‘That was no accident, was it?’ I sounded surprisingly calm to my own ears. Last time I had literally fallen into the attack on Lucian. This time it had been personal. I looked down at my hands and saw that the palms of both gloves had been shredded.
‘No. I looked up St James’s and that carriage was coming down at a walk, otherwise I would have let it pass. I suspect they were shadowing us all the way down the street until we crossed.’
‘Which means someone has had a carriage waiting and watching just on the off-chance that we would come out. No-one knew that we were going to church, let alone that we would walk there.’
‘It was a reasonable guess, given the good weather and the number of churches close by. And it is probable that we would have gone for a stroll anyway.’ Lucian stripped off his gloves and flexed his hands.
‘Someone is getting desperate.’
‘And that is not good.’ I must have made some sound, a snort at the statement of the obvious perhaps, because he explained. ‘Not good because it confirms that whatever has happened to Arabella is serious enough to make murder an acceptable risk in order to conceal it. On the other hand, we must be getting close to something. I just wish I knew what it was.’
We were already at Albany, both porters running down the steps at the sight of the coat of arms on the carriage doors. It took even Lucian some time to shake off the well-intentioned efforts of royal grooms and anxious porters to have us carried over the threshold, but finally we were at the door.
It swung open as the key grated in the lock to reveal Garrick looking uncharacteristically ruffled.
‘My lord? Bloody h– er… Are you hurt my lord? Miss Lawrence?’
‘Battered and bruised and exceedingly lucky,’ Lucian said, shepherding me inside. ‘If it were not for Miss Lawrence’s completely inappropriate interest in shops which no young lady should actually notice, let alone peer into, we would have been flattened by a carriage and pair outside the palace. As it was we escaped as you see, but Miss Lawrence suffered Prinny’s helpful attentions which can only have aggravated the shock.’
‘Aggravation is certainly the word. Dreadful man.’ I was about to launch into a rant when I realised that Garrick had been on edge as he opened the door and certainly before he could have taken in our dishevelled state. ‘What is wrong, Garrick?’
‘Miss Trenton’s maid, Martha Toms, is in the drawing room, my lord. She says she is too frightened to return.’
‘How did she get here?’ Lucian said. His aches and pains seemed to be forgotten and he looked sharply alert.
‘An urchin came the front desk with a note for you. Under the circumstances I thought it best to open it in case it was a message from Miss Trenton. I went and found Toms hiding behind some builders’ materials in the yard. I am fairly confident that no-one saw us.’
‘Right, then let us see what she has to say for herself.’
‘All of us?’ I asked as he strode towards the drawing room. ‘She might be frightened with so many of us.’
‘Garrick, we will stand outside the door. I will leave it ajar, it would be prudent to have collaboration of what she says.’
In case this comes to court? My stomach cramped at the reminder that this might turn out to be a criminal case with a dead woman at the end of the search.
I moved past them, opened the door and went in. I wanted Martha off-balance and it seemed I succeeded. She gave a little scream and jumped to her feet. A thin black cloak lay over the back of the chair and she was still wearing her maid’s white apron over her dress.
‘Oh! Miss, you didn’t half give me a fright.’ Her pert little face was pale and strained and she did not look so pretty any more.
‘Why have you come here, Martha?’ I asked.
Chapter Seventeen
‘I was scared, Miss.’
‘I am not surprised.’ She looked up, wide-eyed. ‘I know you were lying. Now, tell us what really happened the night that Miss Trenton left. The truth this time.’
‘But I told you, Miss.’ She was wringing her hands.
‘You lied to me,’ I retorted. ‘I know most of it now, enough to know if you lie again. If you tell me the truth, all of it, now, I may be able to save you from prison.’ I thought I sounded confident but I was playing with absolutely no cards in my hand at all, other than a deep suspicion about the drugged milk and the knowledge that prisons were so terrible that the merest suggestion that she might end up in one would be a powerful threat.
‘Prison?’ she wavered.
‘That is what you are frightened of, isn’t it?’
‘No! No, Miss, I didn’t do nothing wrong, not on purpose. But someone’s trying to kill me.’
‘What?’