Heart of Courage Read Free Page B

summoned Mr. Peach, Rudy’s valet, who had the dubious task of undressing him and putting him to bed.
    Lindsey sighed as she left the room. Thank heavens Aunt Dee had missed her brother’s performance. Though her aunt was all for being independent, she drew the line at behaving like a drunken lout.
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    Lindsey worked behind her desk on this week’s column, penning notes on the Penrose ball. She was in the process of describing the lavish decorations, the huge urns overflowing with chrysanthemums, the ornate columns and gilt mirrors that had been brought in to make the ballroom look like Versailles, when Rudy arrived at the office. He stormed into Heart to Heart like a whirlwind set ablaze, his hazel eyes wide and his face a little pale, making his freckles stand out.
    â€œLissy—I need to talk to you.” It was a name he had called her when he was too small to say Lindsey, a nickname he rarely used anymore. It brought her head up, her gaze shooting to his face.
    â€œGood grief, what is it? You look as if you are about to swoon.”
    â€œI’m a man, Lindsey—men don’t swoon. But I—I…I need to speak to you in private.”
    There was something in his eyes that reminded her of the little boy he had once been. Lindsey rose from her chair and motioned for him to come upstairs to the room Professor Hart often used as his away-from-home study. Rudy followed her inside the high-ceilinged, book-lined chamber and closed the door.
    Clamping down on a thread of worry, she turned to face him. “So what has happened to upset you so badly?”
    Rudy took a breath, working to calm himself. “This morning, the police came to see me.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œA constable named Bertram. He’s the lead investigator on the Covent Garden murders.”
    â€œWhat on earth did Constable Bertram want with you?”
    As if his legs would no longer hold him up, Rudy sank down in one of the wooden chairs opposite the professor’s battered oak desk, leaving Lindsey standing. “He wanted to ask me some questions about this latest murder. About both murders, in fact.”
    â€œThe police thought you might have information on the murders?”
    â€œNot just information. They…um…seem to think I might be involved in some way.”
    The words chilled her. None of this made any sense. “In what way could you possibly be involved in a murder?”
    Rudy looked at her with a face full of misery. Beads of perspiration popped out on his forehead. “They seem to consider me a suspect, Lindsey. They acted as if I might be the man who actually committed the crimes.”
    Lindsey sank down in the other wooden chair, her heart hammering dully. “What would…” She moistened her lips. “What would make them think you were involved?”
    Rudy looked away, staring out the window though he couldn’t see anything but a patch of gray, overcast sky. Fall weather had finally arrived. The temperature had dropped and it looked as if a storm might be coming in.
    â€œI knew her,” he said, “…the woman who was killed.”
    Lindsey frowned. “But I thought the woman was a…a lady of the evening.”
    He looked even more miserable. “She considered herself an actress. We…um…met one night at a sort of party at Tom Boggs’.”
    Tom Boggs. The spoiled, youngest son of an earl was trouble and always had been. Ever since her brother had begun spending time with Tom and his worthless friends, Rudy hadn’t been himself. Now he was involved with a prostitute. She was beginning to see a side of her brother she hadn’t known existed.
    But then, a young woman wasn’t supposed to know about things like prostitution, and a young man was expected to sow his oats in such ways.
    â€œWere you… involved with her at the time she was murdered?”
    â€œI’d…um…seen her shortly before it