Chapter Eleven #3
Ada nodded, apparently satisfied with that answer. “How very like him,” she mused. There was a touch of fondness in her voice. “He’s always been a bit of a rebel, and I did say at the exhibition that you can find all sorts of peculiar interests to dabble in when you have enough money.”
Vesper saw another opening and took it. “Speaking of the exhibition,” she said carefully. “I wondered if you’d heard about what happened to the inventor who presented that night, Francis Gladwell?”
Ada’s eyes widened. “Oh, of course! I think everyone’s heard by now. It’s practically the scandal of the season.”
“Did you know him at all?” Vesper asked.
Ada shrugged. “We met once, but we never got to know each other well; he’s a bit older. Honestly though, I’m not sure I could have gotten to know him even if I’d wanted to.”
“What do you mean?” Vesper pressed.
Ada chuckled. “Before he died, Francis Gladwell was high society’s newest shiny toy, everyone wanted to know him. He was charming, attractive…” She nodded to Vesper. “Not unlike you, actually.”
“Me?”
Ada nodded. “Everyone here’s been talking about you, the mysterious girl who managed to catch the eye of the discerning Maximilian Kite.”
Vesper stiffened. “Has Mr. Kite never courted someone before?”
“Oh, he’s courted many women,” said Ada. “But the word is that, for the first time, he’s truly in love.”
Vesper shifted her weight from foot to foot. She had no interest in Maximilian’s romantic life, the girls he may have had dalliances with before now, but what had he said to make people think he was in love with her? She redirected the conversation back to Francis quickly.
“Mr. Kite was telling me how popular Mr. Gladwell was,” she said. “It’s such a tragedy that he was killed, especially when it seemed everyone liked him.”
“Well…” For the first time, Ada sounded less confident. “Not everyone liked him.”
Vesper straightened. “What do you mean?”
Ada hesitated, as though she’d said too much, then sighed.
“I suppose it doesn’t really matter who knows, not anymore.
” She lowered her voice, so that Vesper had to lean in.
“A few weeks ago, there was a bit of a scandal. You didn’t hear it from me if anyone asks, but Francis Gladwell was caught in a rather compromising position with a young woman from a prominent family.
” She nodded subtly to the left. “She’s over there. ”
Vesper looked in the direction Ada had indicated. A young woman wearing a large yellow hat was sitting a few feet away, her back to them.
“Her name’s Elizabeth Duxley,” Ada murmured.
“Apparently, she and Francis were indulging in some rather … risqué activities, when someone caught them. Word got around. Within a week, Elizabeth had lost all of her other suitors and become a social pariah. Actually, this is the first time I’ve seen her out in weeks. ”
Vesper swallowed. “Was it really as serious as all that?”
Ada nodded. “This was Elizabeth’s second season out, and Basalton’s a small city. With that sort of blemish on her reputation…” Ada pursed her lips. “Her odds at a good marriage now aren’t very good.”
“It sounds like she took all the blame while Francis took none,” said Vesper. “That hardly seems fair.”
The expression on Ada’s face was grave. “That’s the lot of a high society woman. It’s rarely fair.”
Vesper chewed on her lip, considering this new information.
From the moment she’d seen Francis’s body in the maze and realized he’d been murdered, she’d speculated that his death was somehow tied to his machine.
Even Chief Stettner’s brief mention of the missing prototype had pointed her in that direction.
Now, however, she was starting to wonder if maybe she’d narrowed her theories too early.
What would the police chief say in this situation?
What was one of the first things he’d ever taught her?
Never limit your scope without cause.
A person jealous of Francis’s machine certainly had cause to want him dead, but a young woman who’d potentially had her entire life ruined because of his carelessness and impropriety? That sounded a lot like a suspect with a very personal motive.
“Looks like the match is about to start,” Ada pointed out. “Have you ever watched sorcerer’s polo?” she asked.
“No.” Vesper frowned. “Is it anything like normal polo?”
“Similar, but with a few … enhancements,” Ada explained. “You’re in for a real treat.”
Vesper was just about to ask Ada to elaborate more on what “enhancements” might look like when their conversation was interrupted by a thunderous sound.
The ground beneath them began to rumble, and Vesper had the bizarre thought that they were experiencing an earthquake.
She looked up, alarmed, and was surprised to find that Ada didn’t seem in the least bit concerned.
Instead, she’d risen slightly in her seat and was looking to her left, as though waiting for something. Vesper followed her gaze.
That was when she saw them.
At first, she didn’t know what to make of the animals galloping across the polo field.
They were moving so fast that for a moment Vesper could only discern animals that were brown and glossy coated.
She squinted as they drew nearer, then gasped.
The beasts charging across the field were the largest horses she’d ever seen, at least twice the size of normal ones.
The polo players were already astride them, and some spectators cheered as they flew past the pavilions.
But that wasn’t what had made her go still; it was the massive brown wings protruding near each horse’s shoulders. Vesper turned to Ada.
“Are those real wings?”
Ada grinned. “That’s one of the enhancements,” she said. “They’re a crossbreed. As the story goes, a group of sorcerers who were also polo enthusiasts wanted to see what would happen if they combined the size and strength of a Thoroughbred horse with the speed and precision of a peregrine falcon.”
Vesper watched in awe as the polo players and their flying mounts circled the field and came back around. “I’ve never heard of them before.”