Page 39 of Murder at Madame Chambon's
She glanced upat his pause, frowning as he went on, “Captain Blackheath was apparently in the vicinity.And because I attended Lady Gilray’s ball which Captain Blackheath also attended, I’ve been asked if the captain said anything to me.”
“Did he?”Evelina bit her lip, then asked in a rush, “Do the police still have no idea who… who killed the poor man?”
For a long moment, William pondered the answer to this.Then he shook his head before saying, in a rush, “Evelina, you… don’t knowanythingthat might be important, do you?”
“Goodness, what do you mean, William?”
“Dunstable didn’t say anything to you the last time you spoke that might have suggested he was … meeting someone, for example?”
Evelina was taken aback by his uncharacteristic urgency.While Dunstable’s murder had naturally horrified William, he’d had seemed to accept the consensus put out by the newspapers that the perpetrator was a vengeful rival of Dunstable’s who’d quickly be charged.
Now William was asking Evelina if she knew anything.
Evelina tried to think back to their last meeting.“Why, William, you were with me the last time I saw Lord Dunstable.It was at the Zoological Gardens.”She smiled suddenly.“I think my heart was beating so fast as being there withyouthat I barely attended to a word Dunstable said.But he talked about his plans to take me to the opera.”Lapsing into silence, she wished she could be more helpful, if only to shake William out of the blue devils.Someone must have said something to upset him the previous night, after he’d taken her home from the concert.Perhaps Captain Blackheath was more of a friend than Evelina had supposed, and William was concerned for him.Trying to be helpful, she added, “Of course, he may have mentioned plans to his cousins, Lady Victoria or Clara.I wonder if the police have quizzedthem.Perhaps they knew where he was going the night he was murdered.”
She was surprised at the lop-sided grin he gave her, and his tone of voice as he replied, “I very much doubt it.However, there were a few people at the house where it happened and they have all been interviewed by the police.”
“Where did it happen?”Evelina asked.“I can’t find any mention in the newspapers.Everyone’s speculating, but for once the newspapers haven’t sensationalized the story like they usually do.”
He hesitated.“It happened in a sort of club.A place that was quite busy that night.”
“A gentleman’s club?Yes, that’s what I heard.So it was obviously only a gathering of men and one of his so-called friends turned on him.”
“Not exactly.There were some women there, too.”
Evelina considered this.“Dunstable was sociable, though, really, I barely knew him.I cannot believe I’d agreed to—” She put her hand to her mouth.“I mustn’t speak of it.Oh, William, I ought to be ashamed of myself for switching allegiance like I have.Lord Dunstable didn’t deserve what happened to him.”
William didn’t reply immediately.Finally, he asked, “What does your father think, Evelina?He agreed to the contract drawn up between you and Dunstable.Have you told him about… me?”He stopped to put his hands on Evelina’s shoulders, and she gazed up at him, and then over his shoulder at the Serpentine glistening in the distance.
Warmth washed over her and she hoped he didn’t notice her fierce blushes.“I don’t know how I would refer to you, William” she murmured.“Certainly, so soon after Lord Dunstable’s death it wouldn’t be quite right to call you my…”
She trailed off and he supplied, “Admirer?I am more than that, Evelina, and you know it.”Gently, he touched her face, his gaze meeting hers.“And I would very much like to meet your parents.Do you think you could arrange that?”
Evelina drew in her breath.How could she explain to William that she didn’t think she could?Her mother would embarrass her, and her father was uncontactable.Even more disturbingly, would her father create some difficulty over her dowry like he had with Sir Dunstable?
He seemed to sense her conflicted thoughts for he said, “I know your father does not reside in London.I understand the problem.But…I would very much like to know a little more about your father.”
“He owns a gold mine in Africa and hasn’t been in England these past years,” Evelina said quickly.
William smiled.“A gold mine?He sounds an intrepid adventurer.As you know, I’ve spent the past three years seeing the world.I’d like to meet him and share stories of our travels.”He touched her nose.“Though, mostly, I’d like to impress him so he’d think me a fine match for his daughter.Yes, I want to speak to your father on more serious matters than travel, Evelina.”
Evelina drank in her beloved’s words, shivering with pleasure as they rippled through her.She could barely wait for the day her father and William met to discuss marriage.
Then the memory of her mother’s hard stare and ominous words ate away at her fleeting joy.
Whywould Mrs.Tarot not think Lord Bellingham an infinitely finer match than a lowly baronet?
“Mama suggested Mr.John Farnley would make me a fine husband.I don’t know why, for I’ve only just met him.And besides, I love you.”She put her hand up to touch his face, adding, “You don’t have any dark skeletons in the closet, do you?”
He gripped her hand as he stared down into her face.
Evelina waited for him to speak as he opened his mouth, about to respond.
But when he just shook his head, Evelina smiled.“Well, that’s a relief,” she said.“I was worried by the look in your eyes that you were about to tell me something dreadful about yourself.”
Chapter18
Seven bright faces watched Archie as he poured collodion —a syrupy mixture of guncotton dissolved in a combination of ether—onto the glass plate he’d just cleaned before immersing it in a solution of silver nitrate to make it sensitive to light.Loading it into the camera, he disappeared beneath a black cloth.
