AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Very few, I’m afraid. My uncle wants to see Buckingham Palace, and I want to go to the museum, but we don’t have much free time between meetings.” He leaned back in the chair, looking relaxed yet confident in a way that only men comfortable in their own physicality did. He reminded me of Harry. “There is talk of extending our stay if business goes well.”
I raised my glass of wine in salute. “Then I hope it does. There’s quite a lot to see in London.”
He smiled warmly. “I may need a tour guide.”
“Then I’ll loan you myBaedeker.”
He laughed. It was so infectious that I couldn’t help joining in. When he finally sobered, he settled that luxurious gaze on me. “I didn’t know Englishwomen were so funny. We’ve always been led to believe you’re aloof.”
“And we’ve always been told American men are forward.”
He saluted me with his glass. “Here’s to dispelling cultural myths.”
We both sipped.
I enjoyed my evening and forgot all about the murder until I spotted Miss Hessing watching her jellied dessert wobble when she poked it with her spoon. Although the Hessings had left the Elms before the murder, she must have heard that Mr. Liddicoat’s cousin discovered the body and worried for her paramour.
I made a point of speaking to her after dinner as we crossed the hotel foyer together. “Mr. Liddicoat was a rock for his cousin today when the club manager accused him of murder.”
She must have heard the details already as she showed no surprise. “He’s so thoughtful. His cousin was fortunate he hadn’t left yet.” She wrung her gloved hands together. Something else was on her mind.
“There’s no reason for the police to arrest Mr. Broadman,” I assured her. “I told the club manager he couldn’t have done it.” Although at that time, I hadn’t known the attendant left the changing rooms for a few minutes. Long enough for Mr. Broadman to slip out and murder someone in the nearby stables.
“That was good of you, Miss Fox. Very good indeed. But that’s not what’s troubling me. Indeed, my worry has nothing to do with the murder.” She glanced at her mother’s back, walking ahead of us with the aid of her stick. “After my mother learned that Mr. Liddicoat was courting me, she was furious. She said he was a fortune hunter, only after me for my money.Hermoney.”
“I recall. It was an upsetting time.”
“It still is upsetting me. She hasn’t forbidden me to see him, but she hasn’t backed down, either. Every time I ask her what to do, she tells me to wait, that she’ll advise me in due course. We’re in limbo, Miss Fox, unsure whether to defy her or do as she asks in the hope she’ll soon relent.”
Mrs. Hessing must have hired Harry after all and be waiting for his verdict. “No news is good news,” I assured her. Hopefully the murder investigation wouldn’t delay Mrs. Hessing’s decision further.
Mrs. Hessing stopped at the lift as John the operator held the door open. She stamped the end of her walking stick on the tiled floor. “Clare! Come along. Miss Fox, you can squeeze in, too, you’re such a little thing.”
“Don’t wait for me,” I said. “I want to speak to my cousin.”
Floyd stopped when he realized I meant him. He waited for me at the base of the staircase. “What do you want to speak to me about?”
I watched the lift door close. “Nothing. I needed an excuse not to go up in that slow contraption with a crowd of people all breathing over one another.”
“You mean you wanted to avoid a conversation with Mrs. Hessing.”
“Don’t put words in my mouth.” We headed up the stairs together. “You’re not going to play billiards with the other men?” I glanced back to the foyer where some of the gentlemen from dinner were chatting. Others had already gone into the smoking room or billiards room. Mr. Miller must have been among them as I couldn’t see him.
“Soon. So…I see you and that American got along at dinner. I thought you might.”
“Why?”
“Women seem to like him, and you’re a woman.”
“Nice to know I conform to stereotype,” I said wryly. “But you were right. I enjoyed his company.”
He smiled smugly. “Good. Keep it up.”
“Keep what up?”
“Encouraging him.”
I stopped and turned on him. “Floyd, you’re matchmaking! You know my thoughts on marriage.”
