Late for the Wedding by Amanda Quick Read Free Book Online Page A

wanting to ask more questions?”
    “Don’t be alarmed. If he wants to talk to you again, I will be sure to accompany him.”
    Nell looked relieved. “Thank ye, ma'am.”
    Lavinia went swiftly down the corridor. By the time she got to the staircase door, Tobias had already disappeared.
    Lacking a candle, she was obliged to feel her way up the narrow flight of steps. But when she reached the top, the door was open.
    She stepped out into the moonlight and saw Tobias at the low wall. He was looking down into the gardens. She walked toward him.
    “Is that the place where Fullerton fell?” she asked.
    “Yes, I think so. There are marks in the dirt on the wall here. Do you see them?”
    He raised the candle to angle the light across the barrier. There were several smears in the dust, soot, and grime that caked the stone. They certainly appeared to be traces left by a man grasping desperately to keep himself from plummeting to a certain death. A chill went through her.
    “Yes,” she whispered. “I see.”
    “It would appear that the woman lured him up onto the roof.” Tobias paced deliberately along the wall. “You said Fullerton was quite drunk. He would no doubt have been unsteady on his feet. It would not have required much strength to topple him over the edge, merely careful timing.”
    “I know that for some reason you have yet to explain you are convinced this was murder,” she said quietly. “But I have seen nothing yet that indicates it could not have been an accident.”
    “What of the tall, blond maid?”
    She hesitated. “Nell could not think of anyone who matched my description,” she admitted.
    He paused at that and looked at her. In the candlelight, his face had a decidedly sinister aspect. She could understand Nell’s reaction. If one were not well acquainted with Tobias when he was on the hunt, she thought, one would be strongly inclined to run for one’s life.
    “One of the guests, perhaps,” he said slowly. “Dressed in a costume that she wore to the ball earlier this evening?”
    She summoned up the brief glimpse she’d had of Fullerton’s female companion. “I do not think it was a costume that any of Beaumont’s guests would have worn to a ball. It was too ordinary, too realistic, if you see what I mean. The materials were not fine enough for any of the ladies here tonight. The gown was fashioned of a dull, sturdy fabric. The shoes, stockings, and apron looked very much like those worn by Beaumont’s chambermaids.”
    “Not a costume, then, but a true disguise,” he said slowly.
    “Tobias, I think it is time you told me precisely what is going on.”
    He said nothing for a moment, resuming his prowl of the rooftop instead. She knew that he was looking for other signs of what had taken place here a short time ago. She feared that he would attempt to avoid her question.
    But when he reached the far corner he began to speak.
    “I have told you that during the war I conducted several confidential inquiries for the Crown on behalf of my friend Lord Crackenburne.”
    “Yes, yes, I know that you were a spy, sir. Pray get to the meat of the matter.”
    “I prefer to avoid the term
spy
when discussing my former profession.” He leaned down to take a closer look at something he saw in the dust. “It has such unsavory connotations.”
    “I am well aware that the profession is not considered a proper career for a gentleman. But there is no need for either of us to mince words when we are alone like this. Indeed, you were a spy. I was obliged to engage in trade in order to survive in Rome. Neither of us possesses the sort of past one would wish to have made common knowledge in elevated social circles. But that is hardly important at the moment. Continue with your tale.”
    He straightened and stood gazing out into the night. “Bloody hell, Lavinia, I am not even sure where to start.”
    “Why don’t you begin by telling me why you took that ring from Fullerton’s night