Chapter 17

R at returned to the palazzo not long before dinner and immediately went in search of Melody. He finally found her in her bedroom, in an armchair, reading one of the Italian-translated novels she had recently bought.

She looked up at his entrance, ready to forget their argument from earlier. "What did you discover?"

Sitting in the opposite, matching armchair, Rat rested his chin on his knuckles and considered Melody's question. "To be honest, I'm not sure. The consul, Mr Burrows, recognised one of the names on the list, a radical socialist journalist who saves some of his more extreme pieces for a slim journal he periodically puts out. I went to the library with Xander and read a few of this journalist's latest pieces, both in the regular newspaper and in his journal."

"You went with Xander?" Melody asked with curiosity. She still wasn't sure how she felt about the eager Mr Ashby, who, honestly, hadn't been so eager over the last few days. She hadn't heard from him since their trip to the Basilica and wasn't sure if she felt slighted or not.

"Yes, Mr Burrows asked him to accompany me and help with translations. I must say, when we left London, I thought my Italian wasn't bad. But since we've been here, I've felt quite out of my depth."

"I know what you mean. It is one thing to be able to sit through Don Giovanni and follow the plot, quite another to have regular conversations. It almost makes me think that Granny was right when she constantly harped on the importance of learning foreign languages."

"Well, foreign languages except French," Rat pointed out.

"Yes, except French. What is it that she has against France and its people?"

"I believe that she had never forgiven them for the French Revolution and executing so many of its aristocracy," Rat observed.

"Anyway, I am glad that Ashby accompanied me. He was a great help."

"Did you learn anything?"

"It seems that Signor Verdi is adamantly opposed to Italian nationalism. He sees Italy's Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary as an entanglement that could drag it into conflicts that will only serve the ruling elite rather than the working class but will see the latter dying on the front lines of battle. There's more, but that's the general gist."

"So, why was he on Signor Graziano's list?"

"I'm not sure, but there were a couple of interesting pieces that were printed in the mainstream newspaper that he writes for. In particular, he published what he claimed were authentic internal memos from the Austro-Hungarian government discussing strategies to work secretly to suppress Italian nationalist movements and ethnic unrest. Another was supposed correspondence between high-ranking Austro-Hungarian officials expressing doubts about the loyalty of the Italian regions and discussing severe punitive measures."

"How can Austria-Hungary penalise Italians? They no longer rule this region," Melody argued.

"Indeed. And that was part of what Signor Verdi implied; that there is a secret plan to invade Italy if it doesn't fall in line in some future European war."

"Is it possible that these documents he claims to have are false?"

"It is always possible. But he includes photographs which certainly have the ring of authenticity about them. Either way, Verdi clearly hopes to stir up public opinion against Austria- Hungary."

Melody considered Rat's words. "Is it possible that the plan that Herr Peetz and Conte Foscari were talking about was to disrupt this Verdi fellow's stories?"

"That had occurred to me. But then, why not kill him? Why kill Graziano? Anyway, it did sound as if the old man's murder had disrupted their plans, so I don't think that Foscari and Herr Peetz murdered him." Rat thought about what he had just said. "Of course, it's possible that one of them murdered him unbeknownst to the other and then merely pretended to be equally shocked when they met at the party."

"So now you think that Alessandro murdered Signor Graziano?" Melody said more indignantly than she intended.

"Why do you insist on this familiarity with the man?" Rat demanded, even though that wasn't really the most egregious part of what his sister had said. Focusing back on the rest of her sentence, Rat said irritably, "And why do you defend him? Can you not see how insupportable it is that you go out for a moonlight boat ride with Foscari as if you were courting? The man could be a brutal killer!"

"Conte Foscari did not kill Signor Graziano," Melody asserted with confidence.

"How on earth can you be so sure of that?"

"Because he does not smoke," Melody said as triumphantly as when she announced checkmate while regularly trouncing her brother at chess.

"Just because you have not seen the man smoke on the few occasions you have met does not mean that he doesn't smoke. Lots of men smoke but do not do so around ladies. You met him at a dinner party, at a masquerade ball, and apparently in this house this afternoon. None of those are circumstances under which a gentleman would smoke."

"Do not forget at the train station when we arrived."

"He might have just put out a cigarette or have lit one after we left. None of your encounters with him qualifies you to state definitively that he doesn't smoke, at least on occasion." Finally, Melody had to concede the point.

Deciding instead to address the other part of Rat's complaint, she pointed out, yet again, "If Conte Foscari is mixed up in whatever this is, is it not better that I stay close to him and find out what I can?"

She then told Rat what she had gleaned from Alessandro earlier, that much of his fortune was in publishing, particularly newspapers.

"That is interesting," Rat conceded. "Why did you not tell me this before?"

"Because you were being idiotic about him even calling on me and did not give me a chance!"

"And you say that he denied knowing Herr Peetz?"

