that particular design."
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Charlottegave her a reproving glare. "Not the picture of the statue. The little drawing in the corner. It
appears to be a circle
with a triangle inside. And there are little tiny figures around the edges and in the center of the triangle."
"Yes, I see." Ariel shook her head. "It bears no resemblance to
any of the fashionable motifs I have seen in La Belle Assemblie or
Ackermann's Repository of the Arts. Perhaps one of the other ladies'
magazines contains such a design." "Perhaps it is Egyptian or Roman."
"I do not believe so." With the tip of one finger, Ariel traced the poorly drawn pattern. "Heaven knows
there are any number of decorative designs that have been copied from Egyptian and Roman antiquities.
Every modiste and decorator inLondon uses them. And since ancient Zamar has come into fashion we
have seen a great
many doll)hlns and shells. But this design is not familiar to me.
i . I Why is I[ of interest?" "For sorne reason Drusilla Heskett saw fit to copy it onto this
page in her watercolor sketchbook. A sketchbook she appears to
have d evoted entirely to pictures of nude statues."
Ariel glanced up with an inquiring look. "But this is not a
watercolor picture. It is a drawing made with pen and ink." "Yes. And it is completely unlike all of the
other scenes in the sketchbook." "Indeed." Ariel smiled faintly. "I wonder if Mrs. Heskett is
typical of the sort of client you hope to attract from the fashionable
circles. She appears to have had a lively interest in the male figure." "Yes, well, I suppose her tastes are
no longer very important. What bothers me is that I cannot help but wonder why she chose to
add this extremely strange design to her book."
"What is that reddish brown stain on the binding?" Ariel asked. "Spilled watercolor paint?" "Perhaps."
Charlotte touched the stain with her fingertips. "But what if it is dried blood?"
"Dear heaven."
"What if Mrs. Heskett lived long enough after she was shot to shove this sketchbook under the
wardrobe?" Charlotte whispered. "You will likely never know for certain." "No, I suppose not."
Charlotte nibbled on her lower lip, thinking of the possibilities.
Ariel picked up her teacup and regarded Charlotte over the
6111. "You have many questions to answer, but I have some of my own."
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"Such as?" "What, exactly, happened last night when you went out to search Drusilla Heskett's house?"
Charlotte sat back in her chair. "I gave you the entire tale last night. Mr. St. Ives and I discovered the
sketchbook and then were
74 -SD Amanda Quick
accosted by a housebreaker as we left the house. That is all there v_[,@
to it."
"Do you know, it is your description of St. Ives's role in tl,, affair that sticks in my mind this morning."
Charlotte smiled with deep satisfaction. "As I said, Mr. St. Ives was magnificent."
I "Magnificent is not a word that you are accustomed to use,
especially not when you are describing a member of the opposite
sex.
Charlotte cleared her throat. "Well, there really is no other word that suits in this particular situation. Mr.
St. Ives was clever, resourceful, quick-thinking, and astonishingly brave. I shudder t,
think what might have happened had he not accompanied me." "All in all, quite the perfect
man-of-affairs, would you say?" "Perfect. Mr. Marcle was absolutely correct to recommend him
for the position." "He kissed you, did he not?" Ariel asked softly. "Good lord, what a strange thing to
say. Why on earth would I
kiss John Marcle?" Charlotte reached for her tea. "He's a very nice
man, but he's at least thirty years older than I am and I do not think
that he's particularly interested in females."
"You know very well I meant Mr. St. Ives, not Mr. Marcle."
Charlotte felt the warmth rise furiously into her cheeks.
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Charlottegave her a reproving glare. "Not the picture of the statue. The little drawing in the corner. It
appears to be a circle
with a triangle inside. And there are little tiny figures around the edges and in the center of the triangle."
"Yes, I see." Ariel shook her head. "It bears no resemblance to
any of the fashionable motifs I have seen in La Belle Assemblie or
Ackermann's Repository of the Arts. Perhaps one of the other ladies'
magazines contains such a design." "Perhaps it is Egyptian or Roman."
"I do not believe so." With the tip of one finger, Ariel traced the poorly drawn pattern. "Heaven knows
there are any number of decorative designs that have been copied from Egyptian and Roman antiquities.
Every modiste and decorator inLondon uses them. And since ancient Zamar has come into fashion we
have seen a great
many doll)hlns and shells. But this design is not familiar to me.
i . I Why is I[ of interest?" "For sorne reason Drusilla Heskett saw fit to copy it onto this
page in her watercolor sketchbook. A sketchbook she appears to
have d evoted entirely to pictures of nude statues."
Ariel glanced up with an inquiring look. "But this is not a
watercolor picture. It is a drawing made with pen and ink." "Yes. And it is completely unlike all of the
other scenes in the sketchbook." "Indeed." Ariel smiled faintly. "I wonder if Mrs. Heskett is
typical of the sort of client you hope to attract from the fashionable
circles. She appears to have had a lively interest in the male figure." "Yes, well, I suppose her tastes are
no longer very important. What bothers me is that I cannot help but wonder why she chose to
add this extremely strange design to her book."
"What is that reddish brown stain on the binding?" Ariel asked. "Spilled watercolor paint?" "Perhaps."
Charlotte touched the stain with her fingertips. "But what if it is dried blood?"
"Dear heaven."
"What if Mrs. Heskett lived long enough after she was shot to shove this sketchbook under the
wardrobe?" Charlotte whispered. "You will likely never know for certain." "No, I suppose not."
Charlotte nibbled on her lower lip, thinking of the possibilities.
Ariel picked up her teacup and regarded Charlotte over the
6111. "You have many questions to answer, but I have some of my own."
Page 62
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
"Such as?" "What, exactly, happened last night when you went out to search Drusilla Heskett's house?"
Charlotte sat back in her chair. "I gave you the entire tale last night. Mr. St. Ives and I discovered the
sketchbook and then were
74 -SD Amanda Quick
accosted by a housebreaker as we left the house. That is all there v_[,@
to it."
"Do you know, it is your description of St. Ives's role in tl,, affair that sticks in my mind this morning."
Charlotte smiled with deep satisfaction. "As I said, Mr. St. Ives was magnificent."
I "Magnificent is not a word that you are accustomed to use,
especially not when you are describing a member of the opposite
sex.
Charlotte cleared her throat. "Well, there really is no other word that suits in this particular situation. Mr.
St. Ives was clever, resourceful, quick-thinking, and astonishingly brave. I shudder t,
think what might have happened had he not accompanied me." "All in all, quite the perfect
man-of-affairs, would you say?" "Perfect. Mr. Marcle was absolutely correct to recommend him
for the position." "He kissed you, did he not?" Ariel asked softly. "Good lord, what a strange thing to
say. Why on earth would I
kiss John Marcle?" Charlotte reached for her tea. "He's a very nice
man, but he's at least thirty years older than I am and I do not think
that he's particularly interested in females."
"You know very well I meant Mr. St. Ives, not Mr. Marcle."
Charlotte felt the warmth rise furiously into her cheeks.
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