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It was absurd how mention of his name made her stomach turn over and her breath catch in her throat.
He continued as if he had noticed nothing.
“… it seems as if Mr. Ke
Her heart was tight in her throat. “Because unless you can prove that he has embezzled from the company, the fact that he has a mistress is irrelevant,” she said gravely. “A great many men do, especially young, well-bred men who have no other involvements. In fact, I would hazard a guess it is more common than not.”
His eyes widened in momentary surprise, then in undisguised admiration for her candor and her courage. He was a man whose admiration was not easily stirred.
“Of course you are right, Miss Latterly. And that is my task. It will require some legal endeavor to obtain audit for the company books, and I propose to put Mr. Hector Farral-ine in the witness-box in order to obtain it. Now if you please, we shall go through the order of the witnesses Mr. Gilfeather will call for the prosecution and what we may expect them to say.”
“Of course.”
He frowned. “Have you attended a criminal trial, Miss Latterly? You speak almost as if you are familiar with the procedure. Your composure is admirable, but this is not the time to mislead me, even in the name of dignity.”
A flicker of amusement crossed her face. “Yes, Mr. Argyll, I have attended several, in the cause of my occasional assistance to Mr. Monk.”
“Assistance to Mr. Monk?” he questioned. “Is there something of importance I have not been told?”
“I don’t think it is of importance.” She pulled a slight face. “I ca
‘Tell me,” he demanded grimly.
“I first met Mr. Monk when he was investigating the murder of a Crimean officer named Joscelin Grey. Because of Mr. Grey’s involvement with my late father, I was able to give Mr. Monk some assistance,” she explained obediently, although she found her voice shaking. Fu
“Continue,” Argyll pressed. “You speak as though it were not a single instance.”
“It wasn’t. I used my nursing experience to obtain a position with Sir Basil Moidore when Mr. Monk was investigating the death of Sir Basil’s daughter.”
Argyll’s black eyebrows rose. “In order to assist Mr. Monk?” he said with unconcealed amazement. “I had not realized your devotion was so deep.”
She felt a tide of color burn up her face.
“It was not a devotion to Mr. Monk,” she said tartly. “It was the desire to see some sort of justice done. And it was my devotion to Lady Callandra which made me obtain a position in the Royal Free Hospital in order to learn more of the death of Nurse Barrymore. And the fact that I had known her in the Crimea, and formed a considerable regard for her. I became involved with General Carlyon’s death because I was asked to by his sister, who is a friend of mine.” She looked him very directly in the face, defying him to doubt her.
An almost imperceptible touch of color stained his cheeks, but there was still amusement in his eyes.
“I see. So you are indeed very familiar with the rules of evidence and the procedure of trial?”
“I… I think so.”
“Very weD, forgive me for having seemed to patronize you, Miss Latterly.”
“Of course,” she said graciously. “Please continue.”
The following day Monk spent from dawn until slightly before midnight investigating Ke
Rathbone had a wretched day. There was almost nothing he could accomplish. He had never cared so much about the outcome of a case, or been so helpless to influence one. A dozen times he almost set out to see Argyll again, and each time he resisted with difficulty, telling himself it would serve no purpose at all. But it was only the sting to his pride of ru
He knew that Callandra Daviot would be in Edinburgh for the trial, which began on the next morning, so she would have to come up on that day’s train, unless she had already traveled and was here before him. By midafternoon he was at his wit’s end and had paced the floor uselessly ever since picking without appetite over what should have been an excellent luncheon.
Late in the evening he was tired, but unable to relax sufficiently to retire. There was a knock on the door of the room he had taken. He whirled around.
“Come in!” he shouted, striding towards the doorway and almost being struck as the door opened and Callandra appeared in the entrance, followed immediately by Henry Rathbone, Rathbone’s father. Of course he had told his father of the whole affair before he could read of it in the newspapers. The elder Rathbone had met Hester on several occasions and had formed a fondness for her. The sight of his tall, slightly stooped figure now, with his ascetic face and benign expression, was ridiculously comforting. And at the same time it awoke in the younger man emotions of both dependence and fierce protection he would rather not have been burdened with in the circumstances.
“Please excuse me, Oliver,” Callandra said briskly. “I realize it is late, and I am possibly interrupting you, but I could not contain myself until morning.” She came in as he stepped back, smiling in spite of himself. Henry Rathbone followed immediately after, searching Oliver’s face.
“Come in,” Rathbone invited, closing the door behind him. He very nearly said that they were not interrupting anything at all, then pride prevented him from such an admission. “Father! I had not expected you. It is good of you to have come.”
“Don’t be absurd.” Henry Rathbone dismissed it with a shake of his head. “Of course I came. How is she?’
“I have not seen her since the night before she left London,” Rathbone replied. “I am not her barrister here in Edinburgh. They will only allow Argyll in now.”
“So what are you doing?” Callandra demanded, too restless to sit in either of the large armchairs available.
“Waiting,” Rathbone answered bitterly. “Worrying. Racking my brain to think of anything we have left undone, any possibilities we could still pursue.”
Callandra drew in her breath, then said nothing.
Henry Rathbone sat down and crossed his legs. “Well, pacing the floor is not going to help. We had better approach the matter logically. I presume there is no possibility this poison was administered accidentally, or intentionally by Mrs. Farraline herself? All right, there is no need to lose your temper, Oliver. It is necessary to establish the facts.”
Rathbone glanced at him, smothering his impatience with difficulty. He knew perfectly well that his father did not lack emotion or care, indeed he felt painfully; but his ability to suppress his feelings and concentrate his brain irritated him, because he was so far from that kind of control himself.
Callandra sat down on the other chair, staring at Henry hopefully.