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The Vanishing Thief(22)

By: Kate Parker


“Could they both be blackmailed over her death? What’s her name?”

“Victoria Dutton-Cox.”

Emma looked at the entry for the duke’s dead almost-bride. “Date of birth, date presented, date engaged, date of death. We better start with the death certificate and then find the doctor.”



*



THE NEXT DAY, I left Somerset House, home of the repository of all of Britain’s birth, marriage, and death records, and the workplace of a fellow Archivist Society member, after we had a nice chat and I gained a good deal of information. My next stop that afternoon was at Lady Westover’s, where I found her at the desk in her morning room reading from a thick book about plant diseases. She slipped her pince-nez glasses off and smiled at me. “Back so soon? You must have hit a wall.”

“Your suggestion that Drake specialized in blackmail and not theft has made us look at the death of Victoria Dutton-Cox.”

“Her death certainly started a lot of hushed talk at the time. It was all anyone could do to keep the gossip out of the papers.”

“Was her obituary printed?”

“Of course. That and nothing else. Still, her funeral was very well attended, more out of curiosity than grief.”

“What did she die of? I’ve just come from Somerset House, and her death certificate was uninformative.”

“Have you spoken to the doctor? I believe one was called immediately.”

“His death certificate was also on file at Somerset House. Typhoid.”

“Never trust a doctor who dies young. If he can’t keep himself alive, why should you believe anything he says? Take my advice, Georgia. If you want to live to an old age, stay away from careless doctors.” Lady Westover shut the volume and focused her pale eyes on me. “Why are you here, child?”

“I need you to call on Lady Dutton-Cox and take me along.”

“So you can stir up the memory of her daughter’s death again? You are ghoulish.”

“I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t important. A man’s life is at stake.”

“Mr. Drake? I don’t care what Sir Broderick says, he’s just not important enough for me to risk my friendship with Honoria Dutton-Cox.”

“And if her husband or a duke is going to hang for his murder, is that important enough?”

“Heavens, yes! Think of the scandal.”

Some things Lady Westover and the Archivist Society would never agree on. Ignoring our differences, I said, “Good. Then we need to get moving to the Dutton-Coxes’. I don’t want to call on her while others might be present.”

“At least you’d save her that much embarrassment. Of course, she may not be home to anyone, not even me. By the way, Georgia, have you decided who you’ll be for this investigation?”

I’d already given that quite a bit of thought. “Georgia Peabody, your poor relation, here to see London, but there’s no danger of my seeing the inside of a society event. My mother made an unfortunate marriage, but you see no reason to cut me off entirely for her mistake.” I gave her a big smile.

“Don’t be too certain of that, young lady.” She tapped the table. “Mother is too recent. Your grandmother was the one who made the scandalous alliance. Your mother was properly married to a nobody; both parents are deceased. Yes, I think that should do, Miss Georgia Peabody, to keep you scandalous enough to stay out of society.”





Chapter Five





LADY Westover summoned coat, hat, gloves, and carriage, and soon we were off in more style than I was accustomed to to visit one of the suspects in the Drake investigation.

Luck was with me. Honoria Dutton-Cox greeted us in her empty parlor. Or rather, greeted Lady Westover. I did my best self-effacing act until I was introduced, at which time Lady Dutton-Cox gave a nervous giggle and said, “What a shame you’re here while the weather is so beastly and the season has barely begun.”

I gave the appropriate curtsy and said, “There’s no chance of my coming to London for the season, because I wouldn’t be invited anywhere. On account of Grandmama, you see. But Lady Westover wanted so much to see you today, with the second anniversary of your great tragedy coming up, and decided since you were a kind and understanding woman that you wouldn’t mind my being introduced to you in private.”

The woman blinked at my tale, but Lady Westover gracefully stepped in before she could organize her thoughts to throw me out. “We all have tragedies in our lives. You more than most understand the truth of that. So I thought you wouldn’t mind my bringing Georgia with me today, since I know how melancholy a season this is for you and I wanted to cheer you up.”