Garden of Lies(68)

“Where men like Fulbrook and Cobb stand to make huge profits,” Ursula said. “Assuming they can control the trade.”

Lilly swirled the brandy in her glass. “Viewed from that perspective, the ambrosia offers an unusual business opportunity. Opium is widely available from many sources. It will be impossible for anyone to establish a total monopoly. But as far as we know the ambrosia plant is still quite rare and hard to cultivate. If a strong, ruthless individual can establish control of all ends of the trade, he might be able to establish a very lucrative empire.”

They all looked at her. Lilly smiled sweetly.

“Slater’s father always said that I had a head for business,” she said. “Edward wasn’t all that interested in such matters. He always took my advice when it came to investing the Roxton fortune.”

There was a short silence.

Ursula cleared her throat. “Evidently you did very well when it came to that sort of thing.”

“Yes,” Lilly said. She swallowed some brandy and set the glass down. “I did very well by the Roxton money. Which is, of course, why Edward was always so generous to me.”

Ursula smiled. “He paid bonuses and commissions, didn’t he?”

Lilly raised her brows. “I assure you I earned every penny.”

“If we might return to the matter at hand,” Slater said.

“Yes, of course,” Lilly murmured.

“I am now convinced that Cobb is planning to emerge as the sole winner in this affair,” Slater said. “Evidently he is due to arrive the day after tomorrow. My first assumption was that he sent his assassin ahead to get rid of certain people in the business who were no longer of any use to him—those who knew too much about the trade. Taking care of that end of things before he even set foot on shore would ensure that he never became a suspect in the deaths.”

Ursula set her brandy glass down very slowly. “But tonight the assassin came after you. I understand that Cobb might have sent a man ahead to murder people like Mrs. Wyatt and Anne Clifton and Rosemont. Cobb must have been aware of their roles in the ambrosia business for months. But you are new on the scene. How would he know about you?”

“An excellent question,” Slater said quietly. “I could envision some complicated scenarios, all of which would involve coded telegrams sent to and from Cobb’s ship, but I think it makes sense to go with the simplest and most likely explanation. I suspect that Damian Cobb is already in London.”

“But that telegram he sent to Lady Fulbrook announcing his arrival the day after tomorrow—” Ursula paused. “Right. It could have been sent by someone on Cobb’s staff in New York.”

Brice frowned. “Do you really believe that Lady Fulbrook is romantically involved with Cobb?”

“Yes.” Ursula looked at him. “She is desperately unhappy in her marriage.”

“I understand, but still, from the sound of things, Cobb is an American criminal.”

“From the sound of things,” Ursula said evenly, “Fulbrook is a British criminal.”

Brice flushed. “I take your point, madam.”

Lilly reached for the brandy decanter. “I did a little research of my own. Fulbrook and his wife were married a few years ago. One cannot help but notice that there has been no offspring from the union.”

“Hmm,” Ursula said.

Slater looked at Lilly. “What are you getting at?”

“The most important thing a man in Fulbrook’s position wants and needs from a wife is an heir,” Lilly said.

A small hush fell on the scene. Ursula noticed that everyone in the room with the sole exception of Slater appeared to be somewhat uncomfortable. Slater, naturally, was amused.

Ursula rushed to fill the vacuum. “Lilly is right. Fulbrook might have his own reasons to be dissatisfied with his marriage.”

“What does that have to do with this situation?” Slater asked.

“Fulbrook has a reputation for being prone to outbursts of violence,” Lilly said. “If he blames his wife for the failure to produce an heir, she might fear for her life.”

“A woman in that situation would have a powerful motive for making herself indispensable, wouldn’t she?” Ursula suggested. “If Lady Fulbrook stumbled onto the properties of the ambrosia plant, she may have given her husband the notion of going into the drug trade. In the process she purchased some degree of safety for herself.”

“Because Fulbrook needs her to cultivate the plant,” Slater said. “Yes, I like the logic in that. But if our speculations are correct, Lady Fulbrook may feel she is living on borrowed time. If chemists like Rosemont can produce the drug in large quantities, sooner or later Fulbrook might decide to employ botanists and gardeners to cultivate the plant.”

“At which point,” Lilly said, “he will no longer need his wife. I suspect Lady Fulbrook has already reasoned that out for herself. She is quite probably a terrified woman.”

Brice looked at Slater. “If there was a plan to close down the British side of the ambrosia trade, as you believe, it has been badly disrupted tonight. Cobb’s assassin will even now be struggling to survive on London’s most inhospitable streets. There will be a great sensation in the press tomorrow because two well-known men were attacked by an American criminal outside an exclusive gentlemen’s club. Cobb may well conclude that the situation is on the brink of disaster. What do you think he will do next?”