Page 30 of Murder at Madame Chambon's
“I hear Lord Dunstable’s family desires a speedy resolution to the case.”Lady Dalrymple finished her drink with a practised flick of the arm and Lily realised with a start there was far more to the seemingly feeble creature she’d thought her.“His cousin, Lady Victoria—who obviously knows nothing of the delicate matter of where he was murdered—is demanding the police find the culprit at the earliest.Don’t be fooled by her apparent fragility.She is on the warpath for justice.And I know for a fact she has the ear of the man in charge of bringing Lord Dunstable’s killer to justice with, let us say, unusually generous inducements.I suspect the convenience of charging Madame Chambon with Lord Dunstable’s murder will come at the cost of true justice.”Lady Dalrymple shrugged.“And perhaps that doesn’t matter when she is guilty of robbing so many of the women here in this room of the domestic felicity they deserve.”
It was time, Lily decided, to leave Lady Dalrymple to her sleuthing so that Lily could find Hamish and solicit his help in ensuring there were no developments in the budding relationship between Lord Bellingham and Miss Tarot.
Chapter14
The feel of Miss Tarot in his arms was more sensually charged than William had expected.
Miss Tarot not only looked like an angel, she danced like an angel.The Viennese waltz was fast, but she was light on her feet; a consummate dancer, as was he, and when he caught her eye, the exhilaration she clearly felt matched his.
The pupils of her dark eyes were dilated and her ivory skin glowed, setting off the glossy ringlets and plaits of her coiffure, as superb as a raven’s wing.
When he led her off the dance floor and fetched her a glass of champagne, he was infused with the desire to learn everything about her.
Dunstable was dead.He should feel more angst over that.
But William had been given a second chance with the woman who was to have married his friend.
Miss Tarot had barely known Dunstable.A few conversations, perhaps?She’d not reciprocated the depth of feeling she clearly felt for William.
No, Miss Tarot and William were destined to be together.William, back in the country after three years abroad, was fired up on multiple fronts.He’d seen so much during his travels that made him believe he could fix through his new role in parliament.
And meeting Miss Tarot under such circumstances had convinced him that she was ‘the one’.
She was beautiful, intelligent, and well-born.The consummate society hostess, she’d win the hearts of his political friends and foes alike.She was still very young, but she had a consciousness that transcended age.She was fearless and driven to do right and good.
Her heroism during the train rescue indicated how much her impulses were driven by the heart.And what a good heart that was.
She’d saved a child.A little boy called William.
And her acceptance of his eventual offer was going to be the making William the man.
William could think of no other reason for what had happened.Their meeting truly was destiny.
“You look beautiful this evening.”In her gown of pink, adorned with cream swathes and pink bows, with pearls sparkling in her hair, he’d seen no one more beautiful.It was the first opportunity he had of being with her in a setting where an understanding between them could be properly established.
The train crash had been urgent and adrenaline-fueling, but it had brought them together.
Their meeting once more at the zoological gardens had ignited the fire in both their hearts.It had made clear the level of her interest in William and her disappointment that she’d allied herself too peremptorily with Dunstable.
Surely this had been borne out by William’s visit to her following Dunstable’s death?
And tonight was the night he would act on this, regardless of any lack of tact or delicacy due to the fact Dunstable had only just been murdered.
“Thank you.”
Dimples appeared in her cheeks.He hadn’t noticed them before.Perhaps because she was of a more serious demeanor.Or perhaps he’d mistaken a natural gravity for the inevitable disappointment she’d felt at having been steered in Dunstable’s direction before realizing that William was just as eligible and surely even more eager.
However, William was not going to allude to the horror of Dunstable’s death when nothing formal between Miss Tarot and Lord Dunstable had been made public.
She was free to marry whomever she chose.
And she was smiling at him with such warmth he truly had every expectation that he was that lucky man.
“What are your plans for the next week, Miss Tarot?”he asked, as he led her to a secluded alcove.He didn’t care that his interest would be observed.Lady Perry was doing her duty as chaperone nearby, but she was gossiping with another old woman in somber hues.Their nearness did not cast a blight on William’s ability to make the most of this moment.He was too happy for anything to cast a blight on what he believed was the beginning of the rest of his life.
“I—”
She’d started with a smile that was quickly wiped from her lips.“Lord Dunstable had invited me to the opera tomorrow night,” she whispered as if she’d only just remembered, and William cursed himself for the question.Of course, she’d have had a social calendar that revolved around Dunstable.
