the fender; it was getting too hot. “But he might have had knowledge enough to ruin anyone’s reputation. Proof is not necessary. Word of mouth in the right place, substantiated by a few names and places, would do excellently. Suspicion alone can destroy. But the motive could just as easily have been professional rivalry. He was taking other people’s business. Either way, it is none of your affair. This isn’t a case where an amateur can help.”
She met his gaze and suddenly felt a great deal less sure of herself. “Oh, yes, of course,” she said. After all, she was not really investigating! It was only a matter of keeping her ears open for any odd piece of information that might prove relevant. “But it is only natural I should be interested, isn’t it?” she said reasonably.
