Page 25 of Dead Beside the Thames
Napier rang for the butler, and with genial farewells, they left Napier in his study, smiling at his whip, and quit the house.
Charlie paused on the pavement outside, and Claudia halted beside him and quietly said, “He might have considered protecting his son worth handing over that whip, but…”
Charlie grimaced. “Handing Sedbury that particular whip definitely hurt.”
“So Napier remains on the suspect list?”
Charlie met her gaze. “In the circumstances, we have to let Stokes—and Barnaby and Penelope—know what we’ve learned. We can leave it to them to decide what weight to attach to the information.”
Claudia inclined her head in agreement. She wanted as many names on the suspect list as possible, and while she doubted Napier had had any hand in Sedbury’s murder, she was content that he remained in contention. “In that case”—she placed her hand on Charlie’s sleeve and turned to where Fosdyke was waiting with the carriage—“we had better go and report our findings.” That would also bring her up to date with anything the investigation had uncovered. She glanced at Charlie. “Where to?”
Obligingly, he steered her to the carriage. “Barnaby and Penelope’s house in Albemarle Street.”
Penelope was standing at the drawing-room window, idly looking out at the street, when a small unmarked black town carriage driven by an exceedingly large and burly coachman drew up outside their door.
Eagerness seized her; at last, some news!
As she watched, the coachman climbed down to the pavement and opened the carriage door, and the last of the waning afternoon light fell on his face and illuminated the gash above his eyebrow. She was making a mental note not to forget to investigate the large, strong coachman with the damaged facewhen, to her considerable surprise, Charlie descended from the carriage and handed Claudia down.
Penelope stepped away from the window. “I didn’t know they knew each other.”
The doorbell pealed, and she heard Mostyn open the door, and seconds later, Claudia came into the room with Charlie in her wake.
Penelope’s mind seethed with possibilities as she smiled in welcome. “I’m glad you could join us.” She touched fingers with Claudia, nodded to Charlie, then waved them to seats. “Barnaby said he’d fetch Stokes. They should be here soon.” Resuming her customary place on one of the two long sofas, the instant her guests had settled—Claudia on the sofa opposite and Charlie in an armchair—she asked, “Am I to take it you have fresh information?”
Charlie exchanged a glance with Claudia. “We’ve learned a thing or two,” he said, “and we thought we should come and report.”
Penelope was about to encourage them to tell her all—and by all, she meantall—but just at that moment, they heard the front door open and the rumble of familiar voices as Barnaby and Stokes entered the house.
A minute later, after divesting themselves of coats and hats, the pair strolled into the drawing room.
Stokes surveyed the company, then nodded to Claudia. “Lady Claudia. I hadn’t expected to see you so soon.”
Claudia smiled. “Please, just Claudia. And I came upon Mr. Hastings, who was helping my brothers sort through Sedbury’s things, and he discovered an anomaly in Sedbury’s whip collection that he and I subsequently followed up.”
“We thought we should let you know what we found,” Charlie put in.
“Good.” Stokes sank into the armchair beside the one Charlie occupied.
Penelope suspected Stokes was a trifle leery of Claudia’s unexpected presence, yet at the same time, he wanted to hear any information she was willing to share.
After exchanging polite nods with Claudia, Barnaby sat on the sofa beside Penelope.
The instant he did, she opened her lips to start questioning Claudia only to hear Stokes declare, “A round of reports seems in order.” His gray gaze fixed on Penelope. “You first, I think. I’m keen to hear what your usual sources had to say.”
She inwardly heaved a put-upon sigh but, deciding that the fastest way to learning everyone else’s news was to share her own, she marshalled her thoughts, then looked at Claudia. “Claudia, I apologize in advance for any aspersions implied by what I have to report, but at this stage of an investigation, it’s imperative that everyone who could possibly have a motive is identified.”
Claudia’s faint grimace assured Penelope that Claudia was well aware of the familial secrets Penelope was about to reveal. Claudia inclined her head. “I understand.”
Penelope drew breath and commenced, “First, I have yet to meet or hear of anyone who feels even an iota of grief over Sedbury’s death, which is remarkable in and of itself. I’ve been told that the reason I never met him socially is that despite being the heir to a marquessate, by the time I made my come-out, he’d already been struck off the hostesses’ lists. It’s also common knowledge, backed by first-hand evidence, that Sedbury was set on disowning the rest of the Hale family the instant he inherited the title. Consequently, every single member of the family, from the marquess himself to Claudia’s youngest brother, Conrad, can be said to have had a powerful motive to do away with Sedbury. Against that, however, as one of my ladies observed,the question arises as to why any of them waited until now to act, as Sedbury’s stance regarding the family has been known for years.” She glanced at Claudia. “Have I got all that right?”
Somewhat stiffly, Claudia nodded. “All of what you’ve said so far is unarguable.”
“In addition, there’s a general view that Sedbury’s shadow, as it were, has stymied the marriage prospects of his half siblings—specifically Jonathon and Claudia, but that would also apply to Bryan and Margot, who will shortly make her come-out. So I believe it’s fair to state that all of the family and all those who are their active supporters had strong reasons for wishing Sedbury dead.”
Penelope paused, reviewing her list of revelations yet to be made. “All of that speaks to a major motive that applies to every member of the family. However, we have at least two members with additional motives specific to them.” She raised a hand and ticked them off on her fingers. “Jonathon, who Sedbury specifically and consistently goaded, including whatever was behind that unfinished letter. And Bryan, whose future wife Sedbury was doing his damnedest to steal.
“So that’s the family.” She blew out a breath and went on, “To that list, we apparently need to add a very large number of ton figures known to have had their lives adversely impacted by Sedbury.” She looked at Stokes, who had been scribbling in his notebook. “And yes, it seems all those occurrences are of the ilk to give rise to sufficient motive for Sedbury’s murder.”
