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Chapter 24
When Jeffrey arrived back at his estate, he once again found Peter awaiting him in the parlour. He held a glass of Scotch and swirled it, his eyes cast towards the window. When Jeffrey appeared beside him, Peter said, “It’s a remarkable thing, isn’t it? Now that your parlour actually has chairs on which to sit?”
“It seems a basic human right to be allowed such a thing,” Jeffrey said with a laugh.
“How did it go in town? Did you speak to anyone at the brasserie?”
In recent days, Jeffrey had updated Peter still more about the happenings between himself and Charlotte—along with their attempt to bring justice to his brother’s murderer.
“It seems in-line with our current understanding of the mystic,” he said.
Peter clucked his tongue. “I have good news for you, then.”
“What’s happened?”
“I wanted to leave it as a surprise until I knew for certain,” Peter said. “You know that I’ve wanted to help in any way I could throughout these tremendously horrendous affairs.”
“Indeed. And I’m forever grateful for that.”
“In any case, I felt that it essential we corner the mystic in some manner. And what does Florentia love most in this world?”
“Money, of course,” Jeffrey said.
“I put word out that I was having one of my now-famous dinner parties, one that required a mystic’s appearance. That sort of thing is rather in-vogue, these days, you know. Bringing a sort of sideshow to a party, as though conversation and communion isn’t enough.”
“You sound resentful,” Jeffrey said with a laugh.
“Perhaps a bit. Regardless, Florentia has finally agreed to appear, for a pretty penny,” Peter said. “In only a week’s time, you’ll have her directly before you, none the wiser that you understand the depths to which she went to accrue funds of her own.”
Jeffrey felt as though he’d just been given a tremendous gift. His shoulders fell forward; his throat developed a massive lump.
“I don’t know what to say,” he breathed.
“Say I’m a genius,” Peter said.
“Okay. I will. You’re a genius.”
“Ha. I didn’t expect you to admit it so readily.”
Jeffrey had the funniest urge to hug his dearest friend. Instead, pushing back tears, he said, “I haven’t seen my brother or my parents in many years now. It means that you’re the closest thing I have to family. The fact that you’ve done this—put yourself in danger for the good of my investigation—it’s something I’ll never forget.”
Peter held Jeffrey’s gaze for a long moment. “You know I’d do anything for you.”
“And I, you. Although I can’t imagine I’ll ever be able to demonstrate that as much as you are at this moment.”
“Don’t mention it. Just arrive with a plan, I suppose. With that horrendous woman in our midst, I’m afraid I’ll feel anxious throughout. My wife is already up in arms about it, demanding why I hired a mystic for a dinner party. She thinks I’ve lost my mind.”
“Well, haven’t you?”
“Absolutely,” Peter said with a wide grin. After a pause, he said, “I just want it all to be over soon. I want to look in your eyes and find the peace they once had. I want you to be able to settle, the way I have—marry and have children and have normal, boring conversations about, say, taxes, rather than murder.”
“What you describe is far more beautiful than anything else,” Jeffrey affirmed. “I will bless every boring day in the future if I’m allowed to experience them.”
“I’ll be there beside you throughout, living through every banal minute,” Peter said.
“Good. I wouldn’t be able to conquer it without you.”
