A Scandal Most Daring

Everyone agreed.

“I will create a sketch of the man we met. Everyone needs to know who to look out for,” Connor replied darkly.

“I think the original Mr Tate may have been murdered because he knew something that was a danger to Sayers,” Barnaby muttered. “Do you think it has something to do with the mudlark diamond?”

Connor sighed. “Henry’s left the information for Tahlia several weeks ago. Maybe Mr Tate was silenced because he was part of this Gem Society. Maybe he heard the same news as Henry, and was silenced. Who knows? Without a list of the members of the Gem Society, we have no way of knowing if someone is killing them all one by one.”

“We need to find out about this Valentin,” Barnaby warned. “I cannot help but feel that his picture being with the note Henry left with Tahlia is significant. I mean, why go to the time and trouble to draw that kind of detailed picture of someone, and leave it for a relative who doesn’t even live in the area?”

“It is significant to the contents of the note,” Isaac nodded.

“This Valentin might have something to do with the mudlark diamond,” Connor muttered.

“So let’s find Valentin,” Barnaby suggested. He gave Connor a pointed look. “You are not invited.”

Connor nodded. He didn’t mind one bit. “I need to go back to Rutland.”

He explained about Joseph. “I need to go and see him. He is my son.”

Together, Barnaby and Isaac nodded, and shook his hand in congratulations. They understood the man’s need to stick closer to home now, and were happy that he had so much waiting for him in his future.

“You need to stick close to Tahlia. I don’t want anyone breaking in there,” Barnaby warned.

“I have checked the windows and doors already. There are no signs of anyone fiddling with the locks as yet,” Connor reported.

Nobody said anything, but everyone understood that the gunman’s target earlier was most probably Connor, not Tahlia. If the attackers were so desperate to silence her they could have broken into Gillingham House last night and murdered her just as ruthlessly as poor Mr Tate.

“Let’s get you out of London,” Barnaby sighed. “First, you need to stay in the house for tonight. Stay out of sight. Keep an eye on Tahlia. We will put word out about Valentin, and circulate the pictures of him and Tate amongst the men so they know who they are looking for. I will speak with Henry’s doctor and arrange for a death certificate for Mr Tate. For now, I think we need to keep his death confidential. I hope that tomorrow morning will bring us the results of the valuation on the jewellery Tahlia received. For now, they will be kept in the War Office out of the way. Someone is going to check if they match any of the items reported stolen. We will keep Balgravia’s gems for now. They can be returned to the widow once we can be certain they were his.”

“And a partridge in a pear tree,” Isaac sighed as he turned to leave. “Let’s get out of here. With the amount of work we have to do we are going to need all the rest we can get.”

Connor nodded. It would take a couple of days before a secure passage could be arranged for him and Tahlia out of London. Until then he had plenty of time with her in the house to discuss their future. As he stepped out into the night, Connor ran a weary hand down his face and actually felt a yearning to return to her. He wanted to be at home where it was dry, warm, and smelled much better.

“I wonder why they didn’t leave the scene of the murder as soon as the man was dead?”

“The man hasn’t been dead long. Maybe you arrived before they could leave.”

“Leave him on the bed. We can get the doctor to confirm the cause of death in the morning. He is going nowhere,” Barnaby ordered.

“I wonder whether Tate heard about the mudlark diamond and was silenced before he could tell anyone in authority who is in possession of it,” Isaac suggested.

“I don’t know if I am getting paranoid or not but I can actually smell Sayers in all of this. This has his hallmarks written all over it,” Connor mused. “Not only do we have a body that has been strangled, just like everyone

else Sayers has taken offense to, but we have a series of mysteries all of which surround gems and stolen jewels. This Valentin sounds just like the kind of ruse Sayers would come up with.”

“I bloody hope so,” Barnaby grunted. “I mean, if he is this Valentin fellow then we have a picture of him.”

Everybody paused and looked at each other.

“I wonder-” Isaac whispered.

Connor snorted. “Valentin sounds Russian. God, that is right up Sayers’ street. He would love being able to move about aristocracy posing as a Russian Count. He could be flamboyant right under everyone’s noses and nobody would know who he is. Everybody would point and stare at the foreign creature without realising they were looking at one of London’s notorious criminals. Not only that, but he was sizing their jewels up and deciding which he wanted to steal.”

“It’s a genius, and very courageous plan,” Barnaby murmured, impressed at the logic.

He considered the possibility for several moments but couldn’t find any holes in the theory. In fact, he rather felt that Sayers would do something like that. He would love being able to move about right under the ton’s noses and not be seen.

“It would explain how Sayers has managed to come into contact with so many wealthy and titled ladies and gentlemen, and identify the best of the jewels. How else would someone like him be in a position to blackmail Balgravia? I have no doubt it was Sayers trying to blackmail him. We just don’t know what gossip Sayers might have heard,” Isaac mused.