His Curious Imp Read online

  As she climbed the stairs she realized he said the word home. He’d said when we get home.

  Gabby had been worried about Fergus most of the day. He’d spent the whole day away from her, coming home just in time to change his clothes and leave for the museum. And he’d refused to tell her where he’d been. True, she’d been out with Charlotte but he knew where she’d been. Why wouldn’t he tell her what he’d been doing?

  They joined the crowd upstairs but the artifacts were behind ropes so no one could touch them. Gabby wanted to pick one up, test the weight, see if the carvings on the statues were the same as the ones she’d seen.

  “They’re beautiful aren’t they?” Charlotte’s voice was full of wonder. “Isn’t it amazing that a people with no real mechanical skills could do so much.”

  “The Egyptians had lots of skills,” Fergus said. “Look at the pyramids, the temples and the sphinx. They had to have knowledge to be able to build such lasting monuments.”

  The first room was full of statues, both small and large. Two remaining rooms were full also, and in the last room sat the sarcophagus that held the mummy. Robert planned on lifting the lid to reveal the mummy at nine tonight. Gabby was sure that he had some sort of ceremony planned that would entertain them all.

  Gabby stepped away from her foursome and spotted a statue in the corner where no one was around. She crossed to it. It looked to be made of some sort of marble and was of a man and woman sitting together, their hands clasped. The card next to it said it was a statue of Hami and his wife, Huti. It was from their tomb that these artifacts had been taken.

  Gabby glanced around her to see if anyone was watching. Fergus talked with a man she didn’t know and Charlotte and her husband were standing near a larger statue in the corner.

  Gabby reached over the rope and plucked the statue from its stand, hefting its weight in her hands. It felt the same as the one she’d seen on Blimpton Road.

  She turned it upside down and brought it close to her face. Then she almost dropped it when Fergus whispered in her ear.

  “I see you didn’t heed my warning. You’ll be crazy with need by the morning.”

  He took the statue from her hands and put it back on its stand.

  “But, Fergus, look at it. This statue has an X on it, near the left corner, just like the one you took from the crates. It’s small but if you look closely you can see it.”

  Gabby picked up the statue again and Fergus shook his head. “Put it down or I’ll make it two nights.”

  “I think something fishy is going on here. What if the artifacts we saw on Blimpton Road are somehow connected with the exhibit? It’s possible. We need to go back take another one and see if it is marked with an X.”

  Fergus took the statue from her hand and put it back on its stand once again. Then he kissed the tip of her nose and said, “No.”

  He tugged her to the middle of the room where Charlotte and Dalton awaited them. The Essexes were smiling.

  “I’ll go on my own if I have to,” Gabby said as they joined the pair. “I will. This could be a big story. You can’t stop me.”

  Dalton raised his eyebrows and Fergus shook his head even as a smile lit his face.

  “I’ve always loved a spirited woman,” Fergus said. “But a foolish one needs to know that sticking her nose into things that are none of her business can get her into serious trouble.”

  “What business?” Charlotte looked from Fergus to Gabby.

  “We found a house full of artifacts the other day,” Gabby said.

  “Found?” Dalton’s voice was deep. But he didn’t sound surprised.

  “Yes, found, while investigating something else,” Gabby said. “I want to go back to that house and look at the artifacts again.”

  “It’s a house whose occupants are criminals,” Fergus said. “I’ve already talked with Scotland Yard about what we saw. They will take care of it.”

  Gabby stamped her foot. “You did what? Fergus, that ruins my story.”

  “No, it doesn’t, Gabriella. I made Inspector Wilcox promise me that when an arrest was made you would get the first chance at writing the story. He said the investigation would take at least a week. Relax, Gabby.”

  Gabby crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. Then she mashed her face up at Fergus when he tried to rub her shoulders.

  “Brute,” she said. “It’s no small wonder you wouldn’t tell me where you’d been today.”

  Dalton laughed as Charlotte tittered.

