Six
It had been fascinating, watching the news spread through the ballroom like a wildfire. Lavender whispered in Lord Coonan’s ear and he turned to the bearded gentleman on his left while Lady Coonan grabbed an older woman in a turban on her right. Each of them whispered in the closest available ear and the house began to clear faster than if Lavender had actually yelled “Fire!”
Everyone was in a rush to get out so they could share the tragic gossip and to avoid being caught up in the madness as Scotland Yard arrived. And they let them go! Reginald was baffled and incredulous as Lord Coonan and the Commissioner ushered guests out, promising to find the culprit. The assumption being that it couldn’t have been any of the Coonans’ guests and that the young woman, Lady Mary Eldon, had been a target of opportunity because she’d wandered too far from the house.
But Lavender deftly questioned matrons and matchmakers, plucking useful tidbits as he kissed their knuckles and wished them goodnight. Very few people wanted to talk to Reginald and those that did made snide comments about his odd behavior and the breakup with the Anastasia woman. A few people even suggested that the murder might be part of Reginald’s ongoing meltdown but Lavender was able to put that rumor to rest.
“I’d be shocked if Scotland Yard was able to catch a cold,” Reginald muttered as he handed Gates his overcoat, making Lavender chuckle.
“I confess to a lack of confidence as well.” He went to warm his hands by the fire in the sitting room.
“Where’s my kit?” Reginald asked Gates and the older man sulked as he went to get it.
“And my confidence in you is set to plummet,” Lavender assumed. Reginald pretended to be wounded and headed to the sideboard to pour himself another drink.
“You should know better. You will know better,” Reginald amended slyly.
Lavender propped himself against the mantle and took a moment to study Reginald. “I’m still confused as to how it is you help me. So far, you’ve been a monumental pain in my arse and I’m at risk of being tainted by association. At the moment, people assume I find you entertaining but I’m sunk if it gets out that I’m taking any of this seriously.”
“And yet, you do,” Reginald boasted as he set down his drink so he could take off his coat and roll up his sleeve. Lavender smoothed an eyebrow and pretended to inspect the portrait above the fireplace.
“As I said, I’ve been hired to watch Lord Winterstone and this is as good as a front-row seat. No one will notice me except when I’m escorting you out and making apologies. But I can’t imagine I’d tolerate this for more than an evening or two.”
“I’m indispensable,” Reginald stated. “I’m sort of like a butler, but instead of dressing you and fetching your things, I help you get away with impossible crimes. Thank you, Gates,” he said as his butler reappeared with Dr. Lister’s satchel. Reginald had given Lister more than enough money to buy a whole new bag and replace the contents and buy himself a nice new practice in Marylebone with the understanding that the doctor would supply Reginald with all the morphine his heart desired. Gates’s face pinched with disapproval but not at the leather satchel or the new case of morphine vials. The butler’s faded brown eyes tightened suspiciously as he looked Lavender over. “That will be all, Gates,” Reginald said with a playful wink. “I’ll keep a very close eye on him.”
“Very good, my lord.”
There was a soft snort from Lavender but he was smiling at the butler’s back as Reginald dropped into one of the armchairs by the fire with his bag.
“Get away with…? How do you help me get away with these impossible crimes?” Lavender asked, turning back to the portrait. Not because he was skeptical, but because he was interested.
“What if you didn’t have to trouble yourself with the client or the tawdriness of the transaction? What if you didn’t have to follow your target for days to gather gossip and find the perfect location? What if you just had to show up and do the deed and never give the matter another thought?”
“I’d say, why pay for something I can already do on my own? It seems foolish to entrust other people with that kind of information,” Lavender argued.
“But that’s my specialty!” Reginald looked up from the syringe and accoutrement he’d arranged on the side table and wiggled his brows when Lavender glanced back at him. “I can find you anything you need to pull off a flawless murder and I erase all the evidence so it’s never traced back to you. Your skill and your timing make you deadly but I make you invisible,” he bragged while he quickly assembled and filled the syringe. Lavender grimaced and looked away as Reginald tightened the tourniquet around his arm.
“And I trust you like this?”
“I’m unbearable when I’m sober and I can’t work.” Reginald glanced at the front door and felt a tickle of panic. “I wonder what’s taking Paul so long. He should be here by now.”
“He’s probably on a ship and on his way back to America if I had to guess,” Lavender drawled. “I’m still surprised he didn’t call you out or run screaming.” He smirked at the clock in the hall but Reginald shook his head.
“He’ll be here. Paul has never let me down, he’s always been there when I needed him.”
“And you need him now?”
“I’ll always need him!” Reginald replied with a laugh, then exhaled loudly before pushing the needle into his flesh. He pierced the vein inside his elbow and it burned as Reginald pressed on the plunger. A tingle spread up his arm and Reginald hummed as everything within him began to loosen. He felt lighter and relaxed for the first time since he’d woken up. “That’s the sweet spot,” he said, making note of the dose as he loosened the tourniquet.
“Finally rendered yourself useless?” Lavender gave him a hard look but Reginald waved it off.
“Trying to remain level so I’m not useless.” A soft chime carried through the house and Reginald perked up when Gates hurried past the sitting room to get the door. “That will be him,” he predicted smugly.
“A Mr. Paul Sloan,” Gates announced a moment later.
“Yes!” Reginald hopped up but had to grab the table as the room tilted.
“Indeed,” Lavender replied with a judgmental shake of his head and his expression darkened when Paul cautiously leaned into the room. Paul became suspicious and alert when he spotted Lavender but his brow furrowed with worry when his gaze swung to Reginald.