Amanda Scott - [Dangerous 04] (36 page)

“Lor’, miss, why would they do such a thing?”

“In truth, I had half feared dismissal, because the queen was so out-of-reason cross with Sir Robert for demanding that she change her Whig ladies for Tories, but I never thought she would ban me from court altogether. This note says word has reached Her Majesty’s ears that I am involved in certain meretricious activities of which she must forcibly disapprove.”

“What’s that, then, ‘meretricious’?”

“Well, in this instance, I believe it means I’ve attracted attention in a vulgar way,” Letty explained. “Indeed I hope that is all it means. I have a dim recollection that it can also refer to matters relating to prostitutes or prostitution.”

“Lor’ now, what could Her Majesty know of such things, as young as she is?”

“She is nearly as old as I am,” Letty reminded her.

“Aye, so she is, but nonetheless, miss …” Jenifry tactfully fell silent.

“If you are on the brink of pointing out that we have enjoyed quite different upbringings, you are quite right,” Letty said with a rueful sigh. “I’m afraid Sir John Conroy or his minions have been busy again, but I wonder how much, exactly, he can have told her.”

“I swear, Miss Letty, I never—”

“I know you said nothing to Walter,” Letty said. “It would not matter, in any case, since between them, he and his precious Morden must know all there is to know about that house. I just never thought he’d dare tell Her Majesty. If he told her the whole truth, he took an awful risk that she would learn about his relationship with Lady Witherspoon.”

“He won’t want that, miss.”

“No, he most certainly won’t.”

Jenifry glanced at the clock. “It’s nearly seven, which is when his lordship said he wanted to leave for the palace,” she said quietly. “You had better go and tell him and your mama at once that you cannot go with them.”

Letty grimaced. “How on earth am I going to explain this to them without telling them the whole? What a scrape I’ve got myself into this time, Jen.”

“Just tell them you’ve been dismissed,” Jenifry suggested. “You need say no more than that tonight, surely.”

“Papa would demand to see the note I received. How would I explain that?”

“Still, miss, maybe his lordship can fix it. If he explains to Her Majesty that you have done nothing wrong—”

“She won’t want to listen to any Tory, Jen, least of all tonight,” Letty said.

“Still—”

“No, I don’t want him to fix things for me,” Letty said firmly. “I have thought of a way to deal with Miss Abby and Mrs. Linford, and I won’t have people saying I cannot manage my own affairs before I’ve even put it to them. I forbid you to say a word about this to Papa or to anyone else.”

“What will you do?”

“Stop asking questions! If Elvira weren’t still sick, you wouldn’t plague me like this.”

Instantly regretting her outburst, Letty opened her mouth to apologize, but the door opened and a maidservant hurried in, speaking as she came. “Lady Letitia, there’s another message come, and the man did say to bring it straight up, no matter that the butler said you was just on the point of leaving the house. And his lordship said to tell you to make haste, m’lady, lest you will be late to the palace.”

“Thank you,” Letty said, taking the message. “Tell his lordship I shall be down in a twinkling.”

“Yes, m’lady,” the maid said, turning with quick steps back toward the door.

As the door shut again, Jenifry said urgently, “Miss Letty, you must—”

“One minute, Jen,” Letty said. “Good gracious, this note is from Miss Abby. What the devil has happened now?” Reading swiftly, she frowned. “She writes only that I must come at once, that it’s a matter of life and death.”

“Lor’ now, what can she mean by that?”

“Heaven knows, but I’d better go,” Letty said. “No doubt she has exaggerated the case, but if she has not …” She fell silent, but her thoughts were racing. “At least this gives me a plausible excuse for not driving to the palace with Papa and Mama, but you will have to tell them, Jen. I can’t face them yet. They would ask too many questions, and I simply cannot lie to them.”

“You want
me
to lie?”

“No, certainly not. Just tell them that I have received a note asking me to stop in at the house. That much is quite true, after all. Say that I am certain the case is not as urgent as Miss Abby writes, that doubtless she wants only to see me in my finery; and say that I will join them as soon as I can. Perhaps you can also beg them to make my excuses if Lady Tavistock complains of my absence. She will not do so, of course, so that will be all right.”

“It don’t sound all right to me, Miss Letty. His lordship will be turning me off without a character when he learns the truth about all this.”

