That sounds good and reasonable, she assured herself. She then realized she had another card to play. Nobody knows who killed Lady Em. I’ll tell Roger that I did it to protect him from going to prison. I don’t think Lady Em told anyone else about the planned audit.
I’ll make it all right. I know I can. And if he doesn’t believe me, I’ll tell him I’ll go straight to the police and tell them about Lady Em’s problem with her finances. That will do the trick.
Valerie and Dana must know by now that Roger’s alive. What do I say to them? I’ll tell them that when I received word that he was alive, all I wanted to do was give our marriage another chance. I knew that in our hearts we could fall in love again.
They’ll fall for it. I’m a very good actress.
89
Ted held Celia’s hand firmly and with the other hand braced himself against the railing of the corridor. “Why don’t we go down to the main deck?” he said. “The theory is that it’s the most stable spot on the ship.”
“Sounds good to me,” Celia agreed.
“I don’t think it will be crowded,” Ted said. “It’s too bad our last full day at sea is like this.”
They were the only ones on the elevator. When they got off on the main deck, the ship was discernibly calmer. The Tap Room was small, with a private bar. When they sat down, Ted opened the menu for her. “What’s your choice? After a glass of Chardonnay, of course,” he added with a smile.
“I’ve had so much rich food. Does grilled cheese, tomato and bacon on rye toast sound pedestrian?”
“Yes, it does,” Ted said. “Let’s order two.”
When the waitress came, he gave their order, and then when she was gone, he looked across the table at Celia. “I know you said you slept well. Does that mean you’re feeling better about things?”
“Yes, I am,” Celia said frankly. “And let me tell you why. I know I told you yesterday how much I missed my father, but then I realized I was angry with him for dying and for not remarrying so I would have brothers and sisters. Over several cups of coffee this morning, I realized what a nerve I had to blame him. And I realized how very selfish I had been. He was there for me 24/7 all my life. Who knows if he had taken more time for himself, if he would have met someone?”
“That’s a pretty big leap,” Ted observed.
“A necessary one,” Celia said. “And now I’ve told you all about myself, maybe more than you wanted to hear.”
“I hope you know I was very flattered that you took me into your confidence,” Ted said.
“I appreciate that,” Celia responded. “But now it’s your turn. Tell me about yourself and your family.”
Ted leaned back. “Well, let’s see. I think you’ve heard that my father was ambassador to Egypt—”
“And the Court of St. James’s,” Celia said.
“Exactly right. My parents were married right after they graduated from Princeton. My father went on to law school, and eventually became a federal judge. My mother would have happily lived in Westchester County all her life and raised us there, but my father was offered a job as a diplomatic attaché in Egypt. We moved there when I was six years old. My two little brothers were born there.”
“Where did you go to school?” Celia asked.
“I went to the American International School in Cairo. That’s where most of the diplomats’ kids went. I was there for eight years, and then my father was made ambassador to the Court of St. James’s. So we were in London the four years he served there.”
“I think I detect a slight British accent. Am I right?”
“You are right,” Ted said. “I was at Eton for my high school years. Then I went to Princeton and on to Yale Law School.”
“Did you enjoy living abroad?”
“I enjoyed it very much. Along the way I became fascinated by how British and Egyptian culture interacted over the years.”
“Do you miss living abroad?”
“No, to be perfectly honest, I don’t. I loved every minute of it, and I’m happy to travel back. One of my clients is Egypt’s minister of state for antiquities. I work to recover lost and stolen Egyptian artifacts throughout Europe and the United States. But like my mother, my preference is to live in the New York area.”
“That’s really interesting. How did you end up in the area of law you’re practicing?”
“Like so many things in life, it was chance. In my third year of law school I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I was interviewing with several of the big name litigation firms in New York. I saw a notice for this small, quirky Manhattan law firm that specialized in recovering stolen antiquities. Part of the job description said, ‘Familiarity with Egypt a plus.’
“Of course, I was intrigued. I went on the interview. There were two older partners looking to bring in new blood. We hit it off. I went with them. After being there seven years, they made me a partner.”
“Where in the city are you?”
“Our office is on Sixth Avenue and Forty-Seventh Street. I have an apartment in Greenwich Village, three subway stops away.”
“By yourself?” Celia asked.
“Definitely,” he said emphatically. “And may I assume your living status is the same?”
“Absolutely, definitely,” Celia confirmed.
They had finished the sandwiches. “I think this calls for a second glass of wine,” Ted suggested.
“At the risk of repeating myself, absolutely, definitely,” she agreed.
All morning Celia had wondered if she could confide in Ted about her last conversation with Lady Em. She waited until the waiter had delivered their wines and left.
“I want your opinion as a lawyer on what I’m about to tell you,” she said as she took a sip of the cold Chardonnay.
“I’ll be happy to give it to you, and I promise our conversation will be confidential,” Ted said, his eyes narrowing as he listened.
“On the night Lady Em died, I had just gotten back to my room around ten o’clock. Lady Em phoned and asked me to come to her suite right away and to bring my loupe. When I got there, she was not feeling well and was visibly upset. She told me she was sure that both her financial advisor, Roger Pearson—”
“The one who went overboard?”
“Yes, and her personal assistant, Brenda, were cheating her. She handed me a bracelet and asked me to look at it. It was clearly a piece of junk. My examination confirmed that it was not the very expensive bracelet her husband had given her many years ago. She said she had no idea how many of her other pieces Brenda might have stolen and substituted over the years. Then she told me that earlier that morning she had told Roger that she was planning to have an outside accountant go over her financial affairs. She said she was very afraid that their conversation might have played a role in his going overboard that evening.”
Celia looked at Ted and could not gauge his response. “Lastly, and of great importance to you, Lady Em handed me the Cleopatra necklace. She asked me to take it to my room and give it to the Captain in the morning. She told me that she had changed her mind, she agreed with you, it belonged to the people of Egypt. She planned to turn it over to you when she got back to New York.”