Why Mermaids Sing

Chapter 40

Sebastian was in his library, glancing through the credentials of another round of applicants for the position of valet, when Morey knocked discreetly at the door.

“A young lady to see you, my lord.”

Sebastian looked up in surprise. “A young lady?”

“Yes, my lord.”

For a lady of quality to visit the home of an unmarried man was considered a serious breach of etiquette. Sebastian pushed to his feet. “Show her in immediately.”

A tall young woman wearing a heavy veil swept into the room. She waited until the majordomo had bowed himself out, then thrust back her veil to reveal the no-nonsense features of Miss Hero Jarvis.

“Good God,” said Sebastian before he could stop himself.

A breath of amusement flickered across her face. “Just so,” she said crisply, jerking off her fine kid gloves. “Believe me, Lord Devlin, I am as appalled to be here as you are to have me. However, when I considered the alternatives, it soon became apparent that this was by far the simplest course. No one who knows either of us will give a moment’s serious credence to any rumors that may arise should my visit here become known, which it will not. My maid awaits me in the entrance hall.”

Sebastian blinked, then stretched out one hand to indicate the nearest sofa. “Please, have a seat.”

“Thank you, but I have no intention of tarrying longer than necessary.” Untying the strings of her reticule, she drew forth several sheets of paper, folded and worn as if with repeated readings.

“What is that?” he asked warily.

She held the folded pages out to him. “A letter written by my brother, David, and mailed from Cape Town. The Harmony docked there for minor repairs on the voyage home from India, and David entrusted the letter to an officer on a frigate that sailed before them. Look at it,” she said impatiently, when he hesitated.

Taking the letter from her hand, he flipped it open. Dearest Hero, he read, then paused to glance up at her. “Why are you giving this to me?”

To his surprise, she tweaked the letter from his grasp. “I’m not. I simply thought it best that you actually see it so that you would have no doubt as to its existence. What I am giving you is this.” She drew another paper from her reticule. This time, he took it promptly.

He found himself staring at a list of names written in a different scrawl he took to be Miss Jarvis’s own. He threw her a quizzical look, then glanced quickly through the list. Some of the names—Lord Stanton, Sir Humphrey Carmichael, the Reverend and Mrs. Thornton—he recognized. Others he did not.

“My brother was a keen and enthusiastic observer of his fellow men,” she was saying. “His letter contained delightful vignettes on each and every one of his fellow passengers and the Harmony’s officers. That is a listing of their names.”

Sebastian brought his gaze back to her aquiline face. “How did you know I wanted this?”

“I am my father’s daughter,” she said enigmatically.

Grunting, he ran through the list again. It was divided into two sections labeled Passengers and Officers. Along with the names of the passengers he already knew were four he did not: Elizabeth Ware, Mr. and Mrs. Dunlop, and Felix Atkinson.

Elizabeth Ware must have been the spinster of uncertain age, he realized. Mr. and Mrs. Dunlop would be the couple with estates in the North, while Mr. Felix Atkinson, surely, was the gentleman from the East India Company.

Beneath the heading Officers were three names: Joseph Canning, Elliot Fairfax, and Francis Hillard. At the very bottom was written Gideon, cabin boy. Sebastian swore softly under his breath.

“What is it?” asked Miss Jarvis.

“The cabin boy’s last name. You don’t know it?”

“No. David referred to him only as ‘Gideon.’” Her brows drew together in a light frown. “He’s important. Why?”

Sebastian looked into her haughty, disdainful face, and somehow overcame the urge to answer her question. Folding the list, he tucked it into his pocket, then stood regarding her quizzically. “I still don’t understand why you brought the list directly to me rather than simply giving it to your father.”

To his surprise, she looked vaguely discomfited. Twitching the skirt of her dusky blue walking dress with one hand, she said airily, “It so happens that my father is unaware of the letter’s existence. It would serve no purpose for him to learn of it now. I trust you will not mention it to him.”

Sebastian leaned back against his desk and folded his arms at his chest, his gaze on Miss Jarvis’s face. As he watched, an unexpected tide of color touched her cheeks. And he found himself wondering what else David Jarvis had written in that letter to his sister that she was unwilling to allow either Sebastian or her own father to read its contents.

As if aware of his train of thought, she said, “My brother was a very sensitive young man. He knew our father found him…disappointing. I don’t believe I need to say more.”

Her words awakened uncomfortable memories from Sebastian’s own youth, memories of Hendon’s palpable disappointment in his heir during the long, painful years following the deaths of Cecil and Richard. “No,” said Sebastian, pushing away from the desk. “You’ve no need to say more. And I won’t mention the letter to his lordship. Now don’t you think it’s time you collected your maid and ran away?”

Lowering her veil, she turned to go, then hesitated to say, “I know my father believes me to be in danger.”

“You disagree?” said Sebastian, surprised.

“If my reading of this situation is correct, yes.”

“Then why are you here?”

“I looked into some of the names on that list. Mr. Felix Atkinson has two children, a son named Anthony and a younger daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Dunlop have three children. They’re why I am here. And why I hope you will do all within your power to catch this madman, whoever he is. Before he strikes again.”