Page 26 of Murder at the Debutante Ballby

He had a point. I left him in his uncle’s office and headed up the stairs to the fourth floor. Flossy was preparing for afternoon tea. She asked me to join her as I’d met her friend before, but I declined.

“I’m a little busy investigating the murder.”

“Still?” She turned her head from side to side to study her reflection for different angles. Her curls bounced around her ears. “You mustn’t let it take up too much of your time or someone will notice you’re never around.”

“I’ll be careful. But Flossy, you can’t tell anyone about this. I shouldn’t be involving you at all, but I need your help.”

“I won’t tell a soul.” She drew a little cross over her heart. “What do you need to know?”

“Where does Amelia Livingstone live?”

“Why do you want to talk to Amelia?” She gasped. “Is she a suspect?”

“Her father may have witnessed something on the night of the ball. He’s the one we need to speak to.”

She rose and headed through to the sitting room. Her suite was identical to mine with a separate bedroom off the sitting room where a desk faced the window. Behind it was a small table for dining, a sofa and two armchairs, all upholstered in soft feminine shades. She opened the desk drawer and pulled out an address book. She flipped the pages then pointed to an entry for Amelia Livingstone. She lived in Knightsbridge.

“What do you know about Amelia and her father?” I asked as she copied the address onto a piece of paper. “Are there other children?”

“Just Amelia. Her mother died when she was a baby and her father never remarried. He’s devoted to her.” She handed me the paper. “So much so that he’s blinded to her faults.”

“According to Lady Bunbury, she doesn’t have any.”

She wrinkled her nose. “That’s because Lady Bunbury is corrupt. Her awards are often given out to her family members or daughters of friends. Perhaps Mr. Livingstone is a close friend to Lord Bunbury. I don’t deny that Amelia has a lot of the qualities Lady Bunbury looks for, but she has faults too.”

“Such as?”

“For one thing, she’s vain. She believes it when someone tells her she’s the most beautiful girl in the room, or the most accomplished. She thinks the rest of us are beneath her. She looks down on everyone, even the daughters of peers. She also likes to get her own way. She told everyone she’d win all three of Lady Bunbury’s awards and look what happened! I think her father has given in to her on everything over the years and that’s made her selfish. Very few girls my age like her, although our mothers think she’s perfect.”

“Have you heard any rumors that question her virtue?”

“Such as?”

I shrugged.

“No, nothing. Why?” She clasped my forearm. “What do you know, Cleo? Tell me or I’ll simply die for wondering.”

“Then get your affairs in order because I can’t tell you. I don’t know. Jonathon heard something about her at the Bunburys’ ball, but I wouldn’t let him tell me.”

She clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes. “And you call yourself a detective.”

I laughed. She and Harry were not usually so alike in their thinking.

She indicated the piece of paper with the address. “Go and ask Jonathon now. He’s with Floyd in Floyd’s suite.”

Instead of returning to her bedroom to finish getting ready, she followed me to Floyd’s room. When he opened the door upon my knock, I was glad to see he looked well. There were no signs of a late night spent drinking, but his smile wasn’t as bright as usual, and worry pinched the corners of his eyes.

I asked to see Jonathon. Floyd’s mouth opened. “Really? Well, well.”

Flossy squeezed past him and thumped his arm for good measure. “We’re here to gossip, not flirt. Cleo isn’t interested in Jonathon. Sorry, Jonathon,” she added as she entered the sitting room where he sat sprawled on the sofa. “But Cleo thinks of you like another cousin.”

“Lucky me,” he drawled.

She pushed his feet off the sofa and sat just as he stood to greet me. “What was the gossip you heard about Amelia Livingstone?” she said.

Jonathon and Floyd exchanged glances.

“Just tell us,” Flossy growled. “Honestly, why hide it now?”