Larcenous Lady (23 page)

Elvira slanted a knowing smile at him. “Touché.”

“That’s the new set of diamonds you’re wearing, is it?”

Elvira fingered them covetously. “Mama gave them to me today—a surprise wedding present.”

“I doubt a queen from the tenth century B.C. wore anything so modern, but they are lovely. They suit you.”

“I didn’t like to leave them at the hotel.”

Belami became aware that Pronto was signaling him behind Elvira’s back and attempted to gain some privacy. “Will you promise me the next dance, Mrs. Pilgrim?” he asked. “I know this jealous husband of yours will claim the first.”

“It will be a pleasure,” Elvira agreed. Then she put her white fingers on Pronto’s arm and led him away, before any privacy was gained.

It was arranged that Belami would stand up with Lucy, but first the newcomers wanted to stroll around the hall and see the costumes. It left Dick a moment with Deirdre. “She’s outwitted us again,” he said, not without admiration. “By God, she’s up to anything. She must have had her mother slip down to Cerboni’s late this afternoon.”

“I wonder how she paid for them.”

“They must have met up with Styger somewhere. He didn’t go to their hotel or I’d know. They can’t plan to stick around Venice for long. Cerboni knows by now that the money is fake. He’ll be at the hotel waiting for them—which means they’ve checked out already. They plan to leave tonight.” His eyes sparkled with excitement. Deirdre felt a frisson scuttle up her own spine.

“But she just got married!”

“What a devilishly cunning trick to lull our suspicions. I wish Réal would get here. He won’t be far behind them,” Belami continued. “Unless he’s following their woman. She must be in charge of harboring their luggage and having some means of escape ready. With so many gondolas at the landing, no one would notice another.”

“You think they’re all gathering here?”

“Birds usually flock before they migrate. They’re somewhere nearby. Styger might be posing as their gondolier. He could be at the dock right now. I’m going to scout around.”

“What about watching Elvira? And you’re supposed to have the next dance with Lucy,” Deirdre reminded him.

“You watch Elvira for me. Nothing should happen yet. I’ll get the musicians to delay the music a few moments. I’ll be back in time to keep my date with Lucy.”

Deirdre was nervous with so many suspects to keep an eye on. Her job was made easier when Carlotta joined the new arrivals. Deirdre hastened forward to hear if Carlotta said anything that would indicate a place of rendezvous. The conversation could hardly have been more innocent. Carlotta complimented the ladies on their costumes, and especially Elvira on her new diamonds. The ladies complimented the contessa on her ball, then Carlotta passed along to speak to some other guests.

“Where do they keep the
vino
and
aperitivos!”
Pronto asked Deirdre.

She told him, and he went off with the ladies. Deirdre stationed herself at the door to keep an eye on the refreshment parlor and the front entrance for Dick’s return. He was back in five minutes. “Styger’s not there,” he told her. “I quizzed the gondoliers. The party came in a hired boat, which left.”

“At least we know the ladies came alone.”

“We don’t know that Styger isn’t here already, in one of those black dominoes that litter the room. If you see a domino approach any of the ladies, try to get close enough to hear if the man speaks English. There aren’t many
Inglese
here, which will be a clue it’s Styger. I’ve left word at the dock to be called if he comes. Where are all our quarries?”

“Pronto took them for a glass of wine.”

When the music started, Belami sought out Lucy. Pronto was dancing with his bride, which left only Carlotta for Deirdre to worry about. She was happy to see Mrs. Sutton take a seat beside the Duchess of Charney along the wall. The old conte was with them, clapping more or less in time to the music and ogling all the ladies.

The evening proceeded calmly for an hour. After a few dances, Elvira professed herself tired and went to sit with her mother. The conte soon got her onto a chair beside him to flirt with her. Lucy was standing up with a harlequin who spoke Italian, and Carlotta was dancing with one of her dinner-guests, a certain Marchese Laderchi, whose only crime was that he was her lover.

Belami took advantage of the lull to have a private word with Pronto. He knew by the disgruntled frown on his friend that the marriage thus far wasn’t to his liking.

“How did the afternoon go, Pronto?” he asked, with a smile that told Pronto he was referring to conjugal intimacies.

“Molto malo.”
Pronto scowled. “And don’t bother telling me to stroke her hair and tell her her ears are like snails, for it don’t work.”

“No contact at all?” Belami asked.

