Chapter 14
Alex straightened up again when he heard the doorknob, not eager to be caught out again. "Miss Berkelshire," said Alex, as that worthy came into the room. "Please, have a seat. Alice will bring us tea momentarily."
"Your other request is on the way," said Alice, taking the cold pot to replace again, as well as the used teacup.
"Thanks," said Julian, turning back to their fifth interviewee. "So, you were on Wicket's right?"
"Yes, dear Wicket, he was entertaining us all with tales of his time overseas, buying tea for the family business. He met his wife on one of those tours, isn't it romantic?" she said, sighing.
Alex smiled at her and said, "You weren't bothered by his flirting?"
"Oh, no, he never meant anything by it. It's, well, it was just his way, wanting to make every lady feel special," said Berkelshire sadly. "He'll be missed at parties, he was ever so fun to talk with."
"He did seem to always have a crowd of admirers," said Julian. "His wife will miss him, too, she did really seem to understand about everything."
"Lady Darlington is terrifying but actually quite kind to those of us who enjoyed her husband's company," said Berkelshire. "She might be more terrifying for how kind she is, she's so reserved."
Alice poured their teas, and there was a moment of quiet as everyone fixed up their cups to their individual tastes. "Really, we were all having a congenial evening until, well."
"So Wicket bumped you?" asked Julian gently.
"Oh, yes, he got me with an elbow, thankfully not at all hard.
I won't even bruise from it, but it did put me off-balance, and I bumped into Lady Knapweed, who nearly spilled right onto my dress," said Berkelshire.
"It was quite the chain reaction, but Wicket even managed to gulp down a bit of his brandy before setting it down.
" She gave a sad little laugh. "I guess that was the fatal swallow. "
"I expect it was," said Alex. "You're the only one so far who saw him drink, so thank you for adding that to the timeline."
"Oh, like a real investigation," she said, trying not to look delighted given the sad subject matter.
"I am a real investigator," assured Alex. "I don't normally do this part, interviewing witnesses, but I've solved a number of murders with my absent Agent friends."
"Then Wicket's in good hands," said Berkelshire.
There didn't seem to be a lot to say after that, and she, too, took her cup when she left so that there wasn't a trace of her passing.
"Well, that went better than the last one," said Julian philosophically.
Alex chuckled. "I can hear Murielle in my head yelling at me anyway," he confided.
Julian kissed him. "She'll know you did your best."
The next person in wasn't another noble lady, but instead one of the male servants with two more plates of leftovers from dinner. "I hope this is sufficient?" he asked politely.
"It'll be enough for now," said Alex. "We need constant feeding sometimes, is all."
"Alex is using magic to keep things safe," said Julian, "and I'm giving him some of mine to help out."
"It's like any time you're working hard and need extra food to make up for the exertion," said Alex.
"Oh, yeah, like how we get extra big lunches on the days it's all hands cleaning or harvesting out in the garden," he said with a nod. "Well, just keep asking, and we'll keep you in little pies if nothing else. There were extra birds, so the cook made a bunch."
"Don't let us steal anyone else's leftovers, though," said Julian. "Though I suppose this is probably less bother."
"It's fine, not everyone likes game bird," he said with a grin. "I'm off, unless you've got another request, m'lords?"
The door opened to admit their next interviewee, the last person involved in the whole debacle earlier, Sylvia Knapweed.
"We're fine now that Lady Knapweed and Alice are here. A fresh cup, Alice?" said Julian.
Alice grinned. "Yes, sirs," she said, getting it from the bar and making Alex wonder how many cups were under there to be retrieved.
Lady Knapweed sauntered over and sat with great confidence, clearly unconcerned about any possible accusations. "Viscounts Charmer's Way," she said, sitting. "So good of you to look into this terrible incident."
She didn't sound all that sincere, but then, she always had a touch of the femme fatale about her.
"It used to be my job," said Alex, "so I suppose it is again. Tea?"
Alice brought over the cup and lifted the pot, poised for her answer.
"Yes, please, just one sugar, there's a girl," she purred.
Alex blinked but nodded a dismissal at Alice as soon as that was done. "You were standing to the left of the couch, is that right?"
"Yes, I got the second-to-last cup of tea, too, because that bartender did the right side first," she said with a little moue to her painted mouth.
Alex wondered if she thought he was less gay than he really was.
"But you didn't spill, despite being knocked a bit," Julian said, voice dry and unimpressed.
"No, no, I got my balance back well enough after that Berkelshire woman shouldered me," she said, straightening up a little and finally sensing that they weren't into whatever it was she'd been trying to serve up.
"I wasn't really paying that much attention to the other ladies, but I've always enjoyed Wicket's little stories.
He was a man who understood that flirting could just be a game with no endpoint, a little light entertainment rather than a commitment. "
"You and your wife had a little scandal when you chose to use Baronet instead of Baronetess, I seem to recall," said Julian. "Has that been a problem this weekend?"
"Oh, no, that's last year's news, no one cares anymore," she scoffed. "We're all fairly chummy these days, as much as anyone gets with all these parties. Old Chuds knows how to put on a shindig."
"I'm sure they don't usually have a murder in them," said Alex. "So everyone's always known that Wicket's flirtations were empty?"
"Oh, yes," said Knapweed. "I mean, there's probably been an ingenue or two who were fooled, but as they were merely disappointed rather than despoiled, no one pays it any mind."
"Good to know," said Alex. "Can you give me a quick rundown of how the incident went, from your perspective?"
"All right," she said, pausing to really think this time.
"Wicket was telling us one of his tales from back east, something about tea, I think, and that made Miss Halliwell want tea, which got the rest of us to order some, too.
Wicket added in another brandy to his order, draining his current glass and handing it off to the man. "
She went on to describe it just as the others had, a series of mishaps originating with Wicket, going out to the ladies on the outside, and then straightening up without anyone the worse off. Other than, of course, the poisoned Baron.
"Thank you," said Alex, more sincerely now that she was cooperating. "You don't seem to have been in a position to dose him, so I guess you can go."
"I have no reason to rid the world of such an entertaining conversationalist," said Knapweed huffily.
"Thank you for your time," said Julian as she got up and stalked out.
They both decided to take a minute eating more pheasant pie before they called in Alice. They'd had enough tea that it was time for a break, anyway, and to stretch their legs and brains both.
Next up would be Lord Herbert, sort-of cousin to Winston-Smythe, who'd just been having his cup of tea in peace as far as anyone knew.