The Murders of Richard III - Elizabeth Peters [89]
Jacqueline raised her voice in song.
“ ‘When I, young friends, was called to the bar,
I’d an appetite fresh and hearty,
I was, as all young barristers are,
An impecunious party.’
“I was trying to give you a hint, and you made a nasty remark about my perfectly normal appetite,” she added severely. “You were very dim, Thomas.”
“I was obsessed by my own theory,” Thomas groaned. “I was sure Sir Richard had slipped a cog, and that he meant to kill Frank. I don’t know about you, Jacqueline, but when we first saw Frank flat on his face in the wine cellar, I was sure he was dead. That was the one ‘joke’ that could have gone wrong. And Frank was Edward of Lancaster, the first husband of the girl King Richard loved, as well as the fiancé of the girl Sir Richard loved…”
“That’s a good example of pseudopsychological Ricardian mishmash,” Jacqueline said critically. “Really, Thomas, you ought to know better. The brilliant, insane murderers are in books. In real life people kill for practical reasons.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Thomas shouted. “Just tell me! You let the thing go on—you knew Weldon was in danger—”
“I’ll never criticize detective stories again,” Jacqueline said. “It was impossible to tell you, Thomas, with everyone wandering around the room. I couldn’t hiss, ‘Frank is the comedian and he’s planning to murder Sir Richard,’ now could I? You would have thought I was crazy. You wanted to think I was crazy. You wouldn’t have believed me without a long, detailed buildup such as the one I’ve just given you. And…”
Her voice changed, and so did her expression. Watching the still, austere face, Thomas felt a chill. He had never seen this facet of Jacqueline’s personality before.
“I had decided, by then, that it was necessary to let him proceed,” she said quietly. “I chickened out, at first, and tried to talk Sir Richard into breaking up the house party. That would have eliminated the immediate danger; but if Frank meant to kill, he would have tried again. There was no proof. The only way to ensure Sir Richard’s safety was to let Frank go ahead and catch him in the act.”
“So you risked Weldon’s life.”
“I had to. The man who will kill for money may kill again. If I let Frank get away this time, I was risking not only Sir Richard’s life, but Liz’s as well—and God knows how many other lives that might one day stand between Frank and what he wanted. I hoped to stop Frank before he killed; but I was sure of convicting him whether he succeeded or failed. It was, if you like, a ruthless act. But the alternative was worse.”
The rector was the first to speak.
“It was not ruthless,” he said. “But it was—if you will forgive me—arrogant. ‘Vengeance is mine….’ ”
“I’m not justifying my decision,” Jacqueline said. “I’m not such a hypocrite as that. I act as I must—and I pay for my mistakes, Mr. Ellis.”
“We all pay,” Strangways said. “But few of us have the guts, or the naked honesty, to eschew pious rationalizations.”
Jacqueline looked at him. Thomas didn’t like the look; it was almost kindly. He coughed. Jacqueline glanced at him, and then reached down into her purse. Thomas watched, fascinated. What would emerge from the unknown depths now?
A paperweight emerged. Shaped like a replica of Barnard Castle, it was made of bronze and measured approximately eight inches square.
“Goodness, that’s heavy,” Jacqueline said, putting the object back on the table where it normally stood.
“I wouldn’t have thought you’d need that,” said Thomas. “Your purse must weigh twenty pounds in its normal state.”
“It’s a very effective weapon,” Jacqueline said calmly. “I prowl the campus by night, hoping to be attacked by muggers.”
II
Monday morning is supposed to be a dismal time, but on this particular Monday, Thomas’s mood was almost cloudless. The sun was shining, which in England is enough to make anyone euphoric. Sir Richard was coming along well, and his near brush with death had won him the girl he loved. Very romantic.
As for Thomas’s own romantic