Lily nodded absently, not really listening, still focused on the sketch of the murdered man. It was a good likeness, she thought, frowning as she examined the drawing. She still felt there was something very familiar about the man’s face. No, familiar was the wrong word. She knew she had never spoken with him. But she was sure she recognized him.
Frustrated and feeling suddenly crowded in the small breakfast parlor, Lily stood abruptly. “Excuse me please, I need … excuse me.” She needed to be somewhere quiet.
Not pausing to see the concerned looks that followed her out of the room, Lily headed toward the family book-room. She needed to be alone to think, to decide what to do. Shutting the door firmly behind her, she paced around, scanning the shelves without seeing them. Going to the Bow Street offices was the obvious choice, but after her experience the previous night, she didn’t think anyone would listen to her.
Lily was so preoccupied that the sound of a clearing throat made her start.
“My apologies, Mrs. Adler,” the Walters’ butler, Reston, said with a bow. “A Captain Hartley is here to see you. Shall I say you are not at home?”
“Oh, no.” She clenched her fists behind her back where the butler could not see them, then deliberately relaxed them, letting out her breath and schooling her expression at the same time. “No, I will see him. If you are sure he wanted me and not Lady Walter?”
“He asked for you specifically, ma’am.”
“Then please show him in.” Lily hesitated, then quickly added, “Reston?”
He turned back, bowing once more, waiting, but it took Lily a moment to work up the courage to ask, “Is Jeremy well this morning?”
“Jeremy?” The butler looked surprised.
“He was of great assistance in the … last night.” Lily bit her lip, feeling awkward but determined to ask anyway. “I hope he was not too upset by the incident.”
“He’ll likely use the story to drink free at the public house for the next year,” Reston said with a chuckle, then added, more somberly. “If you’ll excuse me for saying so, Mrs. Adler.”
“Of course. And did anyone—” Lily paused, reconsidering. She had been about to ask if any of the servants had recognized the murdered man, or had any inkling as to his identity. But it wasn’t her place to ask, and surely the officer from Bow Street would have thought to question them? Shaking her head, Lily forced a smile. “Thank you, Reston, I did not mean to keep you from your duties. You may show Captain Hartley up.”
“Mrs. Adler.”
As the butler left, Lily again paced around the room, her mind returning to the matter of the murdered man’s strangely familiar face. The memory of where she had seen him before hovered on the edge of her mind, and she nearly had it when a cold draft interrupted her thoughts.
The back terrace ran outside the room, and one of the doors had been left open a crack, though a curtain was drawn mostly over it. Shivering and drawing her shawl more tightly around her arms, Lily was about to close it when voices on the terrace caught her attention.
“All I ask is that the matter be dealt with efficiently.” It was Lord Walter, almost too quiet to hear. “I believe three hundred should be plenty to arrange that.”
“Of course, your lordship.” She did not recognize the second voice, deep and genial. “I am more than happy to arrange things as you wish.”
“Just see that you are discreet.” A sharp edge entered Lord Walter’s voice. “I have no interest in dealing with any sort of mess.”
“I can assure you of that, sir.”
The sharp click of bootheels told Lily that one of the two men was crossing the terrace. Unable to resist, she peered around the edge of the curtain. The man who walked past, with the broad build and red face of someone who thoroughly enjoyed both his wine and his sport, was not someone she recognized. He was heading toward the side door, and as he walked past, she could clearly see him tucking a thick stack of banknotes into his bright-blue coat.
Lily frowned as she drew back into the room. Why would Lord Walter need to be so secretive about paying a tradesman? Shaking her head at her folly—she was starting to see suspicious behavior in the most absurd places—she pulled the door shut and latched it tightly, putting the strange conversation from her thoughts. The puzzle of the murdered man’s identity was harder to let go of, but she let it settle to the back of her mind; in her experience, that was the best way to remember the answer to a difficult question. Instead, she steeled herself instead for Jack’s visit. She was fairly certain she knew why he had called.
When Reston showed him in, Jack looked more awkward than she would have thought possible. He bowed and asked after Lord and Lady Walter very politely, though one hand tapped nervously on his thigh and his face was flushed. Lily answered coolly, not feeling inclined to make what he had to say easier for him, though she was hard put not to smile at his discomfort.
“Look here, Mrs. Adler,” he finally sighed. “I behaved terribly last night. You were utterly in the right.”
Lily raised her brows. “About what, sir?”
He frowned, shifting from one foot to the other and looking like a boy caught stealing sweets from the kitchen. “You know about what.”
“Yes, I do. But unless you know as well, your apology is not worth much, is it?”
He laughed abruptly. “You know, I’ve not known anyone quite like you before.”
Lily was torn between amusement and annoyance. “I hear that with some frequency. I choose to take it as a compliment, though I suspect it is only intended that way about half the time. You were saying, Captain?”
To her surprise, he reached out to take her hand. His was very large and warm, with rough calluses on his palms. It had been a long time since a man had taken her hand with such easy familiarity, and she had, she realized, missed it. “You’ll not make this easy on me, will you?” he said. Lily shook her head. “Very well. I apologize for my behavior when you came to me for help last night. You are obviously intelligent and level-headed and not prone to wild imaginings. I should not have doubted the truth of what you saw, and I am very sorry.”
Lily couldn’t keep her surprise from showing. “That was more thorough than I expected, Captain. Especially the flattery.”
“I thought it was a helpful touch.” Jack released her hand and stuck his own in the pockets of his morning trousers, grinning proudly. “Though I do mean every word. I know perfectly well that Freddy would never have married a woman who fell into hysterics for no reason, and I should not have treated you like one.”
Lily smiled. “No, he certainly would not have.”
“Am I forgiven, then?”
Lily swatted his shoulder. “Yes, you wretch. No need to make eyes at me to get back in my good graces. Just see that you do not do it again.”
“You can be sure of that,” Jack said, then added more seriously, “I am truly forgiven? There is not anything I can do to make amends for my behavior?”
“No, there is nothing …” Lily trailed off, a resolute expression coming into her face. “As a matter of fact, Captain, there is something that I need to do, for which I would appreciate your escort. Do you have a free hour or so today?”