Deadly Decorum (Paperback)

Claudia met us at the bottom of the staircase. In deference to her, Edward called for the elevator instead of taking the stairs.

Her perfume, something flowery with a subtle hint of musk, would have been pleasant on any other living woman. On her, the mixture carried the additional odors of false sweetness and rotten heart that seeped from the wench’s pores.

“Nice perfume,” I said, sneering down at her.

She narrowed her eyes. “You like it?”

“I’d buy some for my pet monkey if I had one, but he might choke on it.”

“I thought you were the pet monkey.”

The elevator came, and we stepped inside. We were silent on the ride up. It was obvious Claudia wanted time alone with Edward, especially when the doors opened and she said, “Nicholas, if you could excuse us.”

Aware that Claudia might have another curve ball up her sleeve, I wasn’t eager to leave them alone. I took a page from Joshua Breen’s book and observed nature: the communication habits of a pair of knuckleheads in the wilds of the Inglenook hallways. No photos necessary.
When I closed the door to the Blue-Bell Room behind me, I kept the nob turned so it wouldn’t latch and then let it creek open a hair in time to hear the female of the species issue a challenge.

“—and then you ran off before I could say hello.”

“You were busy with Joshua Breen.”

I recognized the sulk in Edward’s tone.

“Josh is my friend. I’ve known him since I was sixteen.”

“Is that when you became betrothed to him?”

Sulk had moved on to sarcasm. Always a sign of recovery.

“Edward. It was a joke. I had a crush on Josh, and he used to tease me. Someday, I’m going to marry you, Claudie. It meant nothing.”

Silence as they reevaluated their approach.

My brother cleared his throat. “He’s done very well for himself.”

“Yes. He has.”

“And he’s quite well known.”

“It tickles me to think someone I know is a celebrity.”

Claudia sounded pleased and completely innocent of any irony. Silence followed her agreement as her partner decided whether to abandon the ritual and adapt to a single life.

“Will you save me a dance, sir?” She made the request in a coquettish voice that I assumed was accompanied by fluttering eyelashes.

“I’ll be working.”

An impatient sigh.

“Let Nicholas cover for you. You’re only handing out books. Even he can handle that.”

I smothered a growl.

My brother sighed like a big, sad bear. “Yes, I suppose he could. It’s not as if it requires skill. Or talent. A six-year-old child could do it, or a person with limited mental abilities. They could also be physically impaired, as sitting behind a table requires no exertion.”

The natural response would have been to ask him what was bugging him, and the answer might tell me why he’d been behaving oddly of late. Instead, there was another moment of silence until she said in a strained, happy voice, “Then I’ll see you tonight.”

Unless they had been communicating through ESP, they hadn’t touched on anything of interest to me, so I closed my door.