And Then She Fell(98)

Portia drew in a deeper breath and said, “I’d like to suggest that we seek advice from someone who knows more about dealing with villains than we do. Someone we can trust with this, who’ll understand our situation.”

Amanda opened her eyes wide. “Who?”

“Penelope,” Portia said. “If anyone can help us devise a workable plan to capture a murderer, it’ll be she.”

“Of course.” Amelia looked at Henrietta. “Penelope will know how to manage this.”

Amanda raised her hand. “I third the motion.” She glanced at Mary, then looked at Henrietta. “What say you two?”

“I’m in favor,” Mary said. “I don’t know enough about villains, and Penelope assuredly does.”

Henrietta pressed her lips together, but she really had only one question. She looked at Portia. “How can we arrange to see Penelope without alerting our villain?”

“That’s easy enough,” Amelia said. “It’s early afternoon—the perfect time for us as a group to pay a family call on Penelope to see her baby son, little Oliver.”

“We can make it appear that you’re reluctant,” Mary said, standing and shaking out her skirts, “but that the four of us are dragging you out, insisting that you can’t sit at home alone.”

“Projecting the right image will be easy,” Amanda said, “and we can make our diversion to Albemarle Street appear spontaneous, an unplanned visit—one with no ulterior motives—just in case the blackguard has people watching this house.” She glanced at Portia. “Do you think Penelope will be in?”

Portia nodded and rose. “Knowing my little sister, at this hour, with Oliver so small, Penelope’s sure to be at home, most likely consorting with some ancient Greek.”

“Ancient Mesopotamian, actually.” Penelope ushered the five of them into her drawing room half an hour later. Following, she shut the door. “Jeremy’s given me some of his translations to read. Quite fascinating.”

The others, engaged in taking seats on the twin sofas, exchanged glances but didn’t respond.

Waiting until they all sat, then resuming her position in the armchair angled to one side of the fireplace, a massive old tome lying open on a small table alongside, Penelope surveyed them. “But what brings you here?” Her gaze sharpened as she looked from one to the other. “Has something happened?”

“Yes.” Henrietta, seated between Amanda and Amelia on one sofa, decided to take charge before anyone else did. “The blackguard has seized James and is dangling him as bait to force me to give myself up to him—to the villain.”

“Well!” Penelope looked simultaneously shocked and intrigued. “That certainly is a development.” She paused, then said, “Do you mean to tell me he saw through our plan last night, and rather than fall into our trap, refashioned it for his own use?”

Henrietta nodded decisively. “That, indeed, is how it appears.”

Penelope blinked. “How very impertinent.” She refocused on Henrietta. “So tell me all.”

Henrietta proceeded to do so, punctuated by various belligerent and militant comments from the other four. She concluded with, “So we’ve come to you for advice and any help you can give.”

“We walked from Upper Brook Street and through Grosvenor Square,” Portia put in, “all the while making it appear that we were dragging Henrietta along for an outing, and that diverting here was purely an impulse, a spontaneous female family call.”

Penelope was nodding. “Excellent. You’ve done exactly as I would have—exactly as you should have.”

Henrietta caught Portia’s eye and, despite all, struggled to keep her lips straight; they all understood that from Penelope, the words “exactly as I would have” were high praise indeed. It was widely accepted that in a family well-endowed with intelligence, Penelope nevertheless took the cake.

“We thought,” Amanda said, “that, clearly, Henrietta has to go to this rendezvous and meet with the villain.”

“And she has to go along with whatever he says until she learns where James is being held,” Mary added.

Penelope looked around the circle of faces, at the last considered Henrietta, then nodded. “I agree. I can’t see any way around that—not if we want to rescue James, and, of course, we do.”

“Yes, but we can’t just let Henrietta swan off all alone to meet this murderer who wants to kill her,” Amelia said, “but equally we have to make it appear that she is, indeed, all alone.”