Page 15 of Murder at Madame Chambon's
“You have?”Evelina wondered where he might have heard that—her mama or papa?- but it gave her a thrill to think what might have motivated his question.
“At the convent school in Paris I attended,” she replied.“Mathematics was a subject I liked more than most of the other young ladies did.I was good at it.”
“Glad to hear it,” said his lordship, briefly squeezing Evelina’s hand as they traversed the serpentine walks, gazing in wonder at the plumage of the birds, and then the extraordinarily human-like antics of the primates.
“I could almost imagine he’s trying to tell me something!”Evelina said to whom she thought was Lord Dunstable at her side as she laughed at a monkey making faces at her.
To her embarrassment, she turned to find she’d addressed Lord Bellingham.He must have just appeared around the curve of the path, as Dunstable had turned back to talk to his cousins.
With a smile, he said, “They’re extremely intelligent.So I am told by a friend who traveled to the dark continent and lived there for some time with a monkey as a pet.”
“I beg your pardon, I didn’t realize you’d arrived, Lord Bellingham.”Evelina’s smile was unsteady.The churning in her breast, occasioned by this handsome gentleman, was utterly foreign and completely disconcerting.
“I’d like a monkey as a pet, papa,” said the little girl clinging to Lord Bellingham’s hand.“Can I have one for my birthday?I’ll be turning six soon,” she told Evelina importantly.
Evelina bent down to reply.“I think the monkey might get into too much mischief for your papa’s liking, Edwina.Have you ever seen a monkey before?”
The little girl shook her head.“I wanted to see a monkey the most, and Papa promised he’d take me on my first visit to London.”
“Do you like London?”Evelina asked.
The little girl’s eyes shone.“I’ve never seen so many people or such big buildings or so many carriages.I think I’d like to live here, but I can’t because Papa hates London.”
Evelina slanted a glance up at Lord Bellingham and was caught off-guard by the intensity of his look.He glanced away while Evelina forced herself to say as calmly as she could to Edwina, “Then you are lucky he wanted to come here, after all, and that he brought you.”
Edwina smiled back.“He didn’t want to come to London, but he said he had to find a beautiful lady.”
“I think that’s enough, Edwina.”Lord Bellingham patted his daughter’s head, then pointed to the next enclosure.“Shall we see the giraffes?”He caught Evelina’s eye briefly, the connection and flare in his so fleeting she wasn’t sure if she imagined it before the bland smile he offered her.“That’s a giraffe, Edwina.Remember, I showed you the picture in your new book?”
But Edwina’s head was still turned towards Evelina as she said, “Papa found a brave lady on a train,” while her father steered her towards the giraffe enclosure, “and he said we had to come to London to find her.”
Dunstable was still in conversation a little distance away as Lady Clara recounted to him a story about the goose that had chased her and her ‘bosom friend’ Elizabeth earlier that day.
Evelina liked the fact that her future husband could appear so interested in his young cousin’s prattle as she finished with an elaborate account of Lizzie’s brother Rupert and their friends’ godfather, Mr.Grimshaw, coming to the rescue with waving rakes and wild banshee-like cries before the girl asked plaintively, “Really, Cousin Dunstable, you must visit us at Brockbank Manor before the end of the summer and then we can pick berries again with Lizzie and Rupert at Ravenswood Hall.
She was surprised when he shook his head and said, darkly, “I think not, Clara?”causing Clara to say entreatingly, “But all is forgiven, Cousin!You and Victoria are in charity once more, otherwise we’d not all be here.And Mr.Grimshaw and Lord Ravenswood only did what Victoria asked them to do.”
“And… how was your journey here, Miss Tarot?”Bellingham asked, causing Evelina to jerk her head back to him while Edwina walked by his side, marveling at the animals she saw amid comments as to how frightened Nanny Beadle would be to see them.It was not long before the little girl returned to her theme, further embarrassing Edwina and, clearly, Lord Bellingham, who’d been unable to find anything to say after Evelina had replied that her journey had been very comfortable.
“And Papa said it was most urgent that he found this lady because he thought she was the bravest, most beautiful lady he’d ever met.Do you think you’ll find her, Papa?”
When Evelina caught his gaze, he reddened.He flicked a glance at Dunstable, sent Evelina a rueful smile, and murmured, “You were very brave, Miss Tarot.I’m sorry if Edwina embarrassed you.Of course, I knew nothing about you during our brief meeting and certainly not that you and Lord Dunstable...”He hesitated, clearly not sure how to go on, before finishing, “had an understanding.”
Evelina swallowed.“At the time, I had not met Lord Dunstable.”
“Oh, Lord Bellingham, you’ve arrived!”cried Clara, breaking off her conversation with Dunstable as she turned to greet the newcomer.“Edwina told me just now her father had been a heroic rescuer and was looking for a fair damsel in distress.Did you find out who she was?”
“What young woman are you talking about?”Lord Dunstable closed up the circle with a protective hold around Evelina’s waist before grasping her hand and caging it on his forearm.
“I believe Edwina was referring to the terrible train crash several weeks ago,” said Lady Victoria, her sober tone a contrast to her sister’s.“It was a mercy no one was killed.I’m certainly glad Lord Bellingham was not.Edwina said he was so very brave.”
“There were others far braver than I,” said Lord Bellingham, clearly embarrassed.He flicked a glance at Evelina and, when she remained silent, and none of the company remarked upon the fact that she had also been on the train that had derailed, he said, “So you went to school in Paris, Miss Tarot?”But not before raising his eyebrows enquiringly at her before seeming to accept tacitly that the train accident was not something with which she wished to associate herself.“But both your parents are English?”
Evelina nodded.
“Are they the Tarots of East Anglia?”asked Lady Victoria, and then, when Evelina shook her head, suggested, “Perhaps you are distantly related to the Tarots of East Anglia for they are the only Tarots I know?”
“Evelina comes from a small family far from here,” remarked Dunstable.He smiled and stroked his mustache before returning his hand to Evelina’s.
