“Am I the sort of person who imagines things?” she interrupted, fists clenching with impatient anger. “Who makes up stories to get attention?”
He stared at her for what felt like a very long time. At last he shook his head. “No. Of course not. If you go back into the ballroom, I will look around—”
“We will look.” She cut him off again. “You do not even know where to go.” She lifted her chin. “I do not need to be coddled, Captain.”
His expression might have been wry if it hadn’t been so tense. “No, you do not, do you?” He glanced over her shoulder, eyeing the dark gardens once more. “Stay close behind me. If some jumpy fellow with a gun is nearby, I would rather you not be the one to surprise him.”
The sense of danger, which had faded as they stood there talking, came creeping back. Lily shivered. “Very well. But we should hurry.”
Side by side, they made their way between the hedges, Lily carefully retracing her steps. The sound and light from the ballroom faded once more, but bright moonlight illuminated the gardens.
Which was why, when they came into the clearing, it was only too easy to see the body on the ground.
CHAPTER 4
Jack stopped so suddenly that Lily walked into him. It didn’t occur to either of them to apologize or move; they simply stared at the man lying on the ground in front of them.
Jack was the first one to recover, going quickly to the body and touching his wrist and neck. Lily didn’t understand what he was doing until he said, “We’ll not be needing a doctor.” His voice seemed oddly loud in the silent garden.
Lily said nothing, only nodded and continued to stare, swallowing rapidly against the sick feeling in her stomach and throat. The body was a young man—the second voice, she decided slowly, feeling as though her mind was not working at normal speed. The one with the pretty accent. His clothing was well made but simple and unadorned; a merchant’s clothing, perhaps, or something similar. His coat lay open, and she couldn’t keep her eyes from going to the dark stain on the breast of his white shirt. In the moonlight it looked as black as his short, curly hair. There was something familiar about him, but she didn’t know what it was. The realization annoyed her enough to make her focus; they couldn’t count on the gardens remaining deserted forever, and standing around wondering if she was about to be sick helped no one.
She swallowed again and, taking a deep breath, crouched next to Jack.
He started to his feet, as surprised as if he had forgotten she was there. “What in God’s name are you doing?”
“Looking for any clues, of course.” Lily shivered and crossed her arms over her chest. “I think his was the second voice I heard. He wanted to be paid—the other voice was too old and deep for such a young man.” She looked around, frowning. “No gun, though that is hardly surprising … Now, that is odd.” Something white caught her eye, and she bent down to discover a dozen pieces of torn paper ground into the mud just a few paces away from the dead man. She fished out one of the pieces, but it was mangled beyond legibility. “No clear footprints on the ground either, and we’ve muddled them up ourselves, so there’s no saying which direction the man who shot him went. But I only heard two voices.” Tears blurred her vision as she studied the dead man’s face. “This poor fellow—”
“Stop right now.” The sharp tone of Jack’s voice made her look up in surprise. “We are not going to stand around looking for clues. I am taking you home immediately. In case you’ve forgotten, there is a killer out here, and—”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Captain. Anyone who shot a man in someone else’s garden is hardly going to wait around to shoot whoever happens to wander by.” She turned back to the body. “The man who did this is long gone. What we need to do is have Lord Walter summon one of the officers from Bow Street—”
She broke off with a yelp as Jack, grabbing one arm, hauled her to her feet. She yelped again when the petticoat of her dress snagged on the edge of a shrub, making her stumble. “Now look what you have done.” She bent to twitch her skirt free and discovering a sizable bit of lace had been left behind. She yanked it free and shoved it in her reticule, glaring at the captain. “What is the matter with you? You were in the navy, for heaven’s sake; you must have seen a dead body before.”
“And have you as well? Is that why you are so damned calm about this?” Jack snapped, either not noticing or not caring that he was swearing at her. “You should be swooning or going into hysterics, not looking around for bloody clues.”
“Would you prefer it if I did swoon or become hysterical?” Lily only barely remembered to keep her voice low. “Because I assure you, that would be my preference. I am staying so damned calm because anything else would not help the situation.” Pursing her lips, she surveyed the clearing. “Now, what should we do? We cannot risk anyone else finding the body.”
Jack glared at her. “I knew you were an unusual girl, but Freddy never mentioned that you were so—”
“A footman, perhaps,” Lily interrupted, not interested in finding out what he might call her. “We should find one immediately and make sure he does not allow anyone else into the gardens. And then we should go straight to Lord Walter.” She met Jack’s eyes. “Do be some sort of helpful, please. You may berate me for being unfeminine later, but for now we have a dead body to deal with, and I do think that takes precedence.”
Jack blew out an annoyed breath, but to her relief he nodded. “A footman’s a good idea, and one of the Bow Street fellows.” He held out his arm. “Try to look faint or ill. People will assume I am helping you to your carriage and hopefully will leave us alone until we find Lord Walter.”
Taking his arm, Lily discovered she was glad of the support, and it didn’t require much pretending to lean on him and let him help her from the grisly scene. Fortunately, they encountered a footman checking the candle sconces as soon as they gained the terrace. Seeing an apparently ill lady leaning on the arm of a gentleman, he came quickly to offer assistance.
“What is your name, young man?” Jack asked sternly.
“Jeremy, sir.” The footman bowed.
“You are Anna’s cousin,” Lily broke in, noting the resemblance in their faces. “My dresser, Anna Swift.”
“Mrs. Adler.” Jeremy bowed again. “How may I be of service, ma’am?”
“We need to find Lord Walter,” Jack said. “And, Jeremy, it is imperative that you prevent anyone from entering the gardens until he tells you otherwise. Can you do that?”
To Lily’s surprise, Jeremy glanced at her before agreeing. At her nod, he bowed once more. “His lordship was in the card room last I saw him, sir. I’ll make sure no one goes past the terrace while you find him.”
“Good man.” Jack clapped the footman on the shoulder, and Lily briefly saw the twinkle of several coins before they found their way into Jeremy’s pocket.
“Thank you, Jeremy,” she said, pausing, though it was clear Jack wanted to hurry.
He looked like he wanted to ask questions, but of course he knew better. He said only, “Anna speaks well of you, ma’am,” before taking his position on the stairs.