Page 39 of Murder at the Debutante Ballby

“There’s something else,” Harry said. “When I showed the servants the photograph of Reggie Smith, the butler said he’d seen him give Lady Bunbury a menacing look. She never spoke to him. She had no need to interact with the temporary staff from Searcys that night. But from the look he gave her, there was genuine loathing from Smith towards her.”

“He was jealous. He must have known about her relationship with Ambrose McDonald.”

Harry agreed. “Is that what prompted him to take their painting off the library wall? It seems an unlikely thing to do, but…” He shrugged. “Also, the young parlor maid knows something, I’m sure of it. I asked some general questions about the ball and McDonald in particular, and she seemed nervous.”

“Perhaps you made her nervous.”

“I wasn’t threatening. I was overly nice.”

“That’s what I mean. Your niceness coupled with your good looks turned her into a nervous girl. She was probably captivated by you.”

It was meant to tease, but Harry suddenly stopped. He turned on me, his gaze fierce. He opened his mouth to speak, then shook his head and walked off, his strides purposeful.

I picked up my skirts and raced after him. “Did I say something to upset you?”

“It’s difficult to put into words without…crossing a line I don’t want to cross.”

The line must be the one I’d also set for myself—the kiss couldn’t happen again. We had to avoid repeating whatever had led up to it. The problem was, there were a multitude of things that had led up to it, some of them tangible, others not.

If I was prepared to cross that line again, I would mention his many other virtues to reassure him it wasn’t just his good looks that attracted me. But I wasn’t prepared to cross that line again.

Nor was he.

He lengthened his strides even more.

“Harry, slow down. I’ve already had to dive under a bed today. I don’t want to run a race too.”

His place slowed. “Dive?” He looked at me sideways, one brow arched and a small smile on his face. I was relieved to see it. “I wish I’d been there.”

“It was the most elegant dive. It put the swimmers in the Hippodrome’s aquatic show to shame.”

He laughed softly. “Come on. Let’s see what we can learn about Lady Quorne’s secret past.”

The Quornes had moreservants than the Bunburys, so sneaking in and searching bedrooms was too much of a risk. We also decided not to question them about Lady Quorne’s past. If they were loyal, they might report us to their mistress or master. We didn’t want them knowing they were suspects yet.

Harry had an idea, however, and he suggested he approach the service door alone.

“Why can’t I come?”

“You’re not dressed appropriately.” He left before I could ask what he meant.

I didn’t have to wait long for his return and an explanation.

“I’ll tell you on the way,” he said, indicating we should walk.

“Where are we going?”

“The Mayfair.” He told me that he’d spoken to the butler. “I pretended to be the butler for a duchess who wished to remain anonymous. She’d tasked me with approaching Lady Quorne’s lady’s maid about taking up a new position with her. She’d admired the maid’s hairstyling. I told the butler I wasn’t comfortable poaching another household’s staff without first finding out about the relationship between mistress and lady’s maid. If they’d worked together a long time, I didn’t want to put a wedge between them.”

“Very diplomatic. What did he say?”

“He said the maid had been with Lady Quorne from the start of her marriage and that they were very close.”

“If they’ve been together that long, she might know her mistress’s background. But she won’t say anything to us. She’ll be too loyal.”

Harry gave me a smug look. “I was about to leave when the butler called me back. He put on a display of reluctance, but I got the impression he saw me as his opportunity to get rid of the lady’s maid.”

Some wealthy households had conflicts between servants, particularly when it came to the hierarchy. A lady’s maid had the ear of the mistress, giving her enormous power. As the most senior servant, the butler might resent that power.