"He did." Melody then told Rat the rest of her conversation with Alessandro, including his comments on the likelihood of Italy joining forces with its Triple Alliance allies if and when war came."

"So, what did you make of his words?" Rat asked, genuinely curious about his sister's observations of the odious Conte Foscari.

"They seemed heartfelt. Of course, it is entirely possible that he truly believes that Italy will either stay neutral or join with Britain and yet does not agree with that stance. Perhaps that is what sits behind his actions: a desire to change the course of history as he sees it, without intervention."

Rat considered her words. He couldn't believe he was playing devil's advocate in providing a defence for Foscari, yet he was too rational a thinker to allow his prejudice to cloud his judgement completely. "But why would Foscari want Italy to go to war against Britain? Even if he is half Italian, his mother is English, and Britain is where he was mostly raised and schooled."

It was a good question, and Melody didn't have an answer. Instead, she said, "I believe we need to learn more about Conte Foscari's business holdings and better understand what might motivate someone of his standing to hold such political views." Rat conceded that it was a good point, but how might they gain such information?

After pondering the question in silence for a few moments, Melody said, "I believe we have not fully utilised one of our best sources of information: Lady Bainbridge." Seeing Rat about to disagree and guessing his line of argument, she continued, "It is shocking that two young people who have grown up around the Dowager Countess of Pembroke and have seen the vital part she plays in Tabby Cat and Wolfie's investigations have nevertheless made such minimal use of another well-connected, intelligent older woman."

Rat wasn't sure that Tabitha and Wolf would agree with the characterisation of the dowager as having played a "vital part" in their investigations. He knew that often they considered the elderly woman more of a hindrance than a help. Nevertheless, he also knew they acknowledged that, even as her body became increasingly frail, her mental acuity had not dimmed in the slightest. More than that, the woman had an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of the whims, failings, and peccadillos of Britain's ruling class. Perhaps Melody was right; why had they so quickly written Lady Bainbridge off as merely a sweet, doddering old woman?

Finally, deciding that they had nothing to lose by talking to their hostess, Rat said, "Then there is no time like the present. We need to dress for dinner. Perhaps this can be the topic of discussion over our evening repast."

Melody agreed. Before they parted, they discussed just how much to share with Lady Bainbridge. Of course, Rat still hadn't shared everything with Melody, so this was an even more loaded conversation for him. Finally, he asked, "What do you think we should tell Lady Bainbridge?"

Melody took a deep breath, then, looking her brother straight in the eye, she said, "I believe that we should share that you are working for Uncle Maxi on behalf of the British Government and are investigating a possible link between the death of Antonio Graziano and Alessandro Foscari."

Rat gasped. While it had been increasingly apparent that his sister had some sense of the job he was doing, hearing her state it so plainly was still shocking.

"Are you denying that this is why you are in Venice with me?" Melody asked, almost amused by the look on her brother's face.

Rat then spoke aloud his real fear, "Was I so clumsy in my actions that it has become obvious? Did I fail to be sufficiently discreet?"

Suddenly, all of Melody's amusement at the situation melted away, and she moved closer to her brother and put a sympathetic hand on his arm. "Rat, I can assure you that no one else has any suspicions. You have been the soul of discretion. However, I know you better than anyone. Moreover, I have long suspected some of this."

"You have?" Rat said in amazement. "Why?"

"Rat, I have spent a lot of time around you and Uncle Maxi talking together since I was a little girl. Did you imagine that I was not listening in on your conversations? It has long been clear to me that he has some sort of intelligence role for the government and that he was grooming you to join him in some capacity."

Rat thought back to the games of chess that he and Lord Langley would play while discussing the political situation in Europe and Langley's role in monitoring possible espionage. He then thought about the little girl sitting nearby playing quietly with her dolls or her dog. It was true; they had both never considered that she was paying any attention to their conversations or that, even if she was, she would understand and remember what they were discussing. In many ways, this realisation made him feel a lot better; the oversight was as much Lord Langley's as his, maybe more so given that Rat had also been a child.

Melody continued, "So, now we have that out of the way, I am assuming that you did not merely stumble across Herr Peetz and Conte Foscari at Luisa's party but instead were suspicious when you saw them together and followed them." Rat nodded. "Good! Now, we are getting somewhere. While I do believe that we can trust Lady Bainbridge, I also understand the need to give out as little information as possible. Therefore, here is what I believe we should say." She then outlined her plan. Again, Rat did little more than nod in agreement.

Finally, the siblings parted ways to dress for dinner. Meeting up a short while later in the salotto, they each gave a brief nod to acknowledge the plan they had discussed earlier. Lady Bainbridge preferred to eat dinner earlier than was customary in London circles, at least when she dined at home. Because of this, she rarely indulged in pre-dinner aperitifs but instead moved quickly to the dining room to begin her meal.

