The Mystery Woman (Ladies of Lantern Str - By Amanda Quick Page 0,43

might attract unwanted attention. Tell the companion to leave the offering inside the stone box at the foot of the sarcophagus. If these instructions are not followed exactly, the first of many revelations concerning the events of the night of January 9 three years ago will be sent to the press.

Joshua looked up from the note. In the glare of the lamp Beatrice could see that he was very focused. “He specifies that you must deliver the blackmail payment.”

“His logic is clear. If I am seen coming and going in the halls tonight no one will ask questions. But if Hannah is spotted outside her bedroom there will be gossip. The blackmailer does not want anyone to ask questions.”

“The great hall holds the most valuable artifacts in Alverstoke’s collection. It’s well secured at night with the most modern of locks,” Joshua noted.

“How do you know that the lock is modern?” she asked.

“I watched Alverstoke and his butler secure the chamber for the night.”

“Have you been prowling through the house tonight, sir?”

“As my former employer used to say, Know the terrain and you will be able to predict your opponent’s strategy.”

“Ah, yes, the mysterious Mr. Smith, otherwise known as Victor Hazelton?”

Josh’s brows rose. “Hannah certainly did confide in you.”

“Your Mr. Smith may have a few things in common with my former employer. Roland was fond of saying, Know your audience but make sure your audience does not know you. Mystery is everything onstage.”

“Excellent advice,” Joshua said gravely.

“Yes, well, obviously whoever sent that note to Hannah has access to the key to that great hall.” A jolting thought made Beatrice catch her breath. “Do you think that Lord Alverstoke is a party to this extortion business?”

“No,” Joshua said. He spoke with cool confidence. “I thought I made it clear, Alverstoke’s temperament and his eccentricities are such that it is impossible to imagine him as a blackmailer. In any event, he commands a fortune. He has no need to take the risk of extorting money from others. I’m quite certain that he is an unwitting pawn in this affair.”

“How difficult would it be for someone to steal the key to the great hall?” Beatrice asked.

“Based on what I observed tonight, it would be a relatively simple business. But the thief would have to have some knowledge of the household and its routines.” Joshua paused in thought. “There is an alternative, of course. He could try to bribe one of the servants. Either way, the theft of the key is the most easily explained aspect of this case.”

“The thing is, why go to the trouble of using the great hall as the location for the blackmail payment in the first place?” Beatrice tapped one finger on a table, thinking. “There are a thousand nooks and crannies here at Alverstoke Hall, not to mention all sorts of hidden places in the gardens. Why not arrange for the payment to be left in a less conspicuous, more accessible location, one that does not necessitate taking the risk of stealing a key?”

“A very good question, Miss Lockwood. The answer is obvious.”

She frowned. “It is?”

“The great hall is a room that the blackmailer feels he can control. It is certainly the one place where no one is likely to intrude this evening because it has been secured for the night.”

“Yes, of course,” Beatrice said. Admiration flashed through her. “Guests are even now skulking about the mansion searching for discreet locations for romantic trysts. But no one will bother to try the antiquities chamber because everyone is aware that it is always locked. That is a brilliant observation, sir. You really are quite good at this sort of thing.”

“I try.”

She ignored the dry humor in his tone. “Besides, what woman could possibly feel romantically inclined when she was surrounded by so much dark tomb and temple energy?”

“Some might find the surroundings . . . exotic.” Joshua spoke as if he was giving the issue close consideration. “An inspiration to the imagination.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Now you are teasing me, sir.”

“My apologies. Couldn’t resist.”

“You have made your disdain for the paranormal plain,” she said. “Tell me, have you never experienced anything that was beyond explanation, Mr. Gage?”

“Frequently. But the fact that I could not explain things at the time does not mean that the events were of a paranormal nature. Merely that science does not yet have all the answers.”

“Yet you survived in a very dangerous business for several years,” she said. “That leads me to conclude that your intuition