Mistress - Amanda Quick [121]
“It’s possible. Society breeds too many dangerously bored people, any number of which might find it titillating to use the information from Mrs. Wycherley’s files to wreak havoc in the ton.”
“Good heavens. What a terrible notion.”
“Not a pleasant one, I’ll grant you that.” Marcus had no intention of explaining the rest of his hypothesis.
What really worried him was that he had sensed a personal element about the mischief that had been produced tonight. It was almost as though someone had wanted vengeance.
Iphiginia’s eyes widened suddenly. “Aunt Zoe’s secret may be at risk again. This villain may choose to expose her past in order to create a furor.”
“It’s possible,” Marcus agreed.
“I must warn her.”
“There is nothing we can do now to stop the revelations, if that is what the villain intends.”
“Yes, I know, but poor Aunt Zoe. She will be devastated if her secret is revealed.”
“We shall see if we can locate her tonight and tell her what has happened. But it’s entirely possible the villain will take no further action for a while,” Marcus said. “He may wait to see if he achieved the desired effect from tonight’s little scene before he goes to the trouble of planning another such elaborate production.”
“Tonight’s work did take planning, did it not?”
“A considerable amount of it, I should think. Iphiginia, I’m beginning to have a few doubts about our earlier conclusion that Mrs. Wycherley was the blackmailer.”
“But Marcus, that makes no sense. It must have been her.”
“Perhaps. But in the morning I shall attempt to do something we have been unable to do until now.”
“What is that?”
“Obtain some further facts which may establish her guilt.”
“What sort of facts?”
Marcus contemplated a passing carriage. “I shall ask my man of affairs to look into a few matters.”
“Such as?”
“Such as who owns the premises used by the proprietor of Dr. Hardstaff’s Museum.”
Iphiginia blinked. “Surely Dr. Hardstaff owns it or rents it, whichever the case may be.”
“I believe it’s safe to say that Hardstaff is very likely a nom de guerre of sorts,” Marcus said dryly. “It is a most uncommon name.”
Iphiginia frowned. “It is rather unusual.”
“A bit too appropriate for his line of work.”
Iphiginia looked momentarily disconcerted. “Hardstaff. Yes, I see what you mean.”
“In any event, I think it’s time to dig a bit deeper.”
“What do you hope to find?” she asked.
“I do not know yet.”
Iphiginia fell silent for a few minutes. Marcus assumed she was mulling over the night’s events. He was contemplating the instructions he intended to give Barclay in the morning when she interrupted his thoughts.
“Marcus?”
“Yes?”
“Did you think that the Goddess of Manly Vigor on the right behind the transparency screen was a bit too thin?”
Marcus gave a crack of laughter. He reached out and pulled Iphiginia into his arms.
“Not in the least. I believe that she is precisely the tonic I require to maintain my manly vigor.”
They located Zoe at the Crandals’ ball. She and Lord Otis were just leaving the dance floor. They were both flushed from a lively waltz.
“ ’Evening, Iphiginia. Masters.” Otis’s eyebrows bobbed. “Didn’t know you were planning to attend this crush.”
Iphiginia looked at Zoe. “We must speak to you immediately.”
Zoe’s smile of welcome dissolved into an anxious expression. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Whoever killed Mrs. Wycherley appears to have acquired some of the information on her victims and is amusing himself by revealing their secrets,” Iphiginia said quietly.
“Oh, my God.” Zoe put her hand to her throat.
Otis gripped her arm in a supportive manner. “Calm yourself, m’dear. We can deal with this.”
Marcus took charge. “Let’s go out into the garden, where we can talk about this with some degree of privacy. There really is only one solution to this situation, you know.”
“We must tell the truth to Maryanne.” Otis’s whiskers twitched. “I told Zoe as much weeks ago when it all started. Chickens always come home to roost, I said.”
“But our precious Maryanne,” Zoe whispered in a shaky voice. “What