“And that is?”

“If Vale did commit murder for it, I very much doubt that you’d ever be able to trace the deed to him. He’s no fool. He would cover his tracks well.”

Tobias turned the brandy glass between his palms. “The murderer we’re after did leave something personal behind. His cravat.”

Crackenburne snorted. “Can’t see Vale being that careless.”

“Unless, of course, he knew that the damned neckcloth would lead us to a dead end. After all, it told us nothing except that Celeste Hudson was probably murdered by a gentleman rather than a poorly dressed footpad.”

Crackenburne shook his head with grave authority. “If Vale had taken pains to leave behind a false clue, you can be certain it would have led you to whoever he wished you to think was the killer. You just said the cravat led you to no one in particular.”

“It led me nowhere and therefore we must assume that Vale is probably not the killer.” Tobias smiled wryly. “The logic is somewhat convoluted, to say the least, but I am inclined to agree. In truth, I never placed too much hope in the possibility that his lordship was guilty. The entire affair is far too murky for such a convenient explanation.”

“Not Vale’s style at all.” Crackenburne picked up the brandy bottle and poured himself a glass. “But there is another reason why I think you can exclude him.”

“What is that?”

Crackenburne sipped brandy with a meditative air. “Can’t see Vale murdering a woman in cold blood. The man’s no saint, of course. I think it’s safe to say that under certain conditions he could be quite dangerous. Not unlike you, to be blunt. But I do not believe that he would strangle a woman to death. Not for a bloody antiquity.”

Tobias recalled the reverential way in which Vale had cradled the Hades Cup in his hands. “Not even if he placed a very high value on that particular antiquity?”

“He’s a shrewd, clever player who generally gets what he wants in the end. But in this sort of situation, I’m quite certain that he would have found other means to his ends.” Crackenburne smiled slightly before taking another swallow of brandy. “Just as you would have done under similar circumstances.”

Tobias watched the flames on the hearth for a time, contemplating what Crackenburne had said.

“Any other news for me?” he asked after a while.

“I did come up with a couple of interesting rumors concerning Gunning and Northampton.”

Tobias cocked a brow. “Yes?”

Crackenburne paused for effect, clearly relishing his moment. “Word has it that the households of both gentlemen may have been burglarized at some point in the past several months.”

Tobias put down his glass with such force that it sounded as if it had cracked on the tabletop. “‘May have been burglarized?”

“There was no evidence of a housebreaker. No smashed windows or broken locks. Nor is there any way to know precisely when the objects disappeared. Some feel the owners, who are both in their dotage, may simply have misplaced the items in question.”

“What sort of items are we talking about?”

“In the case of Lord Gunning, a pair of diamond earrings that belonged to his late wife. Northampton’s household is missing a very fine pearl-and-emerald necklace that was supposed to have gone to his daughter.”

“Bloody hell. The lady was, indeed, a jewel thief. And I’ll wager her recently widowed husband is in the same line.”

“Howard, do come in and sit down.” Lavinia put down the pen she had been using to make notes in the journal and motioned her visitor to a chair. “I believe there is some tea left in the pot. Allow me to pour you a cup.”

“Thank you, my dear.” Howard closed the study door behind him, but he did not sit down. Instead, he came to a halt in front of her desk and stood looking at her. “I was feeling quite restless this afternoon so I decided to take a walk.” He spread his hands. “The next thing I knew, I was standing at your front door.”

“I understand,” she said gently. “I expect you are anxious to know if Mr. March and I have made any progress in our inquiries.”

“I must admit the subject is foremost in my mind these days.” He removed his watch from his pocket and began to toy with it in an absent fashion. The gold fobs dangled and danced. “Tell me the truth, Lavinia. Do you really think you can find the bastard who murdered my Celeste?”

Tobias had told her that it was important to reassure the client as often as necessary, she reminded herself.

“We are making progress,” she said firmly. “Mr. March and I feel certain that we shall find her killer.”

“My dear Lavinia.” The watch fobs swayed in a steady rhythm. “What would I do without you?” Howard’s voice deepened and grew heavy. “My dear, dear friend. You and I have so much in common. So much to talk about. So much that we can explore together, my dear friend.”

The intent quality of his gaze and the gold fobs disturbed her. Surely he was not attempting to put her into a mesmeric trance in such a sly fashion. This was her dear friend Howard, after all. He would not seek to take advantage of her with his skills. The steady, relentless movement of the fobs was simply happenstance, not deliberate. This was her dear old family friend.

“Such a dear friend…”

Quite suddenly she knew that she needed to look away. The urge was strong, but when she tried to avert her eyes from the gold watch fobs, it proved surprisingly difficult. She raised her fingers to touch the silver pendant that she wore at her throat, and the unpleasant sensation eased.

Relieved, she studied the page of the journal that was open in front of her. “As it happens, I am glad you came by this afternoon, Howard. I have been going over some notes and I find I have a few more questions.”

“I will tell you anything I can, of course, my dear, dear friend.” His voice was as resonant as a large bell. “What is it you wish to know?”

“Forgive me for such a personal inquiry, but I must ask how you came to be aware that Celeste was having an affair.”

“How does a man know such a thing? I suppose it was a matter of small clues, most of which I chose to ignore at first. She began to go shopping more frequently and returned late, sometimes without any purchases to show for her efforts. There were days when she seemed too cheerful or excited or impatient for no apparent cause. What can I say? She acted the way a young woman in love acts.”

Lavinia looked up at that and found herself staring at the dangling watch fobs again. The effort required to look away this time left her feeling rather breathless.

“Does that answer your question, my dear, dear friend?”

She was imagining this, she thought. Howard was not trying to induce a trance. Perhaps she was becoming a victim of bad nerves.

Returning her attention to her notes, she pressed on determinedly. There was another question she wanted to ask. She had to work hard to remember it.

“The antiquity Celeste stole belonged to Lord Banks,” she said. “Have you ever met him?”

“No, my dear friend.”

The gold seals bobbed gently.

“Do you think that Celeste may have somehow contrived to meet him?”

“I don’t see how that would have been possible.” Howard frowned. “Unless she was acquainted with him before I met her.”

“I had not thought of that possibility.” She tapped the quill on the edge of the ink bottle a few times. “I wonder if that is how she came to know about the bracelet.”

Tap…. tap… tap…

“I cannot answer that, my dear, dear friend____________________”

She suddenly realized that the tip of the quill was striking the bottle in a pattern that matched the swaying movements of the dangling watch fobs. She stopped and hastily put down the pen.

“You are trying to establish the manner in which Celeste learned of the antiquity,” Howard said.