Page 8 of Corpse in the Canal

She looked surprised to see the visitors, who both stood as she entered.

“Mr. and Mrs. Grey,” her mother explained briefly. “Was Percy Harvey at Mrs. Vennor’s on Tuesday evening?”

Lady Phoebe blinked. “Yes. I danced with him. Why?”

“His father can’t find him.”

“Maybe he doesn’t want to be found,” Lady Phoebe said, taking the chair next to Constance.

“That crossed our minds,” Solomon said, “but Mr. Harvey is insistent. Did either of you see or hear of Percy after Tuesday?”

“I saw him with Bobby Waltham on Wednesday afternoon,” Phoebe said, “walking through St. James’s Park.”

“Did you speak to him?” Constance asked.

“No, I only saw them from a distance and I was with friends.”

“How did he seem to you when you danced with him?” Constance asked Phoebe, while Solomon distracted her mother with a question of his own.

“His usual self,” Phoebe said. “Not worried, or confiding, if that is what you’re looking for.”

“Were you close friends?” Constance asked.

“No,” Phoebe replied. She didn’t even think about it.

“And yet,” Constance said quietly, “I hear you are about to be betrothed.”

“Then you hear wrongly. There never was any such engagement and there never will be.”

Surprised by the younger woman’s firmness, Constance sat back. “Why is that?”

“Is it any of your business?” Phoebe asked with more curiosity than aggression.

“No, but it would seem to be Mr. Harvey’s. He is under the impression that his son is unofficially engaged to you.”

Pheobe nodded. “There was a conversation between our fathers—years ago, when I was a mere debutante—but it never came to anything.” She did not sound remotely regretful, merely stated the fact.

“Why was that?” Constance asked.

“Because we did not wish it.”

“Then he did not propose?”

Pheobe’s eyes narrowed. “Are you sure you come from Mr. Harvey? Your questions are more those of some salacious journalist.”

“I’m sorry you think so,” Constance said calmly. “My husband is acquainted with your father, if you require reassurance. And, quite possibly, the question is not relevant to finding young Mr. Harvey. But we have some success in seeking and finding missing people, and sometimes it helps us to know where to look, if we can gain some knowledge of the man himself. In this case, views of him seem to be contradictory. Do you like him?”

Phoebe hesitated for the first time. Then, “Frankly, no. And so I told him when he proposed.”

“Then you turned him down. Is your father aware of this?”

“Of course. Though clearly Percy’s is not.”

“Did it happen this week?”

“Oh, no,” Phoebe said. “It was two years ago, at least. Do not be imagining I broke his heart, even at the time.”

“Did he accept his dismissal?” Constance asked.