The Custom House Murders (Captain Lacey Mysteries #15) - Ashley Gardner Page 0,107
they report in London what bliss we live in, so much the better.”
I lifted my glass. “Sound thinking. I wish you well.”
“The villa is not far from the excavations in Pompeii and Herculaneum. I will assume you’d like to come and view them, Lacey? As well as the splendid ruins in Rome?”
“Ah.” My breath quickened. Peter, who had been good about letting the adults converse uninterrupted, bounced in his seat.
“Would I come too?” he asked.
“I extend the invitation to the entire family,” Grenville said. “The ladies may sun themselves and shop to their heart’s content while we gentlemen prowl the buried cities.”
“It sounds an excellent sojourn,” Donata said with a decided nod. “Provided we spend the Christmas season in Oxfordshire, with Gabriella. My mother is rather insistent.”
“Of course,” Grenville said. “We’d go in early spring. It is much warmer there than in beastly England, and we’ll return at the height of the London Season. Gabriella should come, along with all your children. It will be a family outing.”
“Excellent,” Donata said. “Then I will begin plans to remove there.”
That was settled. I raised my glass. “To a Roman spring.”
Donata and Grenville followed suit. “A Roman spring.”
“Will there be room for me, guv?” Brewster stood in the doorway, Barnstable quivering near him in disapproval.
“Undoubtedly,” Grenville said. “I will rely on you to keep Lacey from trouble, as usual. Your lady wife should come as well.”
“I’ll ask her.” Brewster wrinkled his forehead doubtfully. “Though Em’s not much for foreign parts.” He turned to me, his expression troubled. “His Nibs was grateful for the return of his trinkets.”
I regarded him in surprise. “Is that a cause for glumness?”
“He offered me my old place back. Said I’d redeemed meself, like, for finding his treasures.”
“Ah.” My heart sank. I’d miss Brewster if he went, and surely he’d want to. Denis paid his men very well. There was nothing to say Denis would assign Brewster again to watch me, and in that case, I’d see little of him. I tried to sound encouraging. “Well, I suppose I wish you the best.”
“Fing is.” Brewster hesitated, moving uneasily.
“Do say what you mean, Mr. Brewster,” Donata said. “Do not leave us dangling.”
Brewster cleared his throat. “Fing is, I told His Nibs I didn’t want to go back to him. I’d rather keep this job. That is, if you’ll have me, guv.”
My dismay fled as Brewster sent me a defiant glare. I recognized that it had been very difficult for him to come to me, hat in hand, as it were, and ask if he was wanted.
“I’d not have it any other way, Brewster,” I assured him. “You are most welcome to stay. Would you care to sit and toast your decision?”
Brewster glanced around the dining room, where silver gleamed in the candlelight, while Barnstable attempted to not look too appalled.
“I won’t, if it’s all the same to you. Too much in here tempting for an old thief. I’ll say my good nights and go back to my Em.”
“Your good health, Brewster.” I raised my glass of wine. “Please give my best to Mrs. Brewster.”
“I’ll do that.” Brewster gave the room one last glance and shook his head. “Off to run over buried cities. I can’t imagine what sort of trouble you’ll find yourself in there, guv. You’ll need me looking out for you, no mistake.”
THANK YOU FOR READING! The next Captain Lacey Regency Mystery will be on its way soon.
Meanwhile, you might enjoy the Leonidas the Gladiator Mysteries, set in Ancient Rome (Book 1: Blood of a Gladiator), or the Below Stairs mysteries, featuring a cook in Victorian London (Book 1: Death Below Stairs).
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Thank you for spending time in Captain Lacey’s world.
ALSO BY ASHLEY GARDNER
Leonidas the Gladiator Mysteries Blood of a Gladiator
Blood Debts
A Gladiator’s Tale
Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries
The Hanover Square Affair
A Regimental Murder
The Glass House
The Sudbury School Murders
The Necklace Affair
A Body in Berkeley Square
A Covent Garden Mystery
A Death in Norfolk
A Disappearance in Drury Lane
Murder in Grosvenor Square
The Thames River Murders
The Alexandria Affair
A Mystery at Carlton House
Murder in St. Giles
Death at Brighton Pavilion
The Custom House Murders
The Gentleman’s Walking Stick
(short stories: in print in
The Necklace Affair and Other Stories)
Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries, Vol 1
Includes
The Hanover Square Affair
A Regimental Murder
The Glass House
The Gentleman’s Walking Stick
(short story collection)
Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries, Vol 2
Includes
The Sudbury School Murders
The Necklace Affair
A Body in Berkeley Square
A Covent Garden Mystery
Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries, Vol 3
Includes
A Death in Norfolk
A Disappearance in Drury Lane
Murder in Grosvenor Square
Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries, Vol 4
Includes
The Thames River Murders
The Alexandria Affair
Mystery at Carlton House
Kat Holloway “Below Stairs” Victorian Mysteries (writing as Jennifer Ashley)
A Soupçon of Poison
Death Below Stairs
Scandal Above Stairs
Death in Kew Gardens
Murder in the East End
Death at the Crystal Palace
Mystery Anthologies
Past Crimes
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
USA Today Bestselling author Ashley Gardner is a pseudonym for New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Ashley. Under both names—and a third, Allyson James—Ashley has written more than 100 published novels and novellas in mystery, romance, fantasy, and historical fiction. Ashley's books have been translated into more than a dozen different languages and have earned starred reviews in Publisher’s Weekly and Booklist. When she isn’t writing, she indulges her love for history by researching and building miniature houses and furniture from many periods, and playing classical guitar and piano.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
All Rights are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author.