“Don’t be daft, Jen.” Letty wished she could be as certain as she was trying to sound. Nevertheless, she added firmly, “Now, do as I bid you. I’ll go out to the stables myself and order a second carriage. You can join me there as soon as you’ve talked to them, because I want you to go with me.”

“Well, that’s a good thing, that is, because I’m either going or I’m telling his lordship the whole truth, miss. This don’t sound right to me, not right at all.”

“Go on, Jen, and don’t spout empty threats at me. You’ve never yet cried rope on me. I don’t suppose you will begin tonight.”

“Maybe I ought to have done long since, Miss Letty, for I’m thinking it’s a pity Miss Dibble is still laid down upon her bed. You’ve gone and got yourself into deep water this time, and no mistake. His lordship’s right about that, and I don’t mean your papa when I say that, neither.”

“We will not discuss Raventhorpe,” Letty said grimly. “I don’t even want to think about that man tonight. Now hurry, Jen. If Miss Abby does believe it’s a matter of life or death, she won’t thank us for dawdling.”

Letty did not for one moment believe that Miss Abby’s description would prove remotely akin to the true state of affairs at the Upper Brook Street house. Still, she hurried the stable-boys, affecting an urgency even greater than she felt.

When it occurred to her that the urgency she did feel likely rose from fear that her father might want to discuss her decision to visit Upper Brook Street, she put the unsettling thought out of her head. However, the sense of profound relief she felt when she saw Jenifry hurrying toward her alone, stirred an equal sense of guilt.

“What did they say?” she demanded as the dresser climbed in beside her and the coach began to move.

“Your mama wanted to know what you could be thinking, but your papa said there was no time to argue with you if you were not all to be late. He told me to remind you that most of the guests, not to mention the queen’s ladies, are supposed to be present at a state ball before Her Majesty makes her entrance. I don’t mind telling you, miss, he had that look on his face when he said it, too.”

Letty did not have to ask what look Jenifry meant. She had seen it often enough to know. The marquess was a mild-tempered parent by most standards, but when one did manage to rouse him to anger, the result was unpleasant for all concerned. She did not look forward to their next meeting, but she could not dwell on its likely consequences now.

“It is not like you, miss, to put off unpleasantness,” Jenifry said quietly.

Letty did not speak for a long moment, well aware that she was behaving like a coward. Then, with a sigh, she said, “They are going to be so disappointed in me, Jen. Heaven knows I am disappointed in myself! Still, before I can tell them everything that’s happened, I must learn the worst of it. Lady Tavistock’s note mentioned no specific crime, only that my activities were meretricious. Until I know what, exactly, has come to light, I simply cannot involve Papa. Not now.”

“He would not agree with you, miss.”

“I know, but I must deal with this myself. Now hush, and let me think. Surely, Lady Tavistock will tell me what she has heard, at least, if I can just ask her. And the sooner I can do so, the better, or everyone will hear about this. As soon as we can get away from Miss Abby, I’ll go to the palace. I won’t go to the ball, of course, but perhaps I can arrange for a brief private meeting with Lady Tavistock.”

“What if they won’t let you in?”

“I’ve got my badge of office, and I doubt that anyone will have ordered the guards at the front gates to keep me out, so I’ll not worry about that until it happens. First we’ll attend to Miss Abby’s life-and-death matter, though. Not that I believe it is any such thing, mind you.”

Everything looked normal enough when the coach drew up before the house, but Letty’s complacence disappeared in an instant when the door flew open, and Miss Abby pushed past Jackson to greet her with tears pouring down her face.

“Thank God, you’re here at last,” the old lady exclaimed, adding in a rush of words, “I thought our man must have missed you! He’s killed Lady Witherspoon, all because she would not let him misuse poor Liza in the most shocking way. Oh, my dear, my dear, what devilry have we brought upon ourselves?”

Hastily pulling Jenifry and the old lady inside and telling Jackson to shut the door, Letty said, “Hush, ma’am, they’ll hear you in the street. Did you say that Catherine is dead? What is she doing here? She is supposed to be at the palace.”

“I know, I know, but she said he made her come here, that it was a test of his power over her, and now he’s gone and murdered her in our house, and we don’t even know who he is! At least, she must be dead by now, because—”

“Good gracious, could she still be alive? Why did you send for me, then, and not for a doctor?”

