Don’t Look Back

Chapter Thirty-one

Dr. Darfield looked up from a journal of accounts when Lavinia and Tobias were ushered into his office. He was not wearing his exotic blue robes, Lavinia noticed. Instead, he was attired in a manner more appropriate to a successful man of business: fashionably pleated trousers, a well-cut coat, and an intricately knotted cravat.

He studied his visitors for a long moment and then he closed the leather-bound volume and rose slowly to his feet. He gestured toward two chairs.

“You have come for the bracelet, I assume,” he said to Lavinia.

“Yes.” She sat down and arranged her skirts. “This is my partner, Mr. March. He has been involved in this affair from the start.”

She was not surprised when Tobias ignored the offer of a chair. He moved to his favorite location in any room that contained a person whom he did not know or trust. He stood with his back to the window, watching Darfield.

Darfield nodded, his expression somber, quietly resigned. “I have been expecting you since I heard about Pelling’s death.”

He crossed the room to a bookcase, removed several volumes from the middle shelf, and opened a small safe set into the paneled wall. He removed an object wrapped in black velvet and went back to his desk.

Without a word, he untied the cord that bound the small pouch and spread the folds flat on the desk. A large, intricately worked gold bracelet of curious design gleamed softly against the black velvet. A strange blue cameo was set into the center of the band.

Lavinia got to her feet and went to the desk, impelled by the sheer wonder of such an ancient object. The pierced work had been done with exquisite artistry. The repeating pattern of entwined snakes was so finely detailed that the bracelet appeared to have been fashioned of gold lace rather than cut and shaped from metal.

She picked it up carefully. It had looked so delicate and airy sitting on the velvet that she was somewhat surprised by the substantial weight of it in her hand. The gold was warm against her palm.

The cameo of Medusa was masterfully carved in the stone’s alternating shades of blue. The tiny snakes writhed in the Gorgon’s hair, her eyes stared with chilling intensity. The small, distinctive wand beneath the severed throat was precisely rendered. There was a sense of menacing power about the miniature sculpture that made her aware of icy fingers on her spine.

“Celeste arranged to encounter Mrs. Rushton while she was out shopping one afternoon.” Lavinia did not raise her eyes from the bracelet. “She put her into a mesmeric trance.”

“Mrs. Rushton is quite susceptible to mesmerism,” Darfield said. “An excellent client.”

“While she held Mrs. Rushton in the trance, Celeste instructed her to make an appointment with you for therapeutic treatments. She also ordered her to take the bracelet from Banks’s safe and bring it to you.”

“Which is precisely what Mrs. Rushton did.” Darfield watched Lavinia handle the bracelet. “Afterward she recalled nothing about the incident, of course. Celeste was actually quite skilled at mesmerism, although she was careful to conceal the full extent of her abilities from Hudson. She trusted no man. She always said that a woman did well to keep as many secrets as possible. She did not want Hudson to worry that she might be a threat to his business.”

Tobias folded his arms. “I presume you taught her the art of mesmerism?”

“Yes. I studied with a practitioner who took instruction from Dr. Mesmer himself.”

Tobias cocked a brow. “Why did Celeste join with Hudson? Why not work with you?”

Darfield sat down on the edge of his desk. He was quiet for a moment, obviously sorting through his thoughts.

“Celeste was born on the wrong side of the blanket, the illegitimate daughter of a shop girl and the wastrel son of a member of the country gentry,” he said eventually. “Her father never acknowledged her. He was already married to a neighbor’s daughter, whose family’s land adjoined his. Unfortunately, he had no aptitude for farming. He managed to drive himself into bankruptcy.”

Lavinia closed her fingers very gently around the bracelet. “Celeste fought her way up in the world, didn’t she?”

“Yes. Her sole ambition was to acquire sufficient money to allow her to bury her past and take up a position in Society. To that end, she used any man she thought capable of assisting her toward her goal.”

“Last year she met Hudson in Bath,” Tobias said.

Darfield glanced at him and then looked away. “Celeste was a very clever woman. She formed a connection with Hudson after she grew suspicious of certain jewelry thefts that had occurred among some of his wealthier clients. Her own training in mesmerism and some careful observation allowed her to conclude that he was likely the thief.”

“Oh, I really don’t think that Howard had anything to do-”

“Bloody hell,” Tobias interrupted forcefully. “She seduced Hudson because she wanted him to teach her to become an accomplished jewel thief.”

Darfield smiled wryly. “She also wanted access to his wealthy clients. As I said, she was a decent mesmerist, but she lacked the social connections required to attract a truly exclusive clientele.” He moved a hand, palm up. “I could not offer her access to clients in wealthy circles. My own business is flourishing nicely, but I do not cater to the High Flyers. The right references make all the difference, you see.”

Tobias caught Lavinia’s eye. “So I’ve been told.”

“Even if I had been able to offer a more refined list of clients, I would not have been inclined to become a thief. I never had Celeste’s raw nerve, you see. Stealing valuable jewelry is an excellent way to wind up on the gallows, in my opinion.”

“It is certainly a risky profession,” Tobias agreed.

“One day Pelling walked into Hudson’s office and offered him a commission to steal the Blue Medusa.” Darfield paused. “I expect that you know the rest.”

“Pelling was mistaken in believing that Dr. Hudson was a professional thief,” Lavinia said quickly. “But Howard was researching mesmerism, and he no doubt became obsessed with the notion of obtaining the Medusa for his experiments. He turned down Pelling’s offer, but he decided to try to acquire the stone himself. Celeste, however, was ready to move on and needed a financial stake. She decided to take things into her own hands and made her own bargain with Pelling.”

Darfield inclined his head. “That was Celeste. Always willing to take a gamble.” He paused. “Do you know, in the beginning, when I first learned that she had been murdered, I was certain that it was Hudson who had killed her. I was hatching my own notions of revenge, imagining various ways to kill Hudson without getting caught, when you two undertook your investigation. My first inclination was to try to frighten you off.”

“You sent the coachman with the note to scare Anthony and Emeline,” Lavinia said.

“Yes. But that same day you came to my rooms pretending to seek a treatment. I pretended not to know who you were. I decided to see what came of your inquiries.”

“Thank heavens you did decide to wait,” Lavinia said fervently. “You might have murdered the wrong man and risked the noose for nothing.”

“You and Mr. March saved me that fate and exacted justice for Celeste.” Darfield met her eyes. “For that I will always be in your debt. If there is ever anything I can do to repay you, Mrs. Lake, I hope you will come to me. I can offer free therapeutic treatments-”

“No, no, that is quite all right, sir,” she said hastily. “The return of the Medusa is sufficient compensation, I assure you.”

She was uncomfortably aware of another unpleasant trickle of cold energy along her spine. Imagination, she thought. Or maybe my nerves. She reminded herself that she had been under something of a strain lately.

Nevertheless, she quickly put the bracelet back down on the velvet. To her enormous relief, the uneasy sensation vanished.

“There is one thing I do not comprehend,” she said, rewrapping the relic.

“What is that?” he asked.

“You said yourself that Celeste did not trust men. Yet she obviously entrusted this bracelet to you for safekeeping.” She picked up the velvet pouch. “What made you different in her eyes from other men?”

“Oh, yes, I forgot that part, didn’t I?” Darfield’s smile was sad, almost wistful. “You will recall that I mentioned that her father was married to the daughter of a neighbor landholder. The pair had a son, who was obliged to go into trade for financial reasons.”

“I understand now,” Lavinia said gently. “She was your sister.”