Page 78 of Lady Edith and the Registry Office
“I think her heart lies with another.” He wished he hadn’t said the words; his day had been trying enough.
Alicia huffed. “Cecil? That is but a passing infatuation. Most women in London are enamored of the viscount.”
He looked a question.
“Not I, dear brother. He has no tolerance for a chatterbox like me. Do not worry. Lady Edith will come to her senses soon enough. She is too rational not to do so.”
He didn't want to discuss Edith and who she might be infatuated with. Although he didn’t want to tell Alicia about the murder, he knew she would hear it by way of gossip. And soon.
“Please be seated, Alicia.”
“You look very serious. Is it about the missing veterans?”
“It isn’t, but what I have to tell you could be connected. There was a murder today. A maid in the household of Lady Sandhurst.”
“A murder!” Alicia turned pale as she dropped onto a settee. “How horrible.”
“I was in the lady’s house when it happened. I don’t believe anyone else is in danger, but I wanted you to know about it in case you heard my name mentioned in connection to the murder. The runners are investigating the maid’s death.”
“What a terrible thing to happen. Poor woman.”
“I agree. Have I upset you?”
Alicia shook her head. “I’m sad that a young woman lost her life, but I shall not descend into hysterics.”
The dressing gong sounded. “Be off, dear sister. And remember, I am capable of handling my own personal life.”
“Are you? We shall see.” She paused. “AndIam capable of listening when you need advice or support.”
Alicia departed, and he went upstairs to his bedchamber, where his valet arrived to help him dress for dinner.
Was Alicia right? Would Lady Edith soon come to her senses? However, that didn’t mean she would ever consider him a marital prospect.
He would see her on the morrow. He had to think of a way to board the hulks in Woolwich. If he merely asked about the veterans, the guards assigned to the ships might alert someone in the RA.
Cecil would make sure the veterans weren’t in gaol as a few coins in the right hands should tell them whether their veterans were incarcerated on land.
As he went downstairs to dinner, his earlier melancholia was forgotten. His thoughts had turned to a lovely, golden-haired lady he would see at Kensington Gardens on the morrow.
