A Wicked Conceit (Lady Darby Mysteries #9) - Anna Lee Huber Page 0,56

office as well.”

“Aye. Shouldna be a problem to convince ’em to talk.”

I didn’t doubt either of them for a moment. Anderley possessed good looks and charm, and the chameleonlike ability to conform to whatever social strata he found himself within, while Bree was so friendly and empathetic that it was impossible not to find yourself pouring your heart out to her.

“Be careful,” Gage cautioned them. “Don’t draw too much attention to yourselves, and be aware of your surroundings. The cholera may be decreasing, but that doesn’t mean it’s gone. Beware the food you eat from any carts, or better yet, don’t consume any, since the Board of Health suspects that is the likeliest source of contamination.”

They both promised to be vigilant, rising from their seats as he dismissed them.

“Jeffers, I have a different matter I need your help with,” Gage declared, turning to our butler.

But I was still focused on Bree and Anderley, who shared a flirtatious glance in the doorway as he allowed her to proceed him through the door. I was pleased to see they seemed to be in accord again, but I couldn’t halt the unsettling feeling, born of experience, that it wouldn’t last.

“You are acquainted with Sir Phineas Riddell, are you not?” Gage asked, reclaiming my attention.

“I am,” Jeffers replied, moving several steps nearer.

Lord Phineas was known to be a friend of Lord Drummond, who was Jeffers’s previous employer, so it had seemed a safe assumption that Jeffers knew him.

“Apparently, Sir Phineas was the victim of a housebreaking a short time ago. Their jewelry was stolen from their safe,” Gage explained, reminding me that there had been no time to discuss what he had learned from the Riddells at Imogen’s ball. Just as there had been no time for me to arrange with Lord Henry Kerr when it would be best for him to inform Gage that he was his half brother.

“I believe I heard mention of that somewhere,” Jeffers replied evenly.

Of course he had. The best butlers were always well informed. And Jeffers was undoubtedly one of the best.

“See what you can find out about the matter from their staff.”

“Anything in particular?”

Gage frowned at the fire burning low in the hearth. “I want to know if they believe a theft actually occurred.”

Jeffers bowed his head. “Will that be all?”

“Yes. Mrs. Gage and I will retire shortly,” he added distractedly.

Jeffers bowed again before exiting the room.

I shifted closer to where Gage perched on the opposite arm of the settee. “You think Sir Phineas is lying?”

He didn’t speak at first, forcing me to grasp his hand and repeat myself in order to pull his thoughts from whatever unhappy place they’d gone.

“Yes. At least I’m fairly certain of it.” His gaze dropped to my hand, his long fingers skimming over the skin of each of my knuckles. “When I spoke to him at the ball he suggested perhaps I had something to do with it. Said that Kirkcowan had told him that we were responsible for the theft of his jewels last year.”

I flushed in acknowledgment that at least part of that statement was true. “What did you say?”

“I questioned why he would believe such an assertion when he must know what an inveterate gambler Kirkcowan is. And not a very good one at that.” His eyes lifted to meet mine. “Most surprisingly, Lord Drummond agreed with me.”

My eyes widened. “He did?”

There had been no shortage of animosity between me and Lord Drummond a year ago when I had insisted that his wife had met with foul play, and subsequently proved it and unmasked her killer. For a time, I had even believed him to be the culprit, for he had been brutish to her, and his first wife’s death from a fall down the stairs still struck me as suspicious. But perhaps time had mellowed his hostility toward me.

“He did.” His mouth pursed briefly. “Little good it did. Sir Phineas merely countered with the argument that Kirkcowan never seems to be short of funds.”

It was my turn to pucker as if I’d tasted something sour. “You know, he’s right. Kirkcowan does always seem to get his hands on money from somewhere. I was just wondering earlier today how he’s able to keep his town house here in Edinburgh. Surely it’s not entailed. Not like his estate, which his wife told me last year was mortgaged to the hilt.”

Gage brushed his fingers over my palm, sending pleasant tingles through my body. “I don’t know. But truthfully, I don’t