Free In the Barrister's Chambers by Tina Gabrielle Page B

it would affect my chances at the university. She knew that I depended on my Fellowship with your father and that I had plans to one day become a professor myself. Bess was concerned her ‘reputation’ would hurt my advancement.”
    Evelyn frowned. “Her reputation?”
    Randolph’s face turned a mottled shade of red.
    Simon came to his friend’s aid. “Bess was known for her performances offstage just as much as those at the Drury Lane Theatre.”
    Bewilderment flashed across Evelyn’s face. “Whatever do you mean?”
    All three men looked at her.
    Simon squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. Intelligent brown eyes glanced at her, then lowered, then looked at her again. “Bess Whitfield had many lovers. Some were men of influence and wealth while others were mere musicians and stagehands. Rampant rumors existed speculating that Bess’s drove of lovers were the reason she had advanced in the theater so quickly. It’s rare for a country girl to become a famous actress almost overnight at one of London’s most popular theaters.”
    Evelyn cast her mind back and the image of Bess Whitfield focused in her memory. Evelyn had seen Bess on stage two years ago during the opening night of the newly rebuilt Drury Lane Theatre’s production of William Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet. Bess had played the role of Gertrude, King Hamlet’s widow and the mother of Prince Hamlet, who marries Claudius, her husband’s brother and murderer who succeeds to the throne. Bess had been a beautiful woman, but it was her charisma and provocative allure that had captured the audience. Evelyn would never forget the pivotal moment when Gertrude drank a cup of poison intended for Hamlet by Claudius. She had fallen to the floor, moaning in agony and reaching out for her son. The applause for Bess at the end of the performance had rivaled that of the lead actor, Robert Elliston.
    Evelyn had heard competition for leading roles was fierce, but she had never suspected Bess Whitfield’s performance off stage had aided her career.
    Evelyn blinked, then focused her gaze on Randolph. “And you knew this about Miss Whitfield?”
    â€œIt’s true, but that’s not the side of Bess I knew. We were related, Evelyn, and we shared nothing but kinship.”
    Evelyn covered his hand resting on her shoulder. “I believe you, Randolph.”
    She coddles him like a helpless babe, Jack thought. Randolph could very well be guilty, an accomplished actor. Jack had seen it before; men so adept at lying, they could fool their own mothers while committing heinous crimes beneath the roofs they shared.
    â€œTell me what happened the night she was murdered,” Jack said.
    Randolph dropped his hand from Evelyn’s shoulder, and his gaze snapped to Jack. “I was at the university library that night when a note was delivered. It was from Bess saying that she wanted to see me. She requested I come to her London lodgings. She said it was urgent, that there was something she had to give me. An item of great importance.”
    Randolph’s hands twisted on the table. “I went right away. Bess rented the second floor of a four-story building. When I arrived on her doorstep, I knocked, but there was no answer. Then I noticed the door was ajar, and I let myself inside. I stood in the vestibule and called her name, but no one was about. The housekeeper was nowhere to be seen, and I later learned that she had left for the night. As I looked about, I heard a loud thump from upstairs. Concerned that Bess had fallen, I rushed upstairs. I found Bess in her bedchamber. She was . . . she was lying on the floor. She had been stabbed numerous times and there was blood . . . blood everywhere. On the rug, the walls, the furniture. I knelt down and held her in the crook of my arm, hoping to find her still breathing, but her life blood soaked through my shirt. She was already