Jayne Krentz - Don’t Look Back

“Yes, I can see that. What does that have to do with my question?”

Anthony grinned. “This is the first time she has not appeared in mourning.”

“Ah, yes. Vale looks quite pleased, does he not?” He turned around. “What was it you were saying?”

“The streetwalker. The one Pelling has been amusing himself with here in Town. I found her.”

“Why the devil didn’t you say so?” Tobias felt all his senses sharpen. “Did you speak with her?”

“No. I was just about to leave my club to come here tonight when I found a boy waiting for me in the street. He had a message from one of the prostitutes I questioned. I’m late because I had a hard time finding her.”

“On a night like this the women don’t like to be out on the street unless they have no choice.”

“She met me in a tavern. Said the name of the woman we’re looking for is Maggie, and she gave me an address.” Anthony grimaced. “For a price, of course.”

“Where does Maggie live?”

“She has a room in Cutt Lane. Do you know it?”

“I know it.” Tobias could feel the old, familiar sense of certainty running through him, a pulse of energy just beneath the surface. He clapped Anthony’s shoulder. “Well done. Enjoy yourself with Miss Emeline. I’m off.”

Some of Anthony’s enthusiasm dimmed. “You’re going to talk to the woman now?”

“Yes.”

“Can’t you wait until later?” Anthony started to look uneasy. “Mrs. Lake is expecting you to put in an appearance here at Mrs. Dove’s ball. When she sees me, she will ask about you. What do you suggest I tell her?”

“Tell her that I was delayed at my club.”

“But-”

“Don’t worry,” Tobias said. “She will not question you. Being delayed at one’s club is a gentleman’s universal excuse. It is appropriate to all occasions and all circumstances.”

“I’m not sure Mrs. Lake will agree.”

“You fret too much.”

Tobias turned and made for the door before Anthony could come up with more objections.

Outside, he discovered that the fog was thickening rapidly. The heavy stuff seemed to absorb the bright lights of the house and reflect them back in an impenetrable wall of glowing mist. He could no longer make out the small park in the square.

A line of hackneys waited at the end of the row of expensive private carriages, the drivers hopeful of picking up stray business. He chose one and gave the coachman instructions to take him to Cutt Lane as quickly as possible.

His leg protested sharply when he got into the carriage. The damp night was taking its usual toll, he reflected. He dropped down onto the seat, closed the door, and absently rubbed his aching thigh.

Annoyed that the coach was not yet in motion, he reached up to rap on the roof to signal his impatience.

The vehicle’s door slammed open without warning. He looked down and saw Lavinia, dressed in a deeply cut purple gown. She looked like an avenging goddess. His own personal Nemesis, he thought.

“Hand me up, if you please, March. Wherever you are going, rest assured that you are not going there alone. You seem to make a habit of forgetting that we are partners.”

She could see at once that he was not pleased, but she chose to ignore his opinions. She was not in the best of moods herself.

She sat down and watched him shut the carriage door. The vehicle rumbled forward. Tobias unfolded the blanket that lay on the seat and tossed it to her.

“You’d better use this to keep warm,” he muttered. “That gown was obviously not designed to be worn outside an overheated ballroom.”

“If you had not been in such a hurry, I would have taken a moment to fetch my cloak.”

She was relieved to discover that the blanket was relatively clean. Quickly, she pulled it around her shoulders and was immediately grateful for the warmth. Tobias lounged in the corner, watching her with narrowed eyes.

“I was waiting for you on the balcony,” she said in response to his unspoken question. “I saw you and Vale enter and then I saw Anthony stop you. A moment later you turned and left. I knew at once that you were leaving to follow some clue. Where are we going?”

“I am on my way to meet a streetwalker named Maggie,” he said without inflection. “For your information, she has nothing whatsoever to do with the Medusa affair.”

“Rubbish. Do not expect me to believe that bit of nonsense. Why else would you go chasing off on a night like this to talk to a streetwalker, if not to pursue-”

She broke off abruptly, her jaw dropping in shock when it occurred to her that there certainly was a reason why a gentleman might take a hackney to visit a prostitute. A terrible pain uncurled like a serpent deep inside her. It was followed by a hollow, utterly numb sensation. She sat there, staring at Tobias, unable to speak.

