The Medici Manuscript by C.J. Archer

Author:C.J. Archer [Archer, C.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: C.J. Archer

Chapter 10

I suspected most people felt honored when Lady Stanhope smiled at them the way she smiled at Gabe in the drawing room of her Mayfair townhouse. She was, after all, socially important, wealthy and a viscountess. The smile also lifted her features, reminding those around her that she’d been a beauty in her youth.

Gabe was not one of those people, going by the coolness of his greeting. Since Lady Stanhope didn’t bestow her smile on me, I was quite unaffected by it, too.

She looped her arm through Gabe’s, even though he’d not offered it, and steered him to the sofa. She sat beside him. I could have sat beside her, but chose to occupy an armchair opposite instead. It was easier to observe from a distance.

“I am so pleased to see you, Mr. Glass.”

Gabe pointedly looked my way.

Lady Stanhope turned her smile on me for the first time, although it visibly tightened. “You’ve brought your librarian, I see. Are you interested in my husband’s library, Miss…?”

“Ashe,” I said. “Gabe and I are here about a book, yes, although it doesn’t belong to your husband.”

“We’re here in an official capacity,” Gabe said. “I’ve been engaged by Scotland Yard to investigate the theft of a book from the Glass Library. Miss Ashe is assisting me.”

“What an unusual arrangement. Does Ivy know?” It was said lightly, almost jokingly, but no one laughed.

Nor did Gabe inform her about the change in his relationship with Ivy. “Where were you last night, ma’am?”

Lady Stanhope took the question in her stride, and this time, she did laugh. “Good lord, you don’t think I took the book? Why would I do that? I don’t particularly like to read.”

“It’s a valuable book.”

She looked offended. “Do you think we are poor?”

“This book has a magical connection.”

“That would be why it was in the Glass Library, I assume.”

“Please answer the question, Lady Stanhope. Where were you last night?”

“At Lord and Lady Presterton’s ball. I was there all evening and arrived home at three-thirty.”

I thought Gabe would leave the questioning there, but he pressed on. “May we speak to your chauffeur?”

She bristled. “You’re taking it too far, Mr. Glass.”

“You were caught attempting to swindle magician artists only recently. It appears to Scotland Yard that you covet magician-made pieces. Since the book wasn’t for sale, perhaps you took it upon yourself to find another means to obtain it.”

She spread out her fingers on her lap, as if searching for something to grip. The rest of her went quite still. “I’m neither a thief nor a swindler. In regard to the paintings, I was at the mercy of an unscrupulous fellow who took advantage of me.”

The look Gabe gave her was filled with skepticism, but he didn’t tell her he didn’t believe her. “We’ll find the chauffeur in the garage, I assume.”

Lady Stanhope’s nod was curt. “Huggins will escort you.” She tugged on the bell pull. “I will forgive you for this, Mr. Glass, but only because Ivy has become a dear friend to me.

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