Melody and Rat were the first to arrive in the room, but Lady Bainbridge soon followed and, as expected, quickly indicated to Rossi that they were ready to eat. This suited Rat and Melody's purposes; they would prefer the relative privacy of the dining room, where the servants usually retired between courses, to the salotto, where Rossi was often hovering, ready to anticipate his mistress' every need.

Rossi tended to stay in the room for the soup course because it was brief. However, he usually left once he had served the primi, which tonight was Risotto alla Zucca, pumpkin risotto with pieces of scattered fried sage leaves on top. Once Rossi was out of the room, Melody and Rat exchanged a glance and began.

"Lady Bainbridge, Melody and I need your assistance."

The elderly woman looked up from her risotto and asked in a quizzical tone, "What on earth would two young people need help with from an old woman like me? However, I am happy to be of assistance if you believe I can be."

"As you know, when I was out with Luisa, we came upon a dead body," Melody began.

"Yes. Awful stuff. That poor bookseller. I never visited his shop myself, but I know that Luisa was fond of the man. And for an innocent young woman such as yourself to stumble upon such a scene, well, I cannot imagine what dear Tabitha would have to say about my lack of care."

Given how many crime scenes Tabby Cat had witnessed over the past fourteen years or so, Melody doubted she would be as horrified as Lady Bainbridge imagined. However, she let this observation pass and instead said, "It seems that my brother is in Venice, not merely to chaperone me."

"Is he not, dear?" Lady Bainbridge asked in a somewhat distracted voice. Her wine glass was empty, and she was busy looking around for Rossi to refill it. Wanting the elderly woman focused on their conversation, Rat reached for the bottle and refilled her glass.

Melody continued, "As you know, Matthew is Lord Langley's ward. Lord Langley has acted as something of a mentor to my brother over the years, training him to be of service to his government."

Lady Bainbridge looked over at Rat, "Really, dear? How exciting. Of course, I do not know exactly what ‘of service' means, but it does sound thrilling and rather like something out of a novel. You know, The Prisoner of Zenda is one of my favourite books." She paused for so long that Melody and Rat wondered if she had totally lost the thread of their conversation. However, eventually, she seemed to rejoin them and asked, "And so how can I be of help?"

Melody and Rat both breathed sighs of relief; they had hoped that Lady Bainbridge wouldn't probe too deeply into what being "of service to his government" entailed, and they had been correct. Grateful to be spared the need to divulge more information about his role and that of Lord Langley, Rat picked up the narrative. "I would like to know more about Conte Foscari."

"Dear Alessandro? Surely you cannot imagine that a man as handsome as that would be involved with anything as sordid as murder?"

Tempted to ask what good looks had to do with moral character, Rat nevertheless let the thought pass and instead said, "Well, to be honest, I am not sure." Then, gesturing to include Melody said, "We are not sure. That is why we need to know more. It may be that the information you can provide will help clear his name."

"Well, when you put it like that, I am happy to tell you all I know. Though, I am unsure how much help I can be. Ask away."

"The other day, you told us about Conte Foscari's parents' marriage and his early life. It seems that his father used the fortune Foscari's mother brought into the marriage to create an impressive business empire that Foscari, Alessandro Foscari that is, now manages. How much do you know about that business?"

"Well, probably no more than the average person who floats around Venetian society does. Alessandro's father founded what is now the most popular newspaper in Italy. He also acquired some smaller, regional newspapers, including one in Venice. Alessandro has expanded the business and now owns newspapers across France and Spain as well."

Lady Bainbridge took another sip of wine and a forkful of risotto and continued, "And then there are other his businesses, though I am not entirely sure what they all are. I know that he does something in mercantile trading because when I once decried the quality of Italian tea, Alessandro said he would ensure that a case of British tea was on his next boat to Venice, and he was as good as his word. In fact, he shipped me so much that we are only now coming to the end of it. When he came to dinner the other evening, he promised to send me a new shipment. Darling man."

Melody thought about what Lady Bainbridge had said, then asked, "So, is all his trade between Britain and Italy?"

"Heavens, no! In fact, I believe that is the least of his business. Most of his trade is within continental Europe, particularly between Austria and Italy. I do not know the details, though I do remember sitting between Alessandro and another Italian businessman at one dinner party and having to endure a rather boring conversation about shipping Italian agricultural products to Austria and shipping industrial goods back to Italy. Apparently, from what I could tell, Austria-Hungary is more advanced in the manufacture of machinery, textiles, and chemicals but enjoys the superior fruits, vegetables, wine, and olive oil, enabled by Italy's delightful climate."

Melody and Rat exchanged knowing looks. Melody reflected again on what she had learned from many years of watching Tabby Cat and Wolfie investigate crimes: Who benefited? Who wanted revenge? Who had a reason to hate the victim? While it still was unclear what part Antonio Graziano's death played in it all, it was not hard to see how Alessandro benefited from Italy maintaining close ties to Austria-Hungary, rather than aligning itself with Britain: money.