The Sign of Death (Victorian Book Club Mystery 2)

“Yes. Do you know Mr. Davidson’s first name?”

William shook his head. “I don’t think I do. I never heard him referred to as anything but Mr. Davidson. That should be easy enough to discover, however. If it is our Mr. Davidson, that makes two people in our book club that were being blackmailed by Harding.”

Amy nodded. “Who would think quiet book club members would have done something so horrid that they were willing to pay Mr. Harding to keep his mouth closed?”

“You never know, do you?” His thoughts immediately went to Mr. Colbert, who was also a very benign, innocuous sort of man, and was also interested in his mother. It would do well to investigate him too. After they found the murderer. “I think our next step is to see if this man is our Mr. Davidson, and if he is, do some investigation on him.”

“I agree, since it appears the police have no intention of doing their job correctly and fairly.” Amy tapped her chin. “Davidson is almost always at the Assembly. Since I’ve never seen him dance with anyone and he’s not terribly social, I’ve often wondered why he attends. But I suggest we spend some time with him tomorrow night.” Amy paused. “Were you planning on going?”

“I have no choice. I must conduct my life as if nothing were wrong. If I hide away, it won’t help our investigation and may start some talk. I want this kept quiet until we can resolve it. My business reputation has already been smeared, thanks to Mr. Harding. I have hired a new man of business, Mr. Frank Wilson, who was recommended to me by your father. He is working with my solicitor to get things straightened out.”

“Then we shall attend the Assembly and see what we can learn.”

“Hopefully no one else will be murdered before then, or I may be passing the time tomorrow night in jail.”

CHAPTER 27

William had been attending the Saturday night dances for years, but never had he felt so unsure of himself as he did upon entering the well-known Assembly rooms this night.

Almost as if she understood his dilemma, Amy squeezed his arm as they stepped into the room. Everything looked normal, and no one was staring at him or gasping in horror.

“No one knows, William,” Amy whispered. For some blessed reason, his arrest had not been in the newspapers. He was certain Mr. Nelson-Graves had something to do with that. Word of a peer’s arrest would undoubtedly spread like wildfire around the city, but nothing here seemed out of the ordinary.

He breathed a sigh of relief and walked them both to the small circle of book club friends who always made it to these events. He was pleased to see that Mr. Davidson and his friend Mr. Rawlings were part of the group.

Mr. Colbert had arrived earlier at the Wethington townhouse to escort his mother to the dance. William was happy to see them standing with the others. Mr. Colbert had not absconded with William’s mother. Then he scolded himself for being so very suspicious of a man he’d known for years as an upstanding member of society and the book club.

But then, William was also considered an upstanding member of society and of the book club. And he had two murder charges as well as some shady business dealings hanging over his head.

“Good evening, everyone.” William and Amy both spoke at once. They received return greetings, nods, and welcomes.

The group chatted for a while, giving opinions on the book the club members were currently reading. The music started up, and Amy looked at Mr. Davidson. “Mr. Davidson, I have never seen you on the dance floor. Would you care to partner with me in this dance?”

Davidson looked like he was about to be executed. Or was about to bring up his dinner. Mr. Rawlings, standing next to him, nudged him in his ribs. “Go dance, George.”

Amy flicked her eyes at William, who was staring back at her. They had already answered their first question. The chances of there being more than one George Davidson were much lower than the chances of there being more than one Mr. Davidson.

Mr. Davidson ran his finger along the inside of his cravat and nodded. Instead of taking Amy’s arm, he turned and walked to the area where the other dancers were gathering. Amy looked over at William and shrugged, then followed the man.

The dance would not allow for much conversation between Amy and Davidson. Even in the few years William had been attending the Assemblies, balls had seen the great variety of dances from the past dwindle to just the waltz and the two-step. The Bath Assembly, however, had kept many of the older dances alive, and this one was a cotillion.

William watched Amy and Mr. Davidson dance and noted that the man was surprisingly adept at the movements. That left him wondering why he never indulged in dancing. He glanced over at Mr. Rawlings, who watched every move Davidson made.

Theirs seemed to be a strange relationship.

“William, I heard from Atkinson and Tucker that there seems to be a problem with E. D. Burton appearing at our book fair,” Mr. Colbert said.

“Indeed?” William thought back on Lord Winchester’s attempt to get him to agree to hire someone to take Amy’s place at the book event. He hoped it would be resolved and Amy would be granted her due.

“Did they say what the problem was?”

Mr. Colbert shook his head. “No. They only said there was an issue with the author. It’s quite possible the man is elderly and doesn’t possess the stamina to deal with such an event. As far as I know, no one has ever seen him.”

William merely nodded, since there was nothing he could contribute to the conversation. Once the dance ended, Davidson walked with Amy back to the group and mumbled, “Excuse me, my lady, I need some fresh air,” and made a beeline for the front door, leaving Amy behind, and moving so quickly that one would think he was being pursued by wild animals.

“That was fun,” she said. “I believe I would enjoy a glass of lemonade, my lord. Would you care to accompany me?”

William took her arm, and they both moved away from the circle and headed toward the refreshment table. “It appears Davidson is a fairly good dancer,” Amy said.