Page 11 of Murder at Madame Chambon's
Although Lily had never been close to Celeste, Celeste had been a catalyst in Lily’s desire to offer a different future to as many of the girls forced to work there as she could.
“Maybe there’ll be wedding bells before we know it,” Archie said, gathering his parcel of photographs as he rose.“I shoulda put a bet on it when the odds were better.”
“Does there have to be a wager on everything?”Lily asked with a sigh.
Archie looked at her as if she were mad.“Reckon you don’t know how the world works half the time, beggin’ yer pardon, m’lady,” he said.
“Well, I don’t think it would have been a wise investment since I’d remind you that Miss Tarot has met the gentleman but once and hardly has a gauge on whether he’d make a good husband.”
“It’s the title wot’s important,” Archie said as he slung his bag over his shoulder.
“Not that a title is any guarantee of happiness, though I wish her good luck,” Lily said in farewell.
No, a title was no guarantee of either securityorhappiness, as Lily knew to her cost.
Her new role as Mrs.McTavish, wife to a successful newspaper mogul who was kind and invested in her happiness suited her far better than when she’d been Lady Bradden, wife of a domineering baronet who’d been prepared to see her thrown to her death over the white cliffs of Dover in order to wed the mistress who was carrying his child.
No, while a girl could expect security with a rich husband, it was certainly no guarantee of happiness.
Liza Frith’s enigmatic smile from the photograph on her desk caught her eye once more, as it did Archie’s, who held it up to the light, saying, “So this is your gel for the week?Would you like me to tell her you’ll be stopping by for a chat?She’ll want to have on her Sunday best, I reckon.And you will want me to take another photo, of course.But in them rags, she do look jest the part as will warm the cockles of the public’s heart and set a light to their conscience.”
“And will make them put their hands in their pockets to support my fledgling cause,” Lily added.It had taken Hamish’s father some persuasion to allow the column to go to print with a line at the end encouraging charitable donations to Lady Bradden’s: “Protect the Morals of Young Working Girls in London” fund.
Liza Frith would remind their readers that honest young women who toiled hard could house and feed large extended families, but Lily’s ideas for future columns were more daring.
She was hopeful her new employment bureau would see some of ‘fallen women’ forge new lives that would make the readers ofManners and Moralsfinally question their hard-held beliefs about what constituted a good and moral woman.
Chapter6
It had been the busiest ten days of her life, and Evelina was exhausted.
But she was elated, too, and with Kitty’s help, the sparkle in her eyes remained undimmed by shadows of fatigue.
For what was happening now was the pinnacle of her ambition.
After less than ten days, during which they’d seen each other five times, Lord Dunstable had just proposed and the satisfaction and relief that Lily was not going to be on the shelf when she turned one and twenty was enormous.
“My father has already given you his blessing?How… did you approach him?”The fact that reclusive Mr.Tarot had even been in communication with Lord Dunstable was even more surprising than Lord Dunstable’s proposal.
During the past few days, she’d been apprised by Lady Perry of her future husband’s Cornish interests and properties and where they’d live, and the lifestyle to which she’d soon become accustomed.
What had not been mentioned was Evelina’s father, despite her heavy hints.
So, sitting on a sofa in Lady Perry’s drawing room, between two glass domes containing stuffed animals and a large aspidistra, Evelina tried to contain her impatience for detail.
Lord Dunstable patted her hand.“I wrote to him and we discussed the matter before he gave his agreement.Of course, it was too onerous to make the journey from Aberdeen all the way to London for a man in his situation.”
“But he’s not going back to Africa, is he?”Evelina asked anxiously.
“My dear, your father is very secretive about his movements.I have no idea what his plans are.You will have to ask him that.”
“Of course,” Evelina agreed, as if she had even an inkling as to how she would manage that when her mother refused to tell her how to contact him.
“But my dear Evelina, I hope to make you the happiest woman in the world,” his lordship now said, brushing away any possibility Evelina had of gleaning the minutiae of the ‘discussions’ that had taken place between her future husband and her father.She presumed they involved her rather large dowry and the personal allowance Evelina would enjoy.Clothing and millinery should present no problem, for she’d be showcasing Dunstable’s considerable wealth.
And he was a handsome man with a pleasant smile which was focussed on her now, as if he truly had offered for her from the heart.
“I’m sure I will be,” Evelina said as both his hands closed around hers and he drew her towards him in the prelude to the kiss for which she was preparing herself.
