Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
‘That was simply thrilling,’ said Jane as they got into a hackney carriage. ‘I felt privileged to witness how you two work together, like a well-oiled machine. Is your life always like this?’
Dora was tempted to laugh at that description. She could think of many occasions when she and Jacob had rubbed up against each other and produced sparks. ‘Sometimes. Much of what we do is patient watching or asking the right questions of those who know our targets.’
‘I’ve always thought the greatest marriages are those between two people who complement each other, whether it be to run a gentleman’s household, a ship of the line or a vast landed estate.’
‘We aren’t married.’
‘Not quite on the same page yet?’ asked Jane.
‘You could say that.’ Dora listened as Jacob gave the driver instructions to drop the ladies at the address for the stage manager in Covent Garden and then take him on to the Foreign Office.
They were dividing their efforts, weren’t they?
She did agree that they had to make haste, but he should have asked her.
He saw her expression when he took his seat.
‘I thought we agreed?’ he said warily.
‘When did we agree?’
‘When our eyes met and you… You’re right. I merely thought I’d understood your intention.’
‘Shall I fetch the oilcan?’ said Jane archly as she nudged Dora. The carriage began moving.
‘I find words are usually necessary to avoid misunderstanding, Jacob,’ said Dora dryly.
‘It is a good plan, but remember that these people are still at large. We aren’t safe until they know they are too late to get their hands on the report.
And we will still have to guard against them lashing out in anger. ’
‘What did the report say?’ asked Jane. ‘I was dying to ask but thought I should show restraint.’
‘I found it rather encouraging,’ said Dora. ‘Do you want to read it?’
Jane shook her head. ‘Please summarise the main points for me. I’d prefer we talk about what we are doing, in the time we have left before we get to our destination.’
‘The comte’s last report said that Napoleon had made a serious error. The emperor does not understand the general he is up against,’ said Jacob.
‘Field Marshal Wellington?’ asked Jane.
‘Not him this time. Napoleon is unlikely to face him as they are in very different theatres of war, one in Spain the other on the border of Russia. The comte was writing about Prince Kutuzov.’
‘Head of the Russian armies?’
‘That’s the man. Kutuzov is a general of the old school who doesn’t flinch at doing what is necessary.
He will burn every building and destroy all the crops between Kiev and Moscow rather than let the French get hold of them.
The comte predicted that the French armies would march into a desert with a Russian winter approaching.
There will be nothing to requisition and the line of supply too long and vulnerable to feed so a huge force. ’
Jane wrinkled her brow. ‘Napoleon doesn’t know this? How can he not?’
‘Because he thinks the Tsar is a young man who would prefer to sue for peace as he did before. Napoleon doesn’t expect Alexander to sacrifice his own country to stop the invaders. He has not given sufficient weight to the stubbornness of the old soldier in charge.’
‘The comte predicted that Napoleon will retreat?’
‘Not before he goes too far. D’Antraigues predicted that Napoleon will lose – and that means he will lose everything. That was the explosion the comte promised.’
Dora had read the same message too. It felt unreal at this time when the emperor’s power was at its zenith.
But perhaps that was just it – the hubris of a man who had come to believe that he couldn’t lose a battle?
He had reached a peak and now was destined to decline.
He had forgotten that other forces were ranged against him, bloody-minded peasantry and the approaching winter to name but two; these no general could defeat.
‘Who had the motive to kill to keep this quiet? The allies must welcome the news. Our government will be encouraged and find renewed enthusiasm for the fight. The Russians too must be very happy with this verdict,’ said Jane.
‘I know my brothers in the navy would celebrate to hear their contribution to the war has not been in vain.’
‘Does this mean the French are back in contention as our killers?’ asked Dora, then immediately corrected herself.
‘That doesn’t feel right. It seemed to me that Michel Percy was one step behind us, or more.
We wondered if Lorenzo, hating Napoleon as he did, killed his master because he couldn’t stand the report predicting French success, but we have a report saying the exact opposite. ’
‘I think I know what happened,’ said Jacob.
‘Or, at least, I have a suspicion of the motive for keeping this report out of circulation. I’m just not certain who.
’ He shook himself. ‘Let’s get this report handed over to Thornbury in the strictest confidence.
We can say it has been found, but we must make sure no one knows what is in it.
That is the best way of unmasking our killer. ’
‘What are you plotting, Jacob? You know I don’t like to be kept in the dark.’
‘Visit the stage manager and get confirmation of who put the gunner in the orchestra. If that name is the person I suspect, then we have confirmation. I don’t want to prejudice your questions by giving you the name now.’
He was up to something, but Dora trusted him enough to let this play out as he suggested. ‘And after we have the name?’
‘I’ll meet you at the office. You’ll know where we are going if I’m proved right. Ah, we’re here.’ Jacob got out and handed them down to the pavement.
Dora poked him in the ribs. ‘You are being tricky.’
He kissed her hard and fast. ‘No, I’m being cautious. I need to talk to Thornbury about the international repercussions. I’m hoping to persuade him to work with us so we can decide our next move.’ He got back into the carriage and drove off to Whitehall.
Mr Pierce was having a bad day. Dora could tell this from the moment they entered his office as he shouted at his clerk to turn away all callers and deny all responsibility for injuries or lost items as a result of the accident at the concert.
‘He’s not going to like us asking questions,’ said Jane.
‘Then we need to make him think we are doing him a favour. Any ideas?’
