A Murder in Time(65)

She’d gotten the detective’s attention, which was what she’d wanted. She also wanted to impress upon him the seriousness of the situation. Their eyes met for a long moment. She couldn’t figure out what he was thinking.

He finally shifted his gaze back to the Duke. “Is what she’s saying true?”

“Yes. I viewed the body myself.”

“I’d like ter see the lass as well.”

“Certainly. I’ll escort you to the body, but Miss Donovan is giving you an accurate account.”

Again the golden eyes flicked in her direction. They were still carefully blank, but Kendra suspected that he was wondering who the hell she was. She couldn’t blame him. She’d be thinking the same thing if she were in his shoes. In his eyes, she realized, she was the civilian.

“He also cut off sections of her hair,” she told him.

He frowned. “Why’d he do that?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “He has a reason, though. I think he has a reason he selected that particular girl. And there’s a reason he bit her on the breast once, no more.”

Sam leaned forward, fascinated. “He bit her?”

“Yes.”

Aldridge asked, “Mr. Kelly, have you encountered anything like this before?”

Sam rubbed the side of his nose, thinking. “I’ve seen bawdy baskets bite each other and yank their hair almost clean outta their scalps when they get into flaming rows. Never what you’re describing, though.” His eyes dropped to the portraiture again. “Have you considered that a client of hers might’ve taken exception ter something the lass did or said?”

Instead of answering, the Duke glanced at Kendra.

Interesting, Sam thought. The Duke of Aldridge seemed almost deferential toward the maid.

“He’s most likely a client, but this wasn’t an impulsive attack,” Kendra told Sam. “She didn’t have any defensive wounds on her fingers and palms. I think she came with him willingly and the attack happened after she was restrained. She may have agreed to be handcuffed or he took her by surprise, so she didn’t have time to fight back.”

“Why in heaven’s name would she agree to be handcuffed?” Rebecca asked, surprised.

Kendra caught the deer-in-the-headlights look of the men, and had to suppress a smile. “I’ll explain it to you later.”

“You will not!” Alec glared at her.

Rebecca in turn glared at him. “You shall not dictate my future conversations, Sutcliffe!”

Sam cleared his throat. “Ah, aye, well, you’ve given me an interesting case, Your Grace.” He hesitated and then slanted another look at the maid. “Forgive me, Miss Donovan, but I must ask . . . who are you?” He spread his hands. “You appear ter have a bit of expertise in this area, which—if I may be blunt—is unusual enough for anyone, but especially for a woman.”

Kendra tensed automatically, thinking, Will I always be a freak? Still, she understood his confusion. She was a freak here. Any woman from her era would be.

“I know that what I am saying may be unorthodox,” she said slowly, fixing her gaze on him. “I can only hope you won’t discount what I’m saying because I’m a woman.”

Sam regarded her carefully, aware that she hadn’t answered his question.

“Brava, Miss Donovan!” Rebecca declared, breaking the silence. “The contributions of women have too long been discounted. We have been treated like we have nothing but feathers stuffed in our heads! When I think of—”

“Hell’s teeth, Becca,” Alec interrupted, shooting her an exasperated look. “Now is not the time to discuss Mrs. Wollstonecraft’s radical ideas, my dear.”

Rebecca looked insulted. “That is the trouble, sir. There is no good time a man wants to discuss the rights of women. But there shall come a time, Sutcliffe! Someday women shall even be given the right to vote. Mark my words!”

“Yes, well. I think we need to concentrate on the matter at hand, rather than politics, my dear,” Aldridge said mildly. “And, for the record, I have never adhered to the nonsense that women are ornamental creatures with no intellect.” His gaze lifted to the painting above the fireplace. “My wife was a brilliant mathematician and astronomer. If the course of events had been different, I believe she would have rivaled Caroline Herschel in her contributions to science.

“So, you see, Miss Donovan,” he added, smiling sadly at Kendra, “I shan’t dismiss what you are saying because of some misplaced theory that a woman’s brain is smaller than a man’s.”

“Aye. You needn’t fear that I’ll dismiss you out of hand, either, miss,” said Sam. “Some of the most devious criminals I’ve ever encountered were women.”

He grinned, but sobered quickly when he turned to the Duke. “Me and me men will begin making inquiries as soon as I return ter Town. If she worked for an academy, ’tis doubtful a bawd would’ve let her leave—not without brokerin’ the deal.”

“A bawd?” Kendra asked.

Sam gave her another look. Maybe they called them something else in America. “An abbess—brothel-keeper. I suspect that the lass didn’t work for the more exclusive brothels in Town. We’d have heard if a Cyprian went missing,” the Runner continued. “We’ll begin at the mid-range academies. I warn you, Your Grace, this will take time. London brothel-keepers do a bang-up business.”