A Perilous Perspective (Lady Darby Mystery #10)(87)
“Why do you say that?” I asked in interest.
“Many of them appear to share the same address. And their names . . . they seem rather ubiquitous. Akin to using John Smith in English.”
“Then the exact origins of some of the paintings are undoubtedly questionable,” I concluded, thinking of the paintings taken from Venice and other places in Italy by Napoleon.
“Undoubtedly. However, that does not mean they weren’t authentic paintings when they were purchased and transported to Barbreck Manor,” he cautioned.
“But Lord Alisdair was the person to purchase all of them?”
“Yes.”
I gripped my chin, contemplating everything he’d just told me, and whether it furthered our investigation. “Were you able to find dates for the purchases?”
“Yes, and I noted them each on the list you gave me. Starting with the Titian purchased in 1774 and ending with one of the Zoffanys in 1821.”
“Wait. Did you say he purchased the Titian in 1774?” I asked with a frown.
“Yes.” His eyes scoured my features. “Is that significant?”
“What’s significant is that Lord Barbreck told me that Alisdair acquired the Titian specifically on Sir James Campbell of Poltalloch’s behalf, and yet he didn’t receive the painting until 1778, for that’s the year Barbreck’s engagement to Miss Campbell ended, and that event followed swiftly upon the heels of their acquiring it and discovering it was a forgery.”
“That means Lord Alisdair had the Titian in his possession for almost four years before he delivered it to Sir James.”
I nodded. “And if Lord Alisdair had acquired that painting specifically at the direction of Sir James, I struggle to comprehend his keeping it for four years before turning it over. I recognize that his journeys may have taken a considerable number of months or years to complete, but four? Wouldn’t he have shipped some of the objects he’d acquired home before then?”
“Unquestionably. And he did. I found the shipping documents, as well as letters from Lord Alisdair detailing the number of cartons and descriptions of the items shipped, as well as the names of the vessels and ports where they would arrive.”
Then Lord Barbreck had lied again. I clenched my hands into fists as my temper spiked. Four years was plenty of time for his brother or Signor Pellegrini to have created the first forgery. I wondered if they’d concocted the scheme soon after Sir James had asked him to acquire a Titian. Had they seen this as their chance to pocket some money and keep the Titian? Or had it all been about conceit? Had they been so vain that they believed themselves equal to such a masterful painter and so thought to prove it by fobbing off their own work as Titian’s?
I’d opened my mouth to say something scathing about the Mallery men of that generation when I heard the sound of a horse’s gallop approaching. Turning toward the road, I spied Titus’s chestnut coat before I saw Gage’s tall form in the saddle. My stomach pitched, for he wouldn’t have urged his gelding into such a fast gait without good reason. The grave look on his face as he pulled up on Titus’s reins only confirmed my fears.
“We found Mr. MacCowan,” he told us. “He’s dead.”
Chapter 24
I gasped, wishing I’d given more credence to the concerns that had stirred within me the previous evening. But then, that might have already been too late.
“We think it might be the same poison that killed his daughter. Will you come to confirm it?” Gage asked me.
“Of course,” I replied without a second thought, moving forward to take the hand Gage reached out to me. Before accepting it, I glanced back at Henry, wondering how he would follow.
“I’ll return to the manor,” he said, answering my unspoken query. “I have those records to finish up.”
I nodded and then dismissed him from my mind as Gage removed his foot from the stirrup so that I could hoist myself up behind him in the saddle with his assistance. Once I was settled, with a scandalous bit of leg showing above my kid leather boots, we set off. The fact that he hadn’t positioned me before him across his lap told me he intended to go quickly, and indeed, I was forced to tighten my grip around his torso as Titus’s strong legs charged back in the direction they’d come.
The firm muscles along Gage’s abdomen and legs posted to the gallop, partially lifting me as well, but not having access to the stirrups, it was impossible for me not to be jostled about at least slightly. As such, I was more focused on clinging to Gage and avoiding dropping my weight too forcefully onto Titus with each hoof strike than on my surroundings. So by the time I’d noticed the flash of azurite blue in the trees bordering the drive—the same trees I’d searched a short time earlier—we had already flown past. I whipped my head around to look over my shoulder, but whatever I’d seen had disappeared, whether back into the trees or because I’d imagined it.
Gage lowered his upper arms, trapping mine around his torso, perhaps worried by the fact that my grip had slackened, and I was forced to return my attention forward. The word “stop” hovered on my lips, but then I swallowed it back down, already knowing we would find nothing if we returned to the spot where I’d thought I’d seen a flash of blue.
I locked my gaze on the back of Gage’s neck, disconcerted by the fact that I couldn’t decide if what I was seeing was real or an illusion. Of a certainty, it was not my mother, for I didn’t believe in ghosts, and even if I did, she would not be haunting me here. No, I thought, taking myself firmly in hand. If there was a woman, then she was one of flesh and blood. And bent on making mischief. My hands fisted in Gage’s coat.