“My own fault, I daresay,” Pronto admitted. “It’s the wine that did me in. Thought I might oil the wheels by getting her disguised. Not actually foxed, you know, but a trifle disguised to get down her guard. That woman can hold her wine, Dick. A regular Dane. She drank me under the table. I woke up at seven o’clock with a splitting headache and an empty bed.”

“Elvira meanwhile received the diamonds from her mother?”

“Must have. She was already changed into her Queen of Sheba outfit when I woke up. Didn’t cut up stiff about me not being a slave though. Got to give her credit for that. I told her how it would be messy for after the ball. Mean to say, shoe blacking and white sheets, to say nothing of Elvira herself.”

“I’m surprised at you, Pronto. I’ve seen you start on a third bottle without keeling over.”

“Only had one bottle. One to myself, I mean. Elvira had one, too. The Italian wines are potent—or maybe it was your silver bumpers. Very nice, by the by. Appreciate it.”

“Glad you like them,” Dick said, but his mind was elsewhere. Elvira must have laced Pronto’s wine with laudanum.

There was no longer any doubt that the Jalbert gang were gathering, poised for flight. They were here for the sole purpose of getting their dies back from Carlotta. If it hadn’t been for that, Belami didn’t think they would have actually gone through with the wedding. Elvira’s not having a new gown tended to confirm it. She had actually said she was ordering one. It was all smoke and mirrors, to conceal the truth.

And Carlotta—what was she up to, that she’d refused an offer of twenty-five hundred in genuine money for the dies? What did she hope to weasel out of the Jalberts? He looked to Elvira and was struck by the light of her diamond necklace.

That was it. Carlotta thought she could hold them to ransom for the diamonds. And if the necklace hadn’t been purchased yet, no doubt she would have held on to the dies till it was. She was a leap ahead of him all the way. But Carlotta was outmatched if she thought she could bring Elvira to heel. Surely the contessa wouldn’t leave herself outnumbered in the final confrontation. What allies had she brought in?

“What ails you, Dick?” Pronto asked, bringing Belami back to attention.

“I’m just wondering what I can do to help you.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll help myself. I’m her legal husband now. I’ll have my pound of flesh.”

From Hamlet to Shylock—another fine misplaced quotation. An odd coincidence he should choose
The Merchant of Venice,
considering Portia’s disguise. He wondered if Pronto had begun to suspect his bride was not the shy maiden she seemed to be. The body has its own wisdom, folks said.

“There’s Réal beckoning you from the doorway,” Pronto pointed out. “Got on a domino. Was he invited to the party?”

“Anyone can crash a masquerade. That’s what makes them so interesting.”

“That’s true. I’d swear I saw a
polizia
here a minute ago. Recognized his ugly phiz—the one I had a word with when I was trying to find the guide for the Suttons while me and Elvira go to Rome. Going to show her the catacombs, Dick. Maybe we’ll even tootle on to Paris, if she shows a taste for bones.’’

“A policeman?” Dick asked.

“Yes—fellow had the gall to strut right up to the contessa and talk to her, too. Bold as brass.”

“I see.” Trust Carlotta—she had her allies on hand for the job. She would enjoy the irony of using lawmen to help her break the law. He could almost see the expression on her face when she confronted Elvira. “If you think you can get away with it, think again. I have half a dozen of Venice’s stoutest constables standing on guard in the hallway. You won’t leave the palazzo unless you do as I say.” She’d be lucky if Elvira didn’t put a knife through her ribs. She couldn’t know the whole truth about Elvira.

Pronto straggled off, and Belami went to speak to his groom, who was puffed with importance. “What’s afoot at the hotel?” he asked.

“The Sutton party, they are still registered as guests,” Réal told him, then watched with infinite satisfaction as his master’s brow creased in eagerness—an eagerness that only he could abate. “When I am knocking at their doors many times, however, there is no answers. I take the precaution to open the doors with my
passepartout.
No ones is there. The female servant, she is gone, leaving much of confusion behind. Also leaving behind a rope tied at the window, how she is leaving without paying
l’addition.”

“Excellent!” Belami exclaimed. “Just as I thought.”

Réal felt a twinge of annoyance that his marvelous news should have been foreseen. “Some of the clothing of Miss Sutton, they are
chez
Monsieur Pilgrim. This also I checked, not using the
passepartout,
but speaking with his valet.” This was a task invented by Réal himself. He slid a sharp glance to Belami, hoping to read astonished gratification on his face but finding only a pensive look.

