Deciding a little flattery wouldn’t hurt, Caro clasped a hand to her chest and asked breathlessly, “Oh my heavens, never say you are the famous Miss Julia Todd? I apologize for not recognizing you. It’s just I’ve never seen you offstage before.”
Actresses weren’t the only ones with a flair for the dramatic, she thought with a little thrill of satisfaction.
Beside her, Kate coughed into her hand, but Caro suspected it was a laugh in disguise.
In no hurry to leave now that she’d discovered the intruders were admirers, Julia Todd turned to the costume-laden woman behind her. “Take those to my dressing room. I’ll be there in a moment.”
To Caro and Kate she said in a far sweeter tone, “It’s always a delight to meet a theatre aficionado. How can I help you?”
“It’s an honor to meet you, Miss Todd,” Kate said with an easy smile. “I’m Lady Katherine Eversham and this is my friend Miss Caroline Hardcastle.” Despite her marriage to Eversham, as the daughter of a marquess, Kate held the courtesy title of “lady” for life. Though Kate didn’t always choose to use it, Caro supposed this was an instance in which it might be a help rather than a hindrance to their investigation.
“We’re here to speak to you about Effie Warrington,” Caro continued.
Gone was the syrupy sweet actress greeting her public. At the mention of her rival, Julia’s striking green eyes turned cool and her mouth tightened. “What about her? Other than how she’s an hour late for rehearsals on opening night.” The last she said with an added degree of complaint. As if she personally had been harmed by Effie’s absence.
“She was abducted just a few hours ago.” Caro didn’t attempt to soften the news. “Do you know anything about that?”
The actress’s eyes widened in obvious fright. “What?”
“It’s true,” Kate said in a gentler tone. “She’s a dear friend of ours and we were asked by both her fiancé and her companion to see what we could learn from her friends here.”
Julia glanced around them suspiciously. Then, apparently coming to a decision, she gestured at them to follow her. “Let’s take this conversation away from where anyone might overhear.”
After she’d turned, Caro exchanged a wide-eyed look with Kate.
When they stepped into a small but comfortably furnished room off the nearest hallway, Julia’s companion was there arranging gowns on a rack. At a word from the actress, she slipped out of the room and shut the door behind her.
Collapsing into a comfortable-looking chair covered in pink chintz, Julia gestured for Caro and Kate to take a seat on a low sofa in the same fabric. “Now, are you saying that Effie won’t be playing the role of Ophelia tonight?”
“I suppose that’s part of what we’re saying, yes.” Caro was not sure whether she was disappointed or relieved at Julia’s behavior. She supposed she’d hoped the actress would show such naked glee at learning Effie wouldn’t be here tonight that they’d know at once they’d found the person responsible for her absence.
“Don’t look at me like that,” the actress said crossly. “I’m her understudy. I have a job and this is information I need in order to do it.”
“Are you saying you knew nothing about Effie’s disappearance before we told you?” Kate asked. Caro recognized her tone as the one she used to calm witnesses when they interviewed subjects for their column.
“Of course I didn’t, for God’s sake.” If Julia was lying, Caro had never seen anyone better at it.
“It’s just that we heard that you and Effie didn’t get along at times and that you were disappointed that she’d been cast instead of you,” Caro said carefully. “I understand competition among actresses can get quite vicious.”
“Yes, we’re competitive.” Caro noted Julia’s slight emphasis on the first syllable of “competitive.” It was indicative of someone who hailed from the north of England, rather than upper-class London as her enunciation otherwise indicated. Was Julia so alarmed that she’d allowed her pronunciation to slip? “We’re of a similar age and are frequently up for the same roles. But I wouldn’t have had her kidnapped. We’re friends.” The actress bit her lip at this last pronouncement.
Standing, she began to rummage around her cluttered dressing table. Finally, she found a cigarette holder from which she withdrew one and lit it from a silver box of matches. “Filthy habit,” she said, biting her lip again. “And I only indulge rarely.”
As the smoke began to gather near the high ceiling of the room, Julia’s shoulders began to relax.
“You seem overset by Effie’s abduction,” Caro said. “I have to admit I was expecting a bit more glee from you, Miss Todd.”
Her composure regained, the actress glared at Caro. “I already told you I wouldn’t have done something so devious. I’m not flush enough in the pocket to pay for the removal of my every rival, and I quite respect Effie. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be so bloody upset when I lost out to her.”
“You seemed afraid just now,” Kate said carefully. “Can you tell us why?”
Julia stubbed out her cigarette in a glass tray on the dressing table before perching on the edge of her chair. “I’ve read your columns, you know. I should think if anyone in London understands the fears actresses have about the men who admire them, it would be you.”
“So you’re saying you expected something like this to happen?” Caro frowned.
“Not necessarily,” the woman responded. “But you have no idea what sort of men show up in the greenroom after a performance. We have guards there to ensure that the most egregious are removed without incident, but that’s no guarantee. I’ve experienced everything from proposals of marriage to men who thought nothing of openly fondling my breast in a room full of people. I can assure you that Effie has endured much the same. Until Mr. Thorn began appearing at her side after performances, that is.”
“There was a change after they became involved?” Caro’s heart accelerated. That could mean that whoever had abducted Effie had done so because she was no longer available in the greenroom as she’d been before.
“Certainly. And I’m not sure what prompted it, but he also began escorting her to and from the theatre.” Julia frowned. “How was Effie taken if he was with her? I saw him when she left earlier today.”
Quickly Kate explained what had happened.
“And you’ve no idea where they took her?” Julia asked, concern shadowing her green eyes.
“No,” Kate said. “Scotland Yard is looking for the carriage now and we’re hoping they’ll find Effie unharmed with it.”
“But that’s not likely, is it?” Julia was clever, Caro thought. She was well aware that if robbery had been the motive, then the men who’d stopped the carriage would have left both its occupants behind when they fled. The fact that they’d taken Effie indicated they had plans for her.
“Have you noticed anyone in particular watching Effie lately?” Caro asked. “Either in the greenroom or outside the theatre. Perhaps someone simply behaving oddly?”