Where Shadows Dance

Chapter 13

His modest round hat gripped in both hands, his mind swirling with conjecture, Sir Henry Lovejoy followed a succession of clerks through the warren of damp, badly lit corridors that led to the Downing Street office of Sir Hyde Foley.

He found the Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs seated behind a broad, old-fashioned desk, its surface covered with what looked like dispatches and stacks of reports. The room was large and darkly paneled, with a massive mantel of carved sandstone and a window of diamond-paned, leaded glass overlooking a court below. As the somber clerk bowed himself out, Foley leaned back in his chair and breathed an exasperated sigh. “Well. It’s about time. I expected you an hour or more ago.”

Lovejoy gave a slight bow. “My apologies. I was in Bethnal Green, at the scene of a murder.”

Foley grunted, obviously unimpressed. He did not invite Lovejoy to sit. “I called you here because I want to know what the devil is going on.”

Lovejoy blinked. “I beg your pardon?”

“I’m referring to this business about Alexander Ross. The man died of natural causes. So what precisely is Bow Street doing, poking around and asking questions about his death? It presents a very odd appearance. Very odd indeed.”

Lovejoy dredged up a faint recollection of reports of a young man attached to the Foreign Office who had died the previous week. “To my knowledge, we’re not doing anything, Sir Hyde.”

The Undersecretary’s nostrils flared. “Don’t even think of playing me for a fool, Sir Henry. I had Devlin questioning me this morning.”

“Devlin? You mean, Viscount Devlin?”

“Of course I’m talking about Viscount Devlin. Who the bloody hell do you think I’m talking about?”

Lovejoy considered himself an even-tempered man. But he found he needed to draw a deep, steadying breath before he could trust himself to answer temperately. “Lord Devlin may have his own reasons for inquiring into the death of Mr. Ross. But if so, I am unaware of them. I can assure you that he is not doing so in cooperation with our office.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

Lovejoy simply held the other man’s cold stare and returned no answer.

Foley leaned forward. “Do you have any idea of the havoc that could be wrought if news of this were to leak out?”

“You mean, the news that Ross was murdered?”

“Good God, man; have you heard nothing I said? Ross was not murdered! I was referring to the turmoil that could result if rumors of some bizarre investigation into his possible murder were to be bandied about in the streets.” Foley pushed to his feet and swung away to where the ancient mullioned window overlooked the flagged court below. “It’s no secret that the situation on the Continent has reached a pivotal point. It would be difficult to overstate the importance of the diplomatic negotiations currently under way. The last thing we need is this sort of irresponsible nonsense mucking things up.”

Lovejoy studied the other man’s sharp-boned, tightly held profile. “I’ll discuss your concerns with his lordship.”

“See that you do,” snapped Foley, turning back to his desk. “My clerk will escort you out. Good day, Sir Henry. It’s to be hoped we won’t meet again.”