“But we did send for the doctor,” Miss Abby said, brushing a hand across her cheek. “We did that at once, but we did not know what else to do, or how to keep him from telling the world she died here! We cannot think that would be a good thing, you know, not until we can invent a good reason for her being here at all.”

“We can talk about inventing reasons later,” Letty said. “Where is she?”

“In the yellow bedchamber, the one where you found them the first time.”

Without waiting to hear more, Letty ran upstairs.

Inside the bedchamber, she found Mrs. Linford and a thin little man standing quietly beside the bed. Catherine lay still against the pillows, her eyes shut, her face as white as the lacy pillowcase.

“Is she …?” Letty could not speak the words.

Mrs. Linford shook her head. “Not yet, my dear, though we fear she will expire at any moment. We must fortify our spirits as best we can.”

“The poor, poor dear,” Miss Abby said, entering behind Letty with Jenifry right behind her, peering over her shoulder.

“We ought to send for Witherspoon,” Letty said impulsively.

“No.”

To her surprise, the single, harshly muttered word came from the figure on the bed. It drew the doctor, equally astonished, to bend over her at once.

Catherine’s eyelids fluttered, then opened slightly. Her lips parted again. “Letty, don’t.” The words were barely audible, but the effort visibly exhausted her. When she tried to speak again, Letty moved closer but was not sure she heard correctly. She thought Catherine murmured, “He mustn’t know.”

Speaking to the others, Letty said, “What else has she told you?”

“That’s the first time she has spoken,” Mrs. Linford said. “She has been unconscious till now. He must have knocked her down, you see, for we found her crumpled on the floor. The doctor says her head must have struck a hearthstone or the chimneypiece when she fell.”

Her words seemed to upset Catherine, for she stirred, grimacing with pain, and tried again to speak. Letty moved right to the bedside, kneeling down so that she would not miss a word this time.

Catherine’s breathing sounded labored. She said, “Letty, he hit me so hard.”

Trying to think how to learn the most while demanding the least effort on Catherine’s part, Letty said, “Miss Abby told me you were trying to protect Liza. That was very brave of you.”

“No … That wasn’t all. I—I don’t … Letty, you must stop him! He’s going to k-kill …”

Though Letty strained her ears to hear, no more words passed from Catherine’s lips. Her eyes had shut again, and her breathing grew so shallow that Letty could no longer detect even the slightest stirring of the coverlet.

With a surge of terror, she turned to the doctor. “Help her! She mustn’t die. We must hear what she wants to say!”

“I can do nothing more,” the doctor said quietly. “She may last another hour; she may not. Frankly I’m amazed that she found strength to speak.”

Turning to Mrs. Linford, Letty said urgently, “Where is Liza?”

Miss Abby exclaimed, “Liza! What do you want with her at a time like this?”

“Really, Letitia,” Mrs. Linford said, “the child has been through enough tonight. Moreover, I do not think that this is an appropriate—”

“Ma’am, forgive me, but did you hear what Catherine said? He is going to kill someone. We must find out who it is and stop him.”

“But Liza will not know. How could she?”

“Was she not present when he struck Catherine down?”

“She was, Miranda,” Miss Abby said. “You know she was.”

“Yes, that’s true, she was. Very well, my dear, you are quite right.” With that, Mrs. Linford moved to pull the bell.

“Wait,” Letty said. “You go, Jen. Find her and bring her here at once.”

While they waited, Letty tried again to urge Catherine to speak, but she did not, and it seemed an age before Jenifry returned with Liza.

Before Mrs. Linford could so much as begin to interrogate the girl, Letty said, “Leave her to me, please, ma’am. Liza, did you hear what Lady Witherspoon and the man said before he hurt her?”

“Aye.” Liza looked guiltily at Mrs. Linford. “I didn’t know it were wrong, what he wanted. The others does it, and they gets money. I wanted money, too, and he likes me best.”

Miss Abby gasped, looking wretched, but Mrs. Linford said sternly, “Never mind that now. Answer her ladyship’s question at once.”

“Yes, please, Liza. What did they say?”

“He said she was to do what he told her, and she said she wouldn’t. She said he was to leave me be, and that she wanted him to leave her be, too. She said she didn’t believe he cared about her, anyway, only about her position at court.”