Page 53 of Murder at Madame Chambon's
“I’m sure they’ve exercised their due diligence,” said Hamish.“And I trust you are keeping well, Lord Bellingham.”Though everything about Bellingham was lacklustre, Lily was concerned to note.The shadows beneath his eyes.The tightness to his mouth.
“As well as can be under the circumstances.”He looked between Lily and her husband.“You have both done your best to dissuade me of my desire to wed a certain young lady, but you have not succeeded.”
Discomfited by the accusation in his tone, she turned to Hamish, whose look was baleful.He’d simply done what Lily had asked of him.
“I…I am sorry if you are angry, Lord Bellingham,” Lily said softly.“I had no intention of interfering…in matters of the heart.I just… assumed that it was best you knew—”
“Because you thought I was inconstant enough that I’d cry off the moment there was a sniff of scandal?”
Lily tried to deflect his ire.“You said you intended to discover… her parentage?” She sent a rather desperate glance at Hamish, who was jiggling the baby that had begun to stir.“Have you had any success?”
“None whatsoever.”His answer was short.
“Then what do you intend to do?”
Lord Bellingham sent a glance about him, set his mouth, then said grimly, “The only thing I can do, under the circumstances.”
“Surely you don’t mean to elope, my lord?”Lily gasped.
“If it’s the only way for us to be together, then yes.I’ve just returned from a wild goose chase to Norfolk and back.I truly believed I had located the fellow who could set my mind at rest, or at least supply me with answers.”
“And what does Miss Tarot think of all this?”Hamish asked with a frown.
“I hope I’ll find a positive answer to my letters when I get back to my townhouse.And I’m only telling you this because it was you who were so determined that I drop my suit.Well, you only succeeded in galvanizing me into action.The police have charged the wrong person, and I’m sorry for it.A woman did not kill Lord Dunstable.”
“Then, who do suppose might have, my lord?”Hamish asked mildly.
Lord Bellingham considered the question, then shrugged his shoulders.“I’ve learned of a fellow who was at the same house Dunstable attended the night of the murder.This man has not been interviewed and it seems that the proprietor is reluctant that he is.”He sent Lily a long level look, before adding, “Unfortunately, the only clue as to his identity could be that he carries an intricately carved cane.Apparently two entwined snakes.”
“Half of London’s gentlemen indulge in such fancies,” murmured Hamish.“Why, my cane is also intricately carved.”
“With two snakes?”asked Lord Bellingham and Hamish shook his head.
“Then I shall question you no further,” Lord Bellingham said with a small smile.“Good day to you.”
Lily tucked her hand into the crook of her husband’s arm as they watched him depart, Hamish murmuring, “Poor fellow has taken this matter of the heart very hard.”
“It’s more than just a matter of the heart,” said Lily, feeling an even greater clutch of alarm as the young man disappeared around a corner.“It’s a matter of life and death.”She chewed on her knuckles.
And then the baby began to cry.
Chapter25
The day of the funeral dawned dark and foreboding, but weak sunlight pierced the storm clouds by midday.
Evelina just hoped her mama did not choose this morning to make one of her unannounced calls.
She’d planned to escape the house with no one the wiser, but decided she’d have to make an ally of Kitty, who could provide excuses on her behalf if Lady Perry or her mother asked after her.
“They’re to think I’m ill in bed and that you’ve made me a sleeping draught, Kitty.Will you tell them that if they ask?”Evelina had just stepped into a stylish mourning gown that she’d had made for her in Paris.Really, she’d covered all contingencies, and she’d not blinked an eyelid at the expense because her father had been so generous.
It’s why she’d anticipated that he’d waste no time in seeing her once she established herself in London.And why his abandonment of her felt so painful.
Though not as painful as Lord Bellingham’s.Four days and she’d not heard a word from him.
She was afraid of seeing him at the funeral and having her worst fears confirmed, but wondered if his absence would be a greater trial to bear.
Really, she’d never felt like she had during the past ten days.Her emotions had been skittering all over the place, first in relief that she no longer was bound to Dunstable—with the inevitable guilt, of course—followed by the joys of feeling her heart soar, while her pulse quickened at the mere mention or even thought of William.
