Page 13 of Schemes & Scandals

Okay, she’s not as naive as she seemed with her earlier comments on honor. She has a point here. A good one.

“Can you pay?” I say.

She bristles. “I do not wish to.”

“Let me rephrase that. I’m asking whether you could afford to and how easily.”

She pauses and then says, “It is not what I consider pocket change, but it would hardly put me in the poorhouse. But even if itwerepocket change, I do not wish to pay.”

“I agree. You could pay this person and get the letters back, only to have them threaten you again with copies they have made. The only way to stop this is to uncover the blackmailer’s identity.” I take one last bite of potato. “How long do you have?”

“Only until Hogmanay. I received the demand a week ago, but I have been dithering, trying to determine what to do about it.”

“May we see the blackmail letter now?” I ask.

“Certainly.”

ChapterSix

Lady Inglis brings us the letter over dessert. I note that it is coconut cake, one of Gray’s favorites.

The letter has been pasted together from words in a newspaper. I’m impressed by that. I’ve only seen such things in movies, with ransom demands and the like, and it seems like a Hollywood invention, but I realize now it would date to a time before you could easily print off—or even type up—a letter.

We’ve had two cases now where handwriting played a role. If notes must be written by hand, even disguising penmanship is a tricky business. This person has been clever, cutting words from a newspaper.

Lady Inglis

Enclosed you will find a letter of yours that has come into my possession, along with others. I will return them for £500. I require the fee by Hogmanay, or I shall have them printed and sold. I do not think you or the recipient wish that.

On the morn of December 31, I will send along instructions for payment.

I read it again, and I must have grumbled under my breath because Gray says, “Something is wrong?”

I point at the last line. “This. The trickiest part about demanding a ransom is that you need to get the money somehow. You can specify a location to drop it off or a person to leave it with. Either provides a possible way to catch the blackmailer.”

“Drop off the money and then wait to see who fetches it. If it is to be left with a person, question them.”

“Because even if they’ve only been hired as an intermediary,theyneed to get the money to the blackmailer somehow.”

Lady Inglis asks, “Is that the way to catch them, then? Wait for instructions?”

I shake my head. “Too risky, except as a last resort. They didn’t leave much time between receiving instructions and following them. You’d need to pay and hope we catch the blackmailer.” I cut off a mouthful-sized piece of my cake. “Instead of treating this as blackmail, we need to treat it as theft.”

“Find out who stole the letters,” Gray says.

“Yes. If we decide to take the case, I will need the name of your friend and his consent to be both interviewed and have the location of the theft examined.”

“I will speak to him. I do not expect a problem. He is most distraught about this. Any reluctance to share his name is simply discretion, at least as much for my benefit as for his.”

“I understand,” I say. “If we take this case, you can be assured ofourdiscretion. I’m not going to help a woman avoid exposure only to expose her myself. Before we agree to the case, Dr. Gray and I need to discuss the matter. We’ll have an answer for you by this evening.”

“Thank you. Now, we should discuss payment.”

“Unnecessary,” Gray says. “Consider it a favor between friends.”

She fixes him with a steady look. “First, I believe I already clarified my feelings on owing men a debt for defending my honor. Second, as Miss Mitchell seems to be the one handling my case thus far, ought you to be turning down payment on her behalf?”

Gray had the grace to color at that. “Of course not. You may pay Miss Mitchell.”

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