“Mrs. Pilgrim will leave them behind. She’ll have no further use for them.”

“Only the one blue dress is all the trousseau she has brang to him. What else she wears was still with her mother. Many of these items are gone away,” he pointed out.

Belami considered this a moment. “Perhaps she plans to be Miss Sutton again, or Miss Somebody Else. Did you go over the Suttons’ apartment closely?”

“With the fine-tooth comb. This I find under the table,” he said, and produced his
coup de grâce.
It was a wrinkled receipt from Cerboni to Mrs. Sutton for a diamond necklace, priced at nine thousand guineas, paid for in English gold coins. Réal stood with bated breath, expecting to see his master break into shouts of delight.

Belami just glanced at it. “Nine thousand, eh? That must be all the counterfeit money they had. I wondered at Elvira bothering to haggle the man down. Well done, Réal,” he added, but it wasn’t said in the proper tone. Réal had failed to astound, and dissatisfaction coiled like a snake in his breast.

“Now what jobs I am to do?” he asked, hoping to pull victory from the ashes yet.

Belami touched his finger to chin while he conjectured what had to be done. “Elvira’s wearing the diamond necklace. I begin to see all my planning and arranging of second disguises was unnecessary. Carlotta can’t demand the necklace till Elvira’s leaving, or we’d notice it was missing. What we do, Réal, is circulate, keeping an eye on Elvira and Contessa Ginnasi. When Elvira starts making noises about leaving, we can’t lose sight of them. The exchange won’t take a minute.”

“This is true.” Réal nodded, but he saw no way to distinguish himself in the business. “I shall keep my eyes very much busy,” he decided, and stationed himself at the door, arms crossed, to guard the suspects.

The dance finished and Lucy went to sit with her mother and Elvira. Within thirty seconds, Deirdre strolled along beside them. Belami caught her eye, and she joined him. He hastily explained his deductions. “It may happen sooner than you think,” she said. “Pronto’s been nagging Elvira to go home. She mentioned a moment ago that she has a headache, but she just wanted to lie down for a half hour. The conte offered to send for a headache powder. She said she’d wait a moment. I noticed she kept glancing toward Carlotta.”

“Then they’re getting ready for the swap. We should soon see Carlotta speak to a couple of gentlemen in black dominoes—she’s brought in some police. They’ll be kept beyond range of her voice, but close enough that she can call for help if needed. Trust me.”

They scanned the floor for Carlotta. She looked around and spoke to one man wearing a black domino. The man walked away rather quickly and spoke to another. Carlotta watched them, then strolled nonchalantly toward the conte, who was sitting with the duchess and all the Suttons. She smiled and chatted a moment with her husband, then turned to Elvira. Elvira touched her hand to her head. Carlotta said something, then Elvira rose and left the room.

Carlotta remained, chatting to her conte. “She’s not going!” Deirdre exclaimed.

“Patience, my dear. They don’t want to make it obvious.” A guest came along and asked Carlotta for the next dance. She rose, and they began walking to the floor. “You must be wrong, Dick,” Deirdre said.

Just as the sets were beginning to form, Carlotta spoke to her partner and walked away, out the door after Elvira.

“I knew it,” Dick said softly. The tight knot in his stomach eased to satisfaction.

Deirdre felt as though a herd of wild horses had invaded her insides. She looked toward Dick, a frightened shadow in her eyes. He smiled with infinite satisfaction. “This is it!” he said softly.

Chapter Seventeen

By the time Belami and Deirdre got to the doorway, Carlotta and Elvira had disappeared, but Réal stood bristling with eagerness.            ‘

“Which way did they go?” Belami demanded.

Réal pointed down the hall, to the left. “They went in at the third door.”

“The music room,” Deirdre said.

“You stay here and don’t let anyone else join us,” Belami said, and began hastening toward the door. He saw a pair of black dominoes loitering at the other end of the hall.

Réal stood like a pointer dog, rigidly alert, staring after his master. He didn’t see Pronto coming from the ballroom. Deirdre saw him and was filled with apprehension.

“Bonsoiro,
Deirdre,” he said. “We didn’t have our dance yet. Afraid I’ll have to disappoint you tonight. I’m taking Elvira home to—heh, heh. Bit of a headache actually. No offense, m’dear. She said to meet her here in half an hour.”