Crystal Gardens (16 page)

“Perhaps it is something he feels he must do,” Evangeline said, choosing her words with care.

“I think that you are right. The crimes he is asked to investigate are almost always the most dreadful of murders. Mama says normal, respectable people do not get involved in such affairs. She has always feared that if Lucas’s fascination with terrible crimes becomes known outside the family, it will prove a terrible embarrassment. She is afraid that Tony and I might no longer be received in polite society. Ha. As if Tony and I care a jot about the social world.”

“What of Mr. Rushton?” Evangeline asked. “Would he be concerned if he learned about Lucas’s true nature?”

“I’m sure he would not. Charles Rushton is a very modern-thinking man with a great interest in science and absolutely no interest in society. If and when he learns of Lucas’s talents, I’m sure he will want to study Lucas, just as Tony and I hope to do.”

“You haven’t told Mr. Rushton about Lucas’s abilities?”

“Heavens no.” Beth winked. “It’s a family secret, you see, which makes it all the more intriguing that you know of his talent. But, then, I suspect you have some psychical ability of your own.”

“Yes,” Evangeline said, “I do.”

“I was sure of it. Tony and I have been convinced for some time now that Lucas would not fall in love until he found a woman who understood him, a woman who possessed some talent herself.”

It was time to put things straight, Evangeline decided.

“You are mistaken,” she said. “Your brother did not bring me here because he is contemplating marriage to me.”

Beth looked skeptical. “Why, then?”

“Because someone is trying to murder me.”

“Good heavens.” Beth’s shock was plain. “Are you serious?”

“Very serious.” She decided to give Beth an edited version of events. “I rented Fern Gate Cottage for the month, you see. The night before last I was attacked by a man with a knife, a common street criminal who was hired by an unknown individual.”

“I do not know what to say. This is absolutely horrible. I had no idea.”

“I managed to flee here to the Gardens. Your brother saved me and now he feels a responsibility to protect me until we can find the person who hired the killer. That is why Stone traveled to London. To make inquiries on the streets.”

Beth absorbed that information in a surprisingly thoughtful silence.

“Hmm,”
she said at last.

“What?” Evangeline asked, wary.

Beth’s eyes gleamed with speculation. “I may lack psychical talent, Miss Ames, but even I can see that what Lucas feels for you goes far beyond a landlord’s sense of responsibility for a tenant.”

“I really don’t think so.”

“What happened to the man who attacked you with the knife?” Beth asked.

Evangeline cleared her throat and looked out toward the gazebo. “He ran off when Lucas appeared, straight into the gardens. Met with an accident.”

“Ah, so the plants got him.” Beth looked eminently satisfied. “Lucas did mention on one or two occasions that there were some interesting carnivorous hybrids developing here at Crystal Gardens. Tony and I expressed a desire to study them but Lucas said the foliage was becoming much too dangerous.”

“Forgive me, Beth, but you seem to be taking these rather bizarre events in stride.”

“It is my scientific nature, I suppose.” Beth winked. “In addition, I have known Lucas all my life. He thinks he has hidden most of his secrets from Tony and me but we are his brother and sister. We know far more about him than he realizes.”

W
hat on earth is going on, Lucas?” Florence sailed across the library like a battleship coming into harbor and docked in one of the chairs. She thumped the silver-handled cane on the carpet. “I think I am entitled to some answers.”

Lucas sat down behind his desk. “You spent over two hours on the train with Stone. I’m sure he gave you a summary of events.”

“No, he did not. Stone was in the second-class car. He is not the most talkative of men, in any event. I doubt he would have told us a thing if he had been sitting directly across from us.”

“Very well, in short, on the night before last Miss Ames was attacked at Fern Gate Cottage.”

Florence stared at him, dumbfounded. “Good Lord.”

“She survived the assault unhurt, as you can see, but I am keeping her here where she will be safe until I can track down the individual who hired the killer.”

“Good Lord,” Florence repeated. “This is … astonishing.” She blinked and then contemplated him with her raptor gaze. “But why do you feel it is your responsibility to protect her? Surely this is a matter for the police.”

“I thought I made it clear. Miss Ames was renting Fern Gate when she was attacked.”

“Yes, I know.” Florence frowned. “Oh, I see. You feel an obligation to protect her because she is a tenant? That’s a bit of a stretch, isn’t it?”

“The police are not bodyguards. There is no one else who can keep her safe until this affair is concluded.”

“I should have known this situation would be a good deal more complicated than one would have assumed.”

“I needed a chaperone here at the Gardens to provide an air of respectability.”

“Yes, yes, I understand.” Florence thumped the cane on the carpet a couple of times. “And to think that Beth and I rushed here today because we believed that you had found yourself a fiancée at long last.”

“Aunt Florence—”

“Really, you are so unpredictable, Lucas. Have you any notion why someone would want to murder Miss Ames?”

“Not yet. I am hoping Stone will have some news for me. He traveled to London to make inquiries. I intend to talk to him as soon as I have finished explaining matters to you. Why the devil did you bring Beth with you?”

“I had no choice. When I mentioned your telegram and told her that I was packing to take the train here, she insisted on coming along. You know how stubborn she can be.”

“Damn.” But he was more resigned than angry. “She can be difficult when she fixes on an objective.”

