[Berkeley Brigade 10] - Shadow of Murder by Joan Smith

pretty friendly.”
    “Miss Lipman will have to know about the robbery,” Corinne said, “and there isn’t a chance that chatterbox will keep quiet. I’d like to be rid of her, but that would look odd, I daresay.”
    “Is there any job you could give her that would get her away from the house for a few days?” Luten suggested. “Perhaps send her to Elgin Hall?”
    “No, some other organization is there today. I can’t think of anything. I could keep her out of the library, set her to writing thank you notes in my little parlour, but with all the servants talking of nothing but the robbery, she’s bound to hear of it. Have you told the servants not to speak of this outside the house?”
    “Evans has put the fear of the lord into them. Threatened to turn them off without a character if they talk.”
    “Let them know they’re not to mention it in front of Miss Lipman in particular, and I’ll keep her busy writing notes.”
    A brace of footmen were sent to make queries of the neighbours living around either corner. Coffen could wait no longer to get into the garden to search for clues. When Prance arrived a quarter of an hour before his cast to see to the requirements of the day’s rehearsal, he was met by Luten and asked to go to the library, where he was informed what had occurred.
    When he had assimilated the shock, his first words were, “I hope you don’t think my people had anything to do with it.”
    “That is exactly what we do think,” Luten said, and told him what Black and Coffen had discovered at Corbett’s house.
    “Pictures in a book,” Prance scoffed. “That doesn’t mean anything. He’s interested in art. Being involved in something like this would ruin his career, and he’s a very promising actor. Let me talk to him.”
    “We’ll all talk to him,” Corinne said firmly. She was annoyed with Prance. She always knew he was selfish, but he hadn’t said a single word to show that he was sorry for their trouble, or a query as to whether anyone was hurt. “And furthermore, we no longer want the rehearsals held here. You can hire a hall or have them at your own house.”
    Prance sniffed and looked out the window. “Very well. I shall do as you say, but you have no call to blame me because you didn’t take proper precautions to guard the goods you were responsible for. I shall go and inform Evans to have Vance sent here to the library, and Chloe and Sean sent to my house to wait for us.”
    It was not long before Vance was tapping at the library door. He came in, looked uncertainly at the group regarding him with stern, suspicious faces, looked about at the empty tables, then turned to Prance and said, “You wanted a word with me, Reg?”
    “Lord Luten wishes a word with you. And before they begin harassing you, I want to make perfectly clear I disagree with every word they say.”
    Corbett, the very picture of confusion and concern, was soon informed of the facts. His first outburst of anger that his home had been searched without his knowledge turned to fear when he learned he was suspected of being involved in the robbery.
    “But I know nothing about it!” he said. “I’m an actor , what would I be doing associating with common thieves? You only suspect me because I picked up that T’ang horse and admired it. I admire many of the artworks in this house. I recognized some of them from that art book you saw on my sofa table, and looked them up when I got home. I marked the places in the book so I could read about them, study them. I’m trying to educate myself. You can’t blame a man for that. I don’t want to live in squalor forever. I can’t afford better at the moment, but I’ve tried to improve the place with little touches when I can afford it. You certainly didn’t find any stolen items in my house.”
    It was a fine rant. If they had not been hearing for days what a great actor Corbett was, they would have been convinced of his sincerity. “I was with Sir Reginald