“Oh, no, she never allowed that. She told me he just liked to be part of her performance.”
“Did she say such things to other people?” Solomon asked.
“No, no, she was very discreet.”
Except with Mary Webb and Rose Samuels.“Did he send flowers to her dressing room?”
“If he did, it was anonymously.”
“On Monday evening, when she arrived at the theatre, did she bring flowers with her?”
“Monday? Yes, I think it was Monday she arrived with a dozen red roses. I put them in water for her.”
Solomon looked around the room again. There were droopy white roses and a multitude of other species, but nothing that resembled a dozen red roses in any condition. “When did she take them home with her?”
Rose raised her eyebrows in clear surprise. “She didn’t. She asked me to throw them out on Wednesday evening because they were smelling bad—I’d forgotten to change the water, and roses don’t really thrive in here. Not enough sun…”
Solomon exchanged a glance with Constance.
“Where did you put them?” she asked pleasantly.
“I squashed them into the dustbin outside.”
The roses in Caterina’s bedroom had certainly never been squashed. If she had brought them into her house, they had not been Darrow’s.
“When you helped Mrs. di Ripoli to dress,” Constance said, “did you ever notice marks on her person?”
Rose frowned. “What sort of marks?”
“Any sort—bruises, cuts, swellings…”
“No.” Rose looked more bewildered than outraged. “Never that I can recall.”
“Did you ever get the impression she was afraid of anyone?”
Rose smiled. “Caterina? Lord, no. She wasn’t frightened of anyone or anything.”
“Not even her husband?”
Rose paused, her lips already parted to reply. After an instant, she said, “Well, she was afraid of his not thinking well of her.”
“You mean if he found out about Mr. Darrow?”
“Exactly.”
“What about Mr. Darrow?” Solomon said. “Did she ever seem afraid of him?”
Rose shook her head emphatically. “Oh, no.”
“Tell us,” Solomon said, “about Mrs. di Ripoli’s understudy.”
“Ellen? She’s talented—lacks just a little certainty in the upper ranges, and obviously she doesn’t have Caterina’s stage presence. But she has a very promising future, especially if she manages the part of Gilda tonight.”
“Is she ambitious?”
Rose smiled. “Of course she is.”
“Were she and Mrs. di Ripoli friends?”