  “Well, I guess that puts me in my place,” Fergus said with a laugh.

  “What of this house?”

  Fergus proceeded to tell Dalton about their afternoon in the park watching the pickpockets, about trailing the boy to the house on Blimpton Road, and about their return two nights in a row.

  Charlotte gasped when Fergus told them of Gabby rushing into the structure the first afternoon.

  “So dangerous, Gabby. You could have been hurt.”

  “It was worth it for the story,” she said. “Besides, he’s already threatened to punish me for my transgressions.”

  Fergus laughed, as did Dalton and Charlotte.

  “A good spanking?” Charlotte asked with a grin.

  “No, I’ve threatened to withhold my favors,” Fergus said. “Punishments can come in many forms, Charlotte.”

  Gabby cleared her throat. She was somewhat embarrassed to be talking about these things in front of Dalton, whom she barely knew.

  “Let’s go and get a front row seat near the sarcophagus,” Dalton said. “They will be lifting the lid soon to display the mummy.”

  “So gruesome,” Charlotte said. “Yet so fascinating.”

  A crowd had already gathered near the stone coffin but they found a place near the head. They talked of inane things until Robert came into the room. Four large men took places near the sarcophagus so they could lift the lid on signal.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” Robert said. “Thank you for your attendance tonight. I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank the Duke of Chancery for his generous donations which funded the dig and this exhibit.”

  Applause filled the room and Robert smiled. The Duke, a handsome man in his early forties bowed to the crowd. From his tanned skin Gabby decided that he must have traveled to Egypt to take part in the actual dig.

  “The artifacts that you have seen tonight were included in a tomb that contained a husband and wife, Hami and Huti. It is Hami’s mummy that is on display here. Huti’s mummy is being examined by our scientists here at the museum.”

  “The ancient Egyptians took death very seriously,” Robert continued. “They believed that a person lived on in the other world, hence the items that they buried with them, the items you see here today. We are now going to lift the lid and let you see the person responsible for what you are enjoying today.”

  Robert nodded at the men and they lifted the stone lid. Gabby could tell that it was heavy from their grunts. The lid landed on the floor with a thud when one of the men dropped it and backed away quickly.

  A woman standing near the relic screamed and Gabby rushed forward before Fergus could grab her. Inside the coffin lay the body of John McNutt. His face was swollen and Gabby wondered if it was from the beating Fergus has given him the previous day or from whatever caused his death.

  “Fergus…”

  The room erupted in pandemonium as people ran toward the exit. The ladies were screaming and the men were swearing.

  Gabby stood rooted to the spot and stared at the sarcophagus.

  “How could this be?” Her words were low and Fergus pulled her away from the coffin.

  “We should wait for the authorities,” Dalton said. He held Charlotte close to him even though she was staring at the body with open fascination.

  “I agree,” Fergus said. He left Gabby with Dalton and Charlotte and crossed to Robert, who was wiping sweat from his face. They talked for a few moments and then museum officials moved everyone fr
om the room.

  Once they were near the stairs, Gabby noticed that the building was emptying fast. A few people stood around, waiting to see what would happen next.

  Robert shut the door to the room and crossed to his friends.

  “This is horrible. He was just here yesterday to do a story on the opening. I can’t imagine what happened.”

  “How could someone switch a body with the mummy?” Fergus shook his head.

  “That lid is very heavy. No one person could have done it. Several people had to know that McNutt’s body was in there.”

  “You seemed to recognize him,” Dalton said to Gabby.

  “His name’s John McNutt. I worked with him at The Sentinel.”

  “It looks like he’d been beaten,” Charlotte said.

  “I did that.” Everyone but Gabby turned toward Fergus. “He insulted Gabriella and I got in several good punches.”

  “They’re going to think you killed him, because of the fight you had with him.” Gabby’s words were soft.

  “Possibly.” Fergus ran his fingers through his hair.

