to question me.”
“Hastings employs guards?”
“Yes.”
“How very odd.”
“He has good reason. It transpires that he is not just an investor in a brothel. It appears that he is also a blackmailer who has been extorting money from some very distinguished families.”
Emma stared at her, shocked. “Never say so.”
“There is worse to come. Mr. Stalbridge believes that Hastings murdered his fiancée, Fiona Risby. He suspects that Hastings also killed his own wife.”
Emma sat down abruptly and gripped the arms of the chair.
“Tell me everything, dear,” she said. “Right from the start.”
Louisa gave her a quick summary of events.
Emma listened intently and then sat back. “This is astonishing. Absolutely stunning. And here I thought you’d set off for a romantic tryst. I was so happy for you, dear. I admit I was somewhat concerned because the man in question was Anthony Stalbridge. Nevertheless, I thought it was a good sign that you were starting to emerge from your shell.”
“I have told you on numerous occasions that I have no plans to emerge from my shell. At least not in the sense that you mean.”
“Rubbish. You just haven’t found the right man.” Emma frowned. “But enough of that. What is your opinion of this business about Hastings being a murderer?”
Louisa drummed her fingers on the desk. “To be honest, I do not know what to think. There is no doubt that Hastings has a financial interest in Phoenix House, and it seems clear that he is also a blackmailer, but I am not at all certain that we can leap to the conclusion that he murdered Fiona Risby.”
“I agree. Her death was, by all accounts, a suicide.” Emma considered briefly. “But there is that necklace Stalbridge found in Hastings’s safe. Emeralds and diamonds set in gold, you say?”
“Yes. It looked quite valuable. At this point, however, I have only Mr. Stalbridge’s word that it belonged to Fiona. Even if that proves to be true, it no longer constitutes proof of Hastings’s guilt now that it has been removed from the safe.”
Emma gave a ladylike snort. “Stalbridge was right about one thing: Leaving it in the safe would have served no purpose. If Hastings really is guilty of murder, he is hardly likely to allow the police to search his house.”
“And even if it were found in the house, I’ve no doubt that Hastings would be able to provide some explanation. He could always claim that the necklace belonged to his first wife, who had admired the Risby necklace and had ordered an exact copy from a jeweler.”
“Not that Victoria Hastings would have worn a copy of anyone else’s jewelry,” Emma said dryly. “She was a lady who set the fashion. She did not follow it.”
“I recall that you mentioned she was noted for her sense of style.”
“Yes. She was a very beautiful woman.”
Louisa quickly opened her notebook to the pages labeled VH. At the start of the investigation into Hastings’s business affairs she had asked Emma for some background information on Hastings and his first wife. She had also interviewed the lady’s maid who had worked for Victoria Hastings.
There were not many notes on Victoria. At the time she had not considered the first Mrs. Hastings important, but in hindsight a couple of phrases took on new meaning.
She ran her finger down a page of her own cryptic handwriting and paused.
“You mentioned that she was one of the few women you had met who knew how to swim,” she said.
“She was the only woman I ever met, aside from myself, who knew how to swim,” Emma stated. “It is not a skill that many females ever learn.”
“That would seem to lend credence to Mr. Stalbridge’s theory that she may have been murdered. Why would a woman who could swim choose to jump off a bridge as a means of suicide?”
“Any woman, skilled swimmer or not, who leaped into the river fully clothed would likely drown,” Emma pointed out. “A fashionable lady
“Hastings employs guards?”
“Yes.”
“How very odd.”
“He has good reason. It transpires that he is not just an investor in a brothel. It appears that he is also a blackmailer who has been extorting money from some very distinguished families.”
Emma stared at her, shocked. “Never say so.”
“There is worse to come. Mr. Stalbridge believes that Hastings murdered his fiancée, Fiona Risby. He suspects that Hastings also killed his own wife.”
Emma sat down abruptly and gripped the arms of the chair.
“Tell me everything, dear,” she said. “Right from the start.”
Louisa gave her a quick summary of events.
Emma listened intently and then sat back. “This is astonishing. Absolutely stunning. And here I thought you’d set off for a romantic tryst. I was so happy for you, dear. I admit I was somewhat concerned because the man in question was Anthony Stalbridge. Nevertheless, I thought it was a good sign that you were starting to emerge from your shell.”
“I have told you on numerous occasions that I have no plans to emerge from my shell. At least not in the sense that you mean.”
“Rubbish. You just haven’t found the right man.” Emma frowned. “But enough of that. What is your opinion of this business about Hastings being a murderer?”
Louisa drummed her fingers on the desk. “To be honest, I do not know what to think. There is no doubt that Hastings has a financial interest in Phoenix House, and it seems clear that he is also a blackmailer, but I am not at all certain that we can leap to the conclusion that he murdered Fiona Risby.”
“I agree. Her death was, by all accounts, a suicide.” Emma considered briefly. “But there is that necklace Stalbridge found in Hastings’s safe. Emeralds and diamonds set in gold, you say?”
“Yes. It looked quite valuable. At this point, however, I have only Mr. Stalbridge’s word that it belonged to Fiona. Even if that proves to be true, it no longer constitutes proof of Hastings’s guilt now that it has been removed from the safe.”
Emma gave a ladylike snort. “Stalbridge was right about one thing: Leaving it in the safe would have served no purpose. If Hastings really is guilty of murder, he is hardly likely to allow the police to search his house.”
“And even if it were found in the house, I’ve no doubt that Hastings would be able to provide some explanation. He could always claim that the necklace belonged to his first wife, who had admired the Risby necklace and had ordered an exact copy from a jeweler.”
“Not that Victoria Hastings would have worn a copy of anyone else’s jewelry,” Emma said dryly. “She was a lady who set the fashion. She did not follow it.”
“I recall that you mentioned she was noted for her sense of style.”
“Yes. She was a very beautiful woman.”
Louisa quickly opened her notebook to the pages labeled VH. At the start of the investigation into Hastings’s business affairs she had asked Emma for some background information on Hastings and his first wife. She had also interviewed the lady’s maid who had worked for Victoria Hastings.
There were not many notes on Victoria. At the time she had not considered the first Mrs. Hastings important, but in hindsight a couple of phrases took on new meaning.
She ran her finger down a page of her own cryptic handwriting and paused.
“You mentioned that she was one of the few women you had met who knew how to swim,” she said.
“She was the only woman I ever met, aside from myself, who knew how to swim,” Emma stated. “It is not a skill that many females ever learn.”
“That would seem to lend credence to Mr. Stalbridge’s theory that she may have been murdered. Why would a woman who could swim choose to jump off a bridge as a means of suicide?”
“Any woman, skilled swimmer or not, who leaped into the river fully clothed would likely drown,” Emma pointed out. “A fashionable lady
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