Page 83 of Murder at the Debutante Ballby

I arched my brows at him and pressed my lips together to stop myself smiling.

He cleared his throat. “It’s complicated.”

The door opened and the redheaded maid from the Bunburys’ ball stepped inside, her slight limp making her gait jerky. “My apologies.” Her gaze fell on Harry and her eyes widened. “I—I’ll wait outside.”

“Wait.” Harry pulled out a chair and asked her to sit. “My name is Harry Armitage and this is Miss Fox.” He glanced from me to Miss Morris. A beat passed, two, while he made his decision. In the end, he simply said, “On the night of the Bunburys’ ball, you spoke to a man named Ambrose McDonald.”

The maid took a step back through the doorway. She held onto the brim of her hat and dipped her head.

“They’re private detectives,” Miss Morris explained. “They just want to talk.”

The maid turned and fled.

Harry hesitated, so I went after her instead. Despite the limp, she was quicker than me. Harry was too, and he soon passed me on the stairs.

He chased her all the way to the ground floor and outside where she raced onto the road to catch up to a passing omnibus. She darted in front of a carriage. The coachman swore but the vehicle missed her.

Harry waited until it passed him. By the time it did, I’d caught up to him. But Jane Eyre, if that was her real name, had caught up to the omnibus. She stood on the bottom rung of the ladder and blew Harry a kiss.

He swore under his breath then ran after the omnibus.

I marched back up the stairs and into the Searcys office. “She got away.”

“Drat,” Miss Morris muttered.

“You shouldn’t have told her we are private detectives.”

She stiffened. “I am not a liar, Miss Fox.”

“No one asked you to lie, just not speak.”

“Withholding the truth is still a lie.” She glared at me and I glared back. “You should have identified yourselves.”

“We would have, but onlyafterHarry blocked her escape.”

Miss Morris gave a small gasp of shock and clutched her throat.

“This is a murder investigation, Miss Morris. Jane Eyre could be a witness, accomplice, or the murderer. We may not know which of those she is yet, but we do know she was our only hope of finding out more. And now she’s vanished into thin air with no hope of finding her. If my methods of getting answers concern you, then so be it. I won’t apologize.”

Miss Morris went a little pale. She blinked furiously back at me.

Harry returned, holding his hat in his hand and breathing heavily. His gaze switched back and forth between us, clearly sensing the tension. He suggested we leave then thanked Miss Morris for assisting us.

I followed him out, too frustrated to say anything further to Miss Morris.

By the time I reached the pavement, my temper had cooled. I was still frustrated, but I regretted my tone. “Wait here.” I picked up my skirts and headed back up the stairs. Before pushing open the door to the Searcys office, I drew in a deep breath, swallowed my pride, and practiced my apology in my head.

I pushed open the door, catching Miss Morris dabbing at the corner of her eye with a handkerchief. It threw me off-kilter. I’d been harsher than I thought.

“Yes?” she said, her voice trembling a little.

“I wanted to say I’m sorry. My tone just now…it wasn’t nice considering you helped us. You were right. We should have told Jane Eyre who we were from the start, and blocking someone from leaving a room—and a woman at that—was a poor suggestion on my part. I’m not proud of it.”

She folded up her handkerchief and tucked it into her sleeve. “Thank you for the apology, Miss Fox. It’s appreciated. I know how much you wanted to speak to her, and I know I am to blame for her running off. I didn’t think she would, you see. I thought her innocent in all this. Her flight makes it seem as though she has something to hide, and now you’ll never know what that is.” She lowered her head and shook it. “I thought…”

“Go on.”

“I thought I was being clever by asking her to come back today and Mr. Armitage, too, but it seems I’m a gullible fool. I should have bowed to your expertise and let you question her in your own way.”