“No, my sweet, that is not why I am off to visit the light-skirts. Surely you know me well enough by now to be certain of that much, at least.”

Relief flooded through her. Of course Tobias would not resort to a prostitute. He would not betray her. What was the matter with her? She reined in her scattered senses with an effort of will. Still feeling flustered, she tightened her grip on the blanket.

“Tell me what this is about, Tobias. I have every right to know.”

He contemplated her in silence for such a long time that she began to think he might not answer her.

“You are correct,” he said at last. “You do have a right to know. The long and the short of it is that I have been told that this woman named Maggie has been entertaining Pelling during his stay here in Town.”

She was so surprised she could only look at him rather blankly. Not an attractive expression, she reminded herself.

“This is about Oscar Pelling?” she finally managed.

“Yes.”

“I don’t understand.”

He rested an arm on the window ledge. “I thought it best to keep an eye on him while he was here in Town. Anthony asked some questions at the inn where Pelling is staying and learned that he has been visiting a prostitute in the area. I want to interview her.”

“But why? What do you hope to discover?”

He shrugged. “Nothing, probably. But I was never comfortable with the fact that both Pelling and Hudson showed up here in London at the same time.”

“I thought we agreed it was nothing more than chance.”

“ You were certain of that. I was not entirely convinced.”

“So you made some inquiries into Pelling’s activities?”

“Yes.”

“I see.” She was not certain what to say to that. She thought she ought to berate him for not telling her that he was conducting inquiries in that direction. On the other hand, he had been concerned on her behalf. She would save the lecture for later, she decided. “I assume that you learned nothing that was alarming.”

“I must admit I have begun to worry a bit about Maggie. Women who get close to Pelling seem to meet with bad ends, and Anthony had a deal of trouble locating her.”

She shuddered. “I understand.”

“I want to satisfy myself that she is unharmed. I also want to ask her a few questions about Pelling’s activities here in Town.”

She gave him a quizzical look. “But he has made no move to seek me out. Indeed, why would he? I told you, at the time he found it convenient to blame me for his wife’s supposed suicide. He cannot possibly have any interest in me now. Indeed, he has every reason to avoid me.”

“I know. But I do not like the situation.”

She smiled slightly. “I can see that.”

Tobias looked out at the fog-bound street. “That is the damnable thing about this business of conducting investigations, you see. One must keep blundering about, asking questions, until one finally gets some answers.”

“Not unlike our own relationship, if you ask me,” she said under her breath.

He turned his head. “What did you say?”

“Nothing important. Just some personal musings.”

She managed a bright little smile, but inwardly she was not feeling nearly so blasé. Their relationship was such a strange affair, she thought. Neither of them was a coward, yet in this matter they both walked as gingerly as if they were trying to cross a perilous landscape, a world in which unseen dangers lurked in every shadow.

Then again, perhaps that was only her view of the situation, she thought. For all she knew, Tobias saw nothing complicated or worrisome about their arrangement. He was a man, after all. In her experience, men tended to assess matters involving emotion in a more straightforward fashion than women did. When all was said and done, although he occasionally complained of the venue, Tobias was getting a certain amount of physical satisfaction on a regular basis. Mayhap that was enough for him.

They traveled the remainder of the distance to Cutt Lane in silence. When the hackney finally halted, Lavinia looked out and saw a solitary gas lamp glowing in front of a darkened doorway. Candles burned in some of the windows. Here and there a figure moved behind a thin curtain.

Tobias opened the door and got out. He reached up, gripped Lavinia around the waist, and lifted her out of the cab. Then he turned to toss a few coins to the coachman.

“We will not be long,” he said. “Be so good as to wait for us.”

“Aye.” The coachman checked the coins in the lantern light. Evidently satisfied, he pocketed them swiftly. “I’ll be here when yer ready to leave, sir.”

“Come.” Tobias took Lavinia’s arm and steered her toward the dark mouth of a small lane. “The sooner we find Maggie, the sooner we can return to the ball.”