Quick, Amanda by Late for the Wedding Read Free Book Online

she resisted the urge to ask him if he was in pain. He did not
    welcome constant inquiries on the subject of the injury he had
    sustained in Italy a few months earlier. The wound had long since
    healed, but she knew it still bothered him on occasion.
    What on earth do you expect to find under there?" she asked
    instead.
    How the devil should I know?" He finished his perusal of the
    floorboards, grasped a bedpost, and hauled himself back to his feet.
    I believe we are finished here." He massaged his left thigh impatiently. Now for the roof."
    Tobias, what is this all about? You do not think that Lord
    Fullerton's death was an accident, do you?"
    For a few seconds he looked as if he intended to evade the question. Then he shrugged. I think he was
    murdered."
    I was afraid that you had concluded as much. But what leads you
    to believe that?"
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    It is a long story." He headed for the door, taking the candle with
    him on a small stand. One that I do not have time to go into just
    now."
    He was putting her off again, she thought. But this was not the
    moment to argue the point.
    Very well, but mark you, sir, I do intend to obtain a proper expla
    nation from you at the earliest possible opportunity."
    She found herself speaking to thin air. Tobias was already outside
    in the hall, moving toward the staircase.
    She was about to follow him, but something made her glance once
    more around the room they had just finished searching. Her eyes
    went to the night table. A pale wedge of moonlight illuminated the
    objects on the surface. It seemed to her that something had changed
    in the arrangement of the items.
    In the next breath she realized what the difference was. The ring
    was gone.
    An uneasy sensation fluttered across her nerves. Tobias was no
    thief. He had taken the ring for some very good reason, one that he
    had chosen not to confide to her or to Beaumont.
    Her partner had been acting in an exceedingly odd manner since
    his conversation with Aspasia Gray.
    I really do not care for that woman," she said aloud to the empty
    room.

    Five

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    The servants" floor mirrored the same scene of confusion, curiosity,
    and excited dread that Lavinia had seen on the lower floors. Small
    groups of people hovered in the narrow, low-ceilinged corridor, talk
    ing in soft voices.
    At the sight of Lavinia and Tobias, all conversation ended
    abruptly. Everyone turned to look at the intruders from the guest
    floors.
    Tobias focused on the nearest person, a young maid in her night
    clothes.
    Where are the stairs to the roof?" he demanded.
    The girl gasped and went as still as a rabbit confronted by a wolf.
    She gaped at Tobias, eyes widening with fear. She made several
    attempts to speak but only managed a meaningless stammer.
    The roof, girl," Tobias repeated, voice accented with faint echoes
    of impending doom. Where is the bloody staircase?"
    Her companions retreated rapidly, leaving her to face Tobias
    alone.
    Tuh-puh-please, sir The girl stopped altogether when Tobias
    loomed closer. She looked as if she was about to burst into tears.
    Lavinia sighed. It was time to take charge.
    Enough, sir." She stepped between Tobias and the maid, who was
    now trembling visibly. You are terrifying her. Allow me to deal with
    this."
    Tobias came to a halt, clearly annoyed at having been deprived of
    his prey. He did not take his icy gaze off the shivering girl.
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    Very well," he growled to Lavinia. But be quick about it. There is
    no time to waste."
    She did not blame the poor maid, Lavinia thought. Tobias was
    extremely intimidating at the moment. His attitude tonight put her
    in mind of the first time she had met him.
    She recalled the occasion quite vividly. On that fateful night in
    Rome, he had swept into the small antiquities