Page 38

“Tell me about their courtship,” Jasper said. He was curious to know if it resembled that of Sebastian and Augusta’s.

“It happened quickly,” Miss Chandler said. “They met at Regent’s Park. Miss Blake would take her pair of Havanese dogs for a stroll around the boating lake every other day, no matter the weather. She was very regimented, you see. Very particular. On one such walk, Mr. Herrington approached her with compliments on her dogs. They became caught up in conversation. This happened twice more before it became clear he was not meeting her by chance.” She sighed. “We were happy for her, of course. She was older and never thought she would marry.”

“Why not?”

The maid winced. “I don’t want to say unkind things about the dead. But Miss Blake was a difficult person. She didn’t get on with many people. And she wasn’t what one might view as handsome, you see.”

“Was she a difficult employer?” Jasper asked.

“She was never unkind, only fastidious and blunt. She treated her servants respectfully for the most part. Even apologized profusely to one of the other maids when she mistakenly accused her of stealing some jewelry. Miss Blake felt awful about it once she learned it was one of her few acquaintances who’d done it.”

“One of her friends stole from her?”

Miss Chandler nodded. “She had a hard time keeping friends. Spoke her mind, even when she wasn’t trying to be cruel. This friend claimed she took the brooch out of revenge for an offense Miss Blake had given her.”

“But she had no trouble with Mr. Herrington? No…awkwardness?”

“He was charming. Doted on her and deferred to her completely.”

Jasper took both sketches Mr. Gibbons had created from his coat pocket. He showed the one depicting Sebastian Lawlor first. “Do you recognize him?”

She peered at it only a few moments before confirming that she did. It was Mr. Herrington, only she remembered him as having a trimmed beard and a thicker mustache.

“Have you seen Mr. Herrington?” Miss Chandler asked. Then with a look of dawning comprehension, “Is he involved in this recent occurrence you mentioned?”

Jasper didn’t mind answering her question. “He is.” He showed her the sketch of the false doctor next. “What about this man?”

Immediately, Miss Chandler bobbed her head. “Oh, yes. That is the doctor who treated Miss Blake. Mr. Gray, his name was.”

“No changes to his appearance? Same facial hair?”

“He appears the same,” she confirmed. “Goodness. Are they both involved in this occurrence?”

As he pocketed the sketches again, Jasper wondered why Sebastian Lawlor had altered his appearance slightly, while the doctor hadn’t. Maintaining the same name, Henry Gray, also seemed peculiar, though perhaps he’d felt no one would look twice at a doctor.

“Both men are suspects, yes,” Jasper said. “Have you seen Mr. Gray since your employer’s death?”

She frowned and shook her head. “No. I didn’t think it very odd, though. He was Mr. Herrington’s doctor. Miss Blake never had one, as she was never ill before her marriage.”

It was what the Joneses’ housekeeper, Mrs. Seymour, had said too. It reminded him that his ten minutes were just about up.

“How many servants did the Herringtons keep?” He wanted to question as many of them as he might be able to find.

“Six,” Miss Chandler answered readily.

She provided the names, which Jasper wrote down. Luckily, she knew where the Herringtons’ former housekeeper, Mrs. Michaels, had found new employment.

“Oh, wait. I forgot Marion,” the maid said as Jasper stood from his chair. He took out his notebook again and added her name. “I can’t recall Marion’s surname, though. She was new.”

“How new?”

“She’d been on staff for about six months. Maybe seven. Mrs. Michaels might know where Marion is now.”

The housekeeper appeared within the frame of the partially closed door, her arms crossed. “If you’re finished, Inspector, Miss Chandler needs to get on with her duties.”

The maid shot to her feet and stepped toward the housekeeper, then hesitated.

“Will you find Mr. Herrington, Inspector?” she asked.