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Simon holds two side by side. “So the truth is that Lord Leslie was both murdered in his own bedandmurdered in his mistress’s bed?”
“Perhaps he considered his mistress’s bed his own,” the boy says.
“Quite right,” I say. “Truth is a variable thing, subject to interpretation.”
“Exactly, miss,” the boy says. “I’ll use that. It sounds right fancy.”
Simon grumbles about me “encouraging the lad” as we take all four broadsheets. When I go to pay, Simon stops me.
“Put them on Dr. Gray’s account,” he says to the boy. “You shall make more that way.”
“I will indeed. Thank you, sir. Should I save the others, as the young lady asked?”
“Yes, and you should also allow her to pick them up for the doctor, who is our mutual employer.”
As we step away, I take one of the broadsheets from Simon. Then I stop and turn to the boy.
“May I ask your name?” I say.
“Tommy, miss.”
“And I am Mallory. I will be back tomorrow for others. Oh, and Lord Leslie did not die in his bed or his mistress’s. He was at home, in his hunting room.”
Tommy’s face falls. “That is rather disappointing.”
“No, because here is the interesting part.” I lean in and whisper, “He was alone in the room when he died. In a room where there are no other exits, no windows that opened, and… the door was locked.”
Tommy’s eyes round. Then they narrow. “How would you know that?”
“Because I was there, of course,” I say as I walk away.
Stunned silence. Then the boy’s laughter follows us as Simon shakes his head.
After I return to the house, I’m about to settle in with the newspapers when Isla returns from wherever she’d been. I hear her come in, and I go to the door to find her tugging off her gloves.
“Mallory,” she says. “Just the person I wished to see. I presume Duncan has the samples ready? Do you have time to test them with me?”
“Absolutely.”
“Excellent. First, let me go down and get a glass of water. It is rather warm out, and I was walking.”
“I’ll get that for you. Wait in the library and catch your breath before we get to work.”
Her lips quirk. “Yes, Mother.”
When I return, Isla is in a library chair, relaxing as best she can into her corset, her head dropped forward, betraying her exhaustion.
“Long day already,” I say as I come in. “And it’s not yet noon. You must be worn out from travel.”
“I will survive. However, I would not object if you mothered me tothe point of insisting on loosening my stays, now that I am indoors for a while.”
I hand her the glass of water and motion for her to rise. Not having a ladies’ maid, Isla normally relies on Alice to tighten the stays. While I’m getting the hang of it, I’m really better at the loosening part.
“How are you doing?” I say as I unfasten the corset strings. “I’m sorry you had to find out about your brother-in-law like that.”
“Hmm.”
“I’ll offer my condolences, though I’m not sure how close you were.”
