Crystal Gardens by Amanda Quick

was fortunatethat Clarissa and Beatrice were here. Their presence ensured an aura of respectability.
    The social rules that governed relationships between the sexes were more relaxed in the country than they were in London, but there were limits and it took so little to start people talking in a small town such as Little Dixby. Evangeline was well aware that there had been much speculation about her in the past two weeks. A single woman who lived alone was always watched closely. A single woman from London who dressed in a fashionable manner and who was rumored to be writing a sensation novel was even more interesting.
    “We can talk now,” Evangeline said.
    “It’s a great pity this dreadful Hobson person is dead,” Clarissa said. “It would have been useful to question him. I don’t quite understand how he died. Evangeline said something about thorns.”
    “Unfortunately, Mr. Hobson blundered into one of the more dangerous portions of the gardens,” Lucas said. “His death was in the nature of an accident.” He munched a small cake. “Not unlike Douglas Mason’s accident.”
    Evangeline froze. Clarissa and Beatrice became very busy with their tea.
    Predictably, it was Clarissa who recovered her composure first. “The thing is, why on earth would anyone send a criminal to murder Evangeline?”
    Lucas gave Evangeline a considering look. “All I can tell you at the moment is that someone was willing to pay Sharpy Hobson a considerable sum to do so. Someone wants you dead, Miss Ames, and if you’re certain there is no jealous lover lurking in the background—”
    Evangeline choked on her tea. She sputtered and grabbed a napkin. “I am certain of that much.”
    Beatrice pursed her lips. “I agree. We can exclude the notion of a rejected lover. There simply isn’t one in Evangeline’s case.”
    “And her death would benefit no one,” Clarissa added helpfully, “so money cannot be a factor.”
    “Always nice to know one’s worth,” Evangeline said into her teacup.
    “It appears we have only one option open to us,” Lucas said.
    He polished off the last of the tea cakes and brushed crumbs from his hands. It seemed to Evangeline that his eyes heated a little. Not with desire, she realized. It was lust of a very different sort she sensed in him—the dangerous aura of the hunter who is setting a trap for prey. She was sure that this was not the first time he had done so.
    Beatrice also detected the charged atmosphere. She watched Lucas with an expectant air. “What option is that, sir?”
    “Men like Hobson, who can be hired to commit murder, are not actually as common on the ground as one might believe,” Lucas said. “Those who are skilled at that particular sort of work have reputations in the criminal world.”
    Clarissa shuddered. “I can well imagine that is true.”
    “We must find out who employed Hobson,” Lucas continued. “Fortunately, we have Stone.”
    Evangeline looked up from her tea. “What does Mr. Stone have to do with any of this?”
    “He has connections on the streets of London.” Lucas looked out at the dark woods. “He knows people in that world. This morning he took the train to the city where he will make inquiries about Hobson. With luck Stone will discover some information that will lead us to the person who hired Hobson.”
    Evangeline stilled. She was aware that Beatrice and Clarissa had gone equally quiet. They looked at one another. Evangeline saw the questions in their eyes. She raised her brows. “I did tell you that Mr. Sebastian has studied the criminal mind.”
    “Yes, you did.” Beatrice sat up very straight and put her cup and saucer down with a determined air. “We are fortunate to be able totake advantage of his knowledge and connections. The problem here is that we are dealing with members of the professional criminal class. That is not our area of expertise.”
    Clarissa drummed her fingers on the arm of the chair, her serious face pinched in a