  “But as I said there is no way one person could lift the lid on that sarcophagus,” Robert said. “I need to question the guards before the police arrive. Please excuse me.”

  “They’ll just say I bribed the guards to help me hide the body,” Fergus said. “Robert’s plan to unveil the mummy was well known. Hiding the body in the coffin would mean that it was found in a crowded room and create a great deal of suspects.”

  “I wonder how long he’s been dead,” Dalton said. “Gabby, do you know anyone who could tell us about his movements yesterday and today?”

  “He lives in a rooming house near the Thames, down near the docks.”

  “Well, now that Cannonberry’s a married man we can’t ask him to investigate in the middle of the night,” Fergus said. “Barton and Beaton should be at their club. I’ll find a lad to take a message. Maybe they can get to McNutt’s rooms before the authorities do.”

  Gabby wasn’t sure who they were talking about, but when Dalton asked she gave him directions to McNutt’s rooms.

  “I’ll tell them to meet at your house at midnight, Fergus,” Dalton said.

  The lad had just left when Inspector Wilcox came up the stairs. He shook his head when he spotted Essex and McIntyre.

  “I should have known,” he said, and then turned to enter the main room. He was inside for about forty-five minutes before he came back and walked to the foursome.

  “Lord and Lady Essex. Lord McIntyre and…”

  “Gabriella Saunders.”

  “Miss Saunders.”

  “Did you know Mr. McNutt, or were you just here for the exhibit?” the inspector asked.

  Fergus cleared his throat.

  “It’s best to come clean,” he said. He told Wilcox of McNutt and Gabby’s association at the newspaper, and of Fergus’ fight with the man. All three men blanched at McNutt’s harsh words to Gabby.

  “But he was alive when we left the newspaper, I can assure you of that,” Gabby said.

  “May I ask how he died?” Fergus’ voice was strained.

  “Stabbed in the stomach, and through the heart,” Wilcox said. “No blood in the coffin so he was killed somewhere else and moved here.”

  A constable hit the top of the stairs and motioned Wilcox toward him. They had a hurried discussion and then Wilcox came back to the group.

  “As I suspected, the house Lord McIntyre told me about today is empty. But there is a huge stain of blood in the front room.”

  Wilcox shot McIntyre a look that was easy to decipher.

  “You can’t possibly think that I killed him.”

  “His death is convenient for you, don’t you think? He insults the woman that you are involved with and you beat him senseless.”

  “I only hit him a few times, and he walked away,” Fergus said.

  “Then you tell me about a house that contains artifacts today and when we investigate it’s empty. But the floor is stained with blood.”

  “Smart thieves, and killers,” Fergus countered. “Would you stay somewhere after you’d killed someone there?”

  “Then his body is discovered in a public place, in full view of your lover. What a way to impress her, by killing the man who insulted her.”

  “I can assure you, Inspector, that death does not impress me.” Gabby’s words were like ice.

  “Where were you today, Lord McIntyre?” Wilcox gave him a pointed look. “Except, of course, when you were at Scotland Yard talking to me.”

  Fergus looked uncomfortable and then he glanced at Gabby. “I was doing personal business.”

  “What sort of personal business?” Wilcox pointed to a constable who came forward with a notepad and pencil.

  “Nothing that has to do with this I can assure you.”

  “Besides,” Dalton said. “The museum has been bustling with people all day. The body was probably put there last night.”

  “True,” Wilcox said. “But he could have been clearing the house today. Where were you last night?”

  “He was with me,” Gabby said. “He didn’t leave the bed all evening.” The words were a lie, but she wasn’t sure if Fergus had told Wilcox about their visit to the Blimpton house the previous evening.

  Her words brought several of the men up short. A few stared at her with fascination, a few with disgust.

  “I see,” Wilcox said. “There was no way he could have left without you knowing, Miss Saunders?”

  “No possible way,” Gabby said. “We were rather busy, if you catch my meaning.”

  Charlotte giggled until Dalton shot her a stern look.