The clerk hurried over to them, his expression wary. ‘Ladies, I’m afraid Mr Pierce is busy today. If it is about the concert last night, you must take your grievances to the managers of Vauxhall Gardens.’
‘It is nothing to do with that,’ said Jane. ‘I’m here on a matter of business.’
What tale was she spinning now, wondered Dora.
‘My name is Miss Austen. My sister-in-law is contemplating holding a musical party and was considering engaging Mr Pierce’s services to organise it. Are you saying Mr Pierce is too busy to take on new business? If so, I’ll got to the next person on my list.’ She made as if consulting her notebook.
The clerk’s demeanour changed in a trice. ‘No, no, please, dear lady. I’ll see if he is available. I believe his eleven o’clock appointment cancelled so he likely has an opening.’
He hurried off to the inner office.
‘You are a genius,’ muttered Dora.
‘I do try,’ said Jane with a smile. ‘I’ll leave you to extract the information as I’ve got us through the door.’
The clerk ushered them in. ‘Miss Austen and her … er … companion.’
Mr Pierce, a man with the face of a bulldog, small eyes and jutting chin, got up and bowed. ‘Delighted, Miss Austen, please do take a seat.’
Jane did as bidden. Dora remained standing, playing the part of chaperone servant as she scanned where the contracts might be held. It was a neat room, everything filed away. Playbills advertising Madame Catalani’s most famous concerts were hung framed on the wall.
‘Mr Pierce, thank you for seeing me without an appointment,’ said Jane. ‘I had the very great pleasure of meeting Madame Catalani a few days ago and mentioned her to my sister-in-law. I understand you organise her concerts when she is engaged outside a traditional theatre or concert venue?’
‘I have that pleasure. I must mention that she is much sought after and can command the very best prices for her performance.’ He was looking askance at the lady who was no sophisticate in her respectable muslin walking dress and pelisse.
‘I have no doubt that is true. My brother is a partner in a bank so there is no shortage of funds for the party my sister-in-law has in mind.’
Mr Pierce nodded. ‘Forgive me if you thought me unmannerly for raising the matter of money. It is better to check before we progress any further with arrangements, to save later disappointment. What date did your sister-in-law have in mind?’
Time to step in and relieve Jane of the burden of spinning this story any further. Dora put her card on the man’s desk. He looked down, surprised to be presented with a calling card by a woman he had dismissed as a servant.
‘Private enquiries?’ He frowned, holding it between finger and thumb. ‘What is going on here?’
‘I’m Miss Fitz-Pennington. I almost died last night because the man you hired to fire a gun put in a live round.’
‘I haven’t got time for this!’ Mr Pierce leaped to his feet and opened his mouth to summon his clerk.
‘I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Your employer, Madame Catalani, can vouch for us and will not like to hear that you manhandled us out of your office. She’s rather fond of Miss Austen. My friend here is telling you the truth when she said we made your lady’s acquaintance earlier this week.’
He shut his mouth and looked in the direction of the theatre only a street away. Dora wouldn’t be surprised if the singers were there to discuss the concert and lick their wounds.
‘Madame Catalani was also there last night as my business partner, Dr Sandys, tended the injured,’ continued Dora.
‘Thanks to his quick actions, he made the number of people calling in your office for recompense much less than it could have been. You might have had a dead Russian diplomat as an added complication, but Dr Sandys rescued him from a burning pavilion. I’m sure you’ve been told about that. ’
The manager sat back down and folded his arms, scowling. The bulldog was close to biting. ‘What do you want then? Money?’ He thought he’d got her type pinned down.
‘We want the name of the gunner and the one who suggested you hire him.’
‘But that’s confidential!’
‘Why?’ asked Jane in her reasonable tone. ‘What have you to hide?’
‘Why, nothing! It is only that … in business, you can’t go sharing secrets as to how you make the magic happen.’
‘It’s nothing to do with trade secrets, let alone magic,’ said Dora.
‘He wants to keep the books private because he doesn’t pay everyone equally but only what he thinks they will accept.
’ She knew full well this was how the entertainment world worked.
She had been paid less than her male colleagues despite being the bigger draw at the box office.
The Mr Pierces of the world were everywhere in the profession.
‘Well, yes!’ He didn’t even look ashamed by that fact.
‘When it comes to attempted murder, I think such niceties should be abandoned, don’t you?’
‘Attempted murder? No one said anything about that!’
‘They soon will be. If you want to keep out of this, you’d better tell us what you know and be rid of us.
If we must sit here and summon a Bow Street runner to explain our case, then things will get a lot more complicated.
’ She had no intention of calling on the runners, but he wasn’t to know that.
Gently bred ladies would think the runners were allies, not the obstacles that she usually found them to be.
He stared at her, gauging her resolution. Finding she wasn’t to be moved until she got what she came for, he groaned and threw up his hands. ‘All right, all right. But this goes no further, agreed?’
That suited her. They didn’t want the person in question to get wind that they were on their trail. ‘The contract?’
With no good humour, he pulled a file out of his desk drawer and leafed through the pages until he came to the right one. ‘John Smith of Barnes Terrace.’ He frowned. ‘My clerk filled it out but that doesn’t sound right. I thought he was German or something foreign.’
‘Then it is safe to assume that was an alias. Who suggested you hired him?’
‘Madame Catalani, of course.’
Dora could not see the world-famous soprano behind this plot. ‘And who recommended him to her?’
He grimaced. ‘The Russian woman, Yekatarina Petrovna. She said she knew someone who could fire a gun.’
‘I bet she did,’ said Dora.