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“Some
thing dangerous,” Connor replied bluntly. He had a bad feeling about this; a very bad feeling.
Tahlia searched through the papers and found the portrait. The haunting image was grotesque. She handled it warily as she studied the man’s face her uncle had drawn before she turned it to Oscar.
“He doesn’t look familiar to me,” she said with a frown.
“Count Anatoly Valentin,” Oscar murmured. “Never heard of him.”
Connor took the picture off her and studied it himself. The face that stared back at him could only be described as hardened. It made him wonder what history this man had. Determined to find out, he studied the name and then dropped the portrait back into the safe.
It was now evident that Tahlia was right in the centre of one of the Star Elite’s toughest investigations. It was probably the most dangerous position she could ever be in. If only he knew how to get her out of it. The morning’s events suddenly made a lot more sense. It horrified him to think of Tahlia in such danger, but knew she had had a lucky escape given who was after her. Sayers was ruthless; callous; cold-hearted; and about the worst kind of enemy anybody could have.
“Good Lord, Tahlia,” Connor murmured.
“Henry wouldn’t knowingly put you in danger,” Oscar offered.
“But he has, hasn’t he?” Tahlia argued. “You heard it. His letter is all about keeping things secrets, murder, and blackmail. How could he do this to me? Why didn’t he just get rid of the jewels himself when Balgravia died? Why did he keep them?”
“I know Balgravia’s widow went to stay with relatives for a while not long after the funeral. I think she was away from London for a long time. Maybe she wasn’t available for Henry to speak with, and there was nobody else he could give them to?” Connor offered. It seemed a reasonable explanation given the circumstances.
“What is the mudlark diamond?” Cecily asked.
“I don’t want to know,” Tahlia sighed. “I really don’t. Whatever all of this means has nothing to do with me.”
“Are you going to go?” Oscar asked.
Connor was already shaking his head but Tahlia ignored him.
“I have to,” she whispered.
“You can’t, it is far too dangerous,” Connor objected. “They know you have something valuable on you.”
“They who? Sayers? How does he even know I am in London? They wouldn’t waste several weeks watching the house, surely to goodness?” Tahlia protested.
“No, they would have burgled it by now. I need you to think carefully about who knew you were going to return to London,” Connor asked thoughtfully.
“Nobody, I have already told you. I didn’t even notify the solicitor. I have only been back two days,” she protested.
Connor had to concede she had a point. If nobody knew she was back then he had to reconsider what had happened this morning.
They looked at each other. He knew what she was thinking and studied the jewels on her lap.
“I think I need to speak to my colleagues. We need help with this,” he muttered.
“They were after you, weren’t they?” she whispered. “It wasn’t me they wanted to snatch off the street. It is why they left when they reached out for me. They realised it was me and not you and left. The shot at the door couldn’t have been aimed at me. You were in the doorway. It was you they were shooting at.”
There was a hint of accusation in her voice but he didn’t argue. He suspected she was right.
“Maybe the muggers wanted my bag and were working in the area this morning,” she offered hopefully. “It would explain why I got mugged in the alley by one man, while the one who tried to snatch my bag was different.”
Connor knew that muggers did take advantage of weather like this, and chose their victims well. Maybe they were so determined to steal her bag off her because she had very few jewels to steal. Maybe they targeted Tahlia because they thought she was alone.
But then Cecily was wandering around alone and nothing had happened to her, he reminded himself. However, it was clear from Cecily’s uniform that she was a servant. Maybe they didn’t bother with her because they thought she was working class.
Connor realised Cecily was still waiting for an answer.
“I have never heard of the mudlark diamond before. I suspect this Jeremiah Tate will be able to tell us more,” Connor replied.