“Not unlike her older brother,” Florence observed. “However, in
this case I believe she was compelled only in part by her sense of curiosity. There were, I’m afraid, other forces at work.”

“Judith.”

“She has become obsessed with finding Beth a husband. Your sister is, after all, nineteen.”

“In her dotage. How sad.”

“That is not amusing,” Florence shot back. “It would not be wise to wait much longer. Next season she will be facing stiff competition from the new crop of young ladies who will be making their debut.”

“From the sound of things, Beth has already made her decision. I’ve met Charles Rushton. He’s a solid young man. Intelligent, modern-thinking and clearly head over heels in love with Beth.”

“He may be all those things, but he hasn’t got a penny to his name,” Florence said flatly. “Judith will never allow Beth to marry him. Let us return to the subject of Miss Ames.”

“What about her?”

“I don’t suppose she is related to Lord and Lady Ames of Pemberton Square?”

“I’m quite certain she is not. As far as Evangeline knows, she is alone in the world.”

Florence frowned. “She has no family at all?”

“Evidently not.”

“I see. How unfortunate. Well, judging by the gown she put on after she changed out of the housekeeper’s dress and apron, she appears to have some income. Someone must have left her some money. Most young ladies facing her prospects end up as governesses or hired companions.”

Lucas smiled. “Evangeline does, in fact, make her living as a paid companion.”

“You are joking, of course. There is no way she could afford clothes
like that, let alone the rent on the cottage, not on a companion’s income.”

“Evangeline is a very resourceful woman.”

Too late he realized how Florence might interpret his words.

Her eyes widened in horror. “Lucas Sebastian, surely you are not trying to tell me that she is
that sort of female.
I cannot believe that you are so lost to common decency as to keep your mistress here under your own roof.”

“Not another word, Florence.”
Lucas was on his feet, rage slashing through him. He flattened his hands on the desk. “I will allow no one, not even you, to insult Miss Ames. Is that clear?”

“Really, Lucas, this is a bit of an overreaction, don’t you think? I apologize if I mistook the situation but surely you can understand—”

“Is that clear?”
he repeated through set teeth. “If not, I will have Stone arrange to escort you into Little Dixby immediately. You can stay at an inn there until you take the train back to London tomorrow.”

Florence stared at him, the handle of the cane gripped very tightly in one gloved hand. “Lucas, please, you are frightening me.”

He closed his eyes and summoned his self-control. It took him a heartbeat or two but he got the fire inside extinguished. When he was certain he was in full command of himself he opened his eyes and sat down very deliberately.

“Perhaps it would be best if you went back to London, in any event,” he said coldly. “Beth’s presence in the household is sufficient to protect Miss Ames’s reputation.”

Florence said nothing for several seconds. Finally she cleared her throat.

“It won’t be necessary to send me back to London,” she said. “I will remain here. I apologize again for the misunderstanding.”

“Please yourself,” Lucas said. “But if you stay, it must be clearly
understood that there will be no more insults, veiled or otherwise, of Miss Ames.”

“You have made your wishes on that score quite clear.” Florence got to her feet. “If you will excuse me, I will go upstairs to make certain that Rose has got matters under control. Your young housekeeper seems eager enough but she is obviously not very experienced.”

Lucas stood again. He walked around the end of the desk, crossed the room and opened the door. Florence started past him. She paused and eyed him closely.

“Does Miss Ames really make her living as a hired companion?”

“Yes.”

Florence frowned. “No offense, but she does not strike one as your average paid companion.”

“No,” Lucas said. “She is not your average companion.”

“
Hmmph
. I expect one of her clients left her a handsome bequest. That would explain the expensive gown.”

Florence sailed out the door into the hall. Lucas thought about calling her back and explaining that Evangeline was actually an investigator for a private inquiry agency and that she had started a second career as a writer of sensation novels. He decided against it. Sometimes it was simpler and more efficient to let others come up with their own explanations.

A
n hour later Evangeline marched into the library to confront Lucas. When she saw that he was propped against the desk, talking to Stone, she hesitated in the doorway. Both men looked grim.

“I see you are busy, Mr. Sebastian,” she said. “I will come back later.”

“It’s all right,” Lucas said. “Stone has concluded his report. It appears we know a little more than we did before. Stone has employed one of his old acquaintances on the street to continue making inquiries.”

Evangeline looked at Stone. “Is that all?”

“No, Miss Ames,” Stone said. He looked at Lucas and waited.

Lucas took over. “Stone did discover that Sharpy Hobson grew up on the streets, as we assumed. Evidently he was a member of a small gang of three boys who survived in the traditional way, picking pockets and fencing stolen goods. They later moved on to more violent crimes. However, at some point two of the young men disappeared from the streets. No one knows what happened to them.”

“Everyone knows that the criminal underworld is a violent place,” Evangeline said. “Perhaps the two boys met bad ends. It would not be surprising.”

“Stone was able to discover that there are rumors that Hobson’s two associates managed to better themselves. They were brothers and the other street boys considered them both very clever. Evidently they were smart enough to get themselves off the streets. Hobson, however, lacked the desire to move up in the world.” Lucas folded his arms. “Word is he liked the kind of work he did on the streets.”