The Candlelit Coffin by Elizabeth Bailey

Author:Elizabeth Bailey [Bailey, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781912786527
Publisher: Sapere Books
Published: 2019-01-02T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Banished from his lodgings and charged with a message to General Godfrey cancelling his mother’s engagement to play whist, Francis took opportunity to pursue the man Paglesham. Primed by Tillie before leaving the women to their tea with the female players, he was hopeful of eliciting more pertinent detail.

“He may perhaps be more forthcoming talking man to man.”

“Not if he’s such a coxcomb as my mother claims,” Francis objected.

His wife had given him one of her mischievous looks. “He might if you affect to be admiring of his conquest.”

“Tillie, you wretch!”

She had laughed and set her hand to his chest in the intimate gesture he had grown to find tender in the extreme. “You need not fawn and flatter, Fan.”

“You may be sure I won’t.”

“But you might say how you envy his having seen the beauty upon the stage perhaps?”

He had regarded her warily. “I might.”

“And that you had heard he knew her personally. If all Sybilla says is true, that will be enough to loosen his tongue.”

Francis took her hand from his chest and kissed her fingers. “Ingenious, my dear one, but you are nevertheless a manipulative schemer.” He regarded her with wry amusement. “It’s well for you to giggle, woman, but if I hadn’t brought this on myself, I should refuse point-blank to do your bidding.”

“As if I would dare bid you to do anything.”

“Ha! That’s all I have to say to that fatuous statement.”

He had left her chuckling, insensibly cheered. She was blossoming under the necessity to pit her wits against a murderer once again and Francis cherished the returning warmth and the charm of their banter. Her mischief and wit in the face of disaster had been the attribute that first attracted him. Francis had forgotten how much he valued it until his Tillie had lost it utterly in the dark days just gone. He hoped his mother was wrong and she was truly over the tragedy.

Having delivered the dowager’s excuses and exchanged pleasantries with the general and his cronies, he caught sight of his quarry just leaving by the main door. Francis followed, rather pleased than otherwise at not being obliged to accost the fellow in such a public place as the Assembly Rooms.

Paglesham left the building and headed along the street in the direction away from the beach. Where the devil was he going? Should he overtake the fellow now?

The man slowed and stopped, pulled out his pocket-watch and checked it. Francis was about to accost him when he slipped the thing back into his pocket and stepped to the door of the building next to where he had halted. The circulating library? Excellent. Francis had only been in the place a couple of times and on neither occasion had it been as crowded as the Rooms.

He followed Paglesham inside and saw him head for the table where the day’s newspapers were set out. There was one elderly fellow seated nearby with an open journal on his lap, gently snoring. Francis glanced along the shelving to find only a female with a male escort, both browsing books.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.