  “Well, that covers last night. But it still does not cover today. I will ask again, where were you, McIntyre?”

  Fergus cleared his throat. “I was with an acquaintance of mine, talking.”

  “And the man’s name?”

  “It is not a man.”

  Gabby’s heart dropped to her stomach. How could he leave her in his bed to go to another woman?

  “The woman’s name please.” Wilcox waited until Fergus shook his head. Gabby could see he didn’t want to give the name. But when Wilcox asked again, Fergus sighed heavily.

  “The Duchess of Marchly.”

  At his words, Gabby’s stomach, complete with her heart, dropped to the floor. The Duchess of Marchly was famous for being a very loose woman, taking numerous men, and women, to her bed while her husband of less than five years turned his back.

  “Gabby,” Fergus said softly. “It’s not what you think.”

  “How could you?” Suddenly, the dress she was wearing, the one he’d bought for her, felt like a shroud. It closed in on her skin and made her sweat.

  She clawed at the sleeves as tears filled her eyes. She turned and ran for the stairs as he called out and ran behind her.

  “Gabby! Stop!”

  Essex stopped him at the bottom of the steps. “Let Charlotte and me go after her. Where are her rooms?”

  She could hear their words as she ran through the exhibit hall. She stopped to listen to them, angry with herself for acting like she had a claim on him. After all, as of now, she wasn’t even his mistress. She could hear their conversation as if she was standing right next to them.

  “On Marsh Lane,” Fergus said. “Charlotte has been there, but I vacated her from those miserable rooms this afternoon. I never wanted her to leave my house. When she gets there she will find all her things gone. She thinks I brought just one valise, but I just couldn’t leave her there.”

  “Then we’ll take her to our house. Go to yours and bring Barton and Beaton to our home when they arrive.”

  Tears filled Gabby’s eyes as they talked. “Hurry, Dalton,” Fergus said. “She’s very stubborn. She may well try and get lost before you get there.”

  “We’ll find her,” Charlotte said.

  “Charlotte, tell her—tell her I’m sorry.” Gabby could hear the crack in Fergus’ voice. “I didn
’t want to hurt her, and, truthfully, it’s not what she thinks. I swear. I haven’t told her about the Rakes yet, but she needs to know the duchess is not a part of us.”

  The Rakes? What the devil was he talking about? Gabby didn’t know, and she wasn’t even sure that she wanted to. He obviously had many secrets that he didn’t plan to share with her.

  “I will talk to her,” Charlotte said. “Gabby has always been willful, but what happened to her when we were younger hurt her. If you talk to her I think you can convince her that the two of you need to be together.”

  There is no chance of that happening now, Gabby thought.

  And then a new voice joined the conversation. “Lord McIntyre. We’ll talk again tomorrow at your home. Say around ten?”

  Gabby was beginning to hate the sound of Wilcox’s voice. She heard Fergus say yes, and then she bolted out the door. How could this have happened? How could McNutt, asshole that he was, be dead and stuffed in an Egyptian coffin?

  But she needed to think of other things. She had no rooms to go back to, even though she was paid until the end of the month. Should she try? Or should she wait for Charlotte and Dalton? It was a decision she didn’t really want to make.

  Things had definitely not turned out as she thought they would this evening.

  She needed time to think, which meant she needed to think of a place to go. An idea popped into her mind and she decided on the perfect place. It would give her a chance to come to terms with what had just happened.

  * * *

  Gabby took in deep lungfuls of air, trying, and failing, to stop the tears that were falling down her face. She hadn’t cried until she’d made it to what she considered her safe place. She could hear the waves of the water. She wasn’t sure of the time, but Big Ben would tell her soon enough.

  The Duchess of Marchly. He’d left her in his bed to go to the Duchess of Marchly. Had she been so displeasing to him in the bedroom that he had to satisfy himself with someone else so quickly? And with such a woman who made herself available to every man or woman she met?