Murder at the Crown and Anchor by C.J. Archer EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
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- Author:C.J. Archer
- Language: English
- Genre: Traditional Detective Mysteries
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LONDON, MAY 1900
There is nothing more anxiety-inducing than waiting for a scolding
you know is coming. It’s like waiting for the other shoe to drop,
where the shoe is made of iron and the floor of glass.
It had been a week since I’d seen Jonathon Hartly leave Uncle Ronald’s
office on the fourth floor of the hotel. While I couldn’t be certain Jonathon
told him that I’d continued to associate with Harry Armitage after being
ordered not to, I suspected he was vindictive enough to do it. He’d been
indignant after I rejected his advances and resentful that Harry had been the
one to save Floyd from financial ruin when he could not.
No doubt Jonathon left out the business about the gambling house from
his account to my uncle. That was the only silver lining in the grim cloud
about to burst over my head. Floyd may have dreadful taste in friends but
he was my cousin, and I liked him. I didn’t want him landing in further hot
water with his autocratic father.
It was almost a relief when the summons finally came a week to the day
after Jonathon called on Uncle Ronald. Relief was quickly replaced by a
sense of foreboding as I presented myself at his office on a wet spring
morning. I focused on the dense gray bank of clouds through the window
and willed him to get on with it.
It seemed to take an age before he finally slotted his pen into the stand
and set aside a list of names he’d been compiling. “Close the door,
Cleopatra.”
I’d left it open in the hope it would encourage Uncle Ronald to keep his
voice down. I went to shut it, but it was pushed open wider from the other
side. Floyd stepped inside, frowning at me.
“I saw you through the gap.” He looked past me to his father. “What’s
the matter?” He wouldn’t ordinarily intrude on a private conversation
between Uncle Ronald and me, which meant he knew what this was about,
or suspected, and wanted to help me if I needed defending.
I stepped aside to let him in.
Instead of sending him on his way, Uncle Ronald invited us both to sit.
He clasped his hands on top of the desk and regarded me with a directness I
expected from him. He was not the sort of man who beat about the bush.
“It has come to my attention that you have been in the company of
Armitage, Cleopatra.”
“Who says that?” Floyd asked. He had not seen Jonathon leave this very
room a week ago, nor had I mentioned it, but he knew his friend’s feelings
towards Harry. And for me.
Uncle Ronald didn’t even look at his son. “Well? Is it true?”
“I’ve seen Harry from time to time,” I said. “He wanted my assistance
with an investigation.” It wasn’t quite the truth, but it was close enough.
“Before you forbid me from seeing him, again, I want to point out that
Harry and I are merely friends. Anything more than that is impossible.
Harry is a good person, trustworthy, and we work well together. Since he
requires assistance with his work occasionally, and I require mental
stimulation and a productive way to occupy my time, we share his case
load. I’m discreet and careful. I don’t put myself, my reputation, or that of
the hotel and our family in any danger. Surely you can’t object to that?”
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