Page 55 of Lady Louisa and the Carriage Clock
When a maid entered with the tray, Edith asked Louisa, “Did Lord Wycliffe tell you what he was going to do with the ebony boxes?”
“He said he was going to destroy the boxes and the clocks. He believes the clocks are bad luck.”
The maid exited the room after setting the tray on the table in front of her mistress, leaving the door open behind her.
“I was sure there was something special about the clock, but it is quite ordinary,” Louisa said in a high voice. She decided she was really quite good at acting.
Edith grinned before replying, “Lord Wycliffe has experienced nothing but misfortune since he learned of the clocks, so he wishes to be free of them and for them to taint no one else’s life.”
Louisa knew firsthand that many in the servant class were superstitious and believed in luck. Her and Edith’s efforts, plus whatever Cecil had in mind for the ebony boxes, might convince the RA that the clocks had been destroyed.
Seeing Lord Wycliffe again so soon after discovering she had feelings for him had thrown her, and she’d forgotten to tell him and Edith about the information she’d learned about Daventry regarding Diana and hunting.
“Edith, I wish to sketch you if that would suit you.” She winked at her friend.
“That would be lovely. You are quite adept at sketching furniture, but you do need to work on portraits.”
Louisa placed her teacup on the tea tray and walked to the exquisite little writing desk in the room to retrieve her sketch pad and pencil.
When back in her place on the settee, she began to write.
“Do you wish me to pose a certain way?” Edith asked brightly.
“Not at all. I wish to capture your natural posture.”
Louisa briefly wrote on her pad what her mother had told her about Daventry’s stillborn daughter and the hunting accident on his estate. When finished, she handed the paper to Edith.
“Oh yes, that is very good,” Edith said as she read the paper. “You’ve captured my likeness quite well. May I keep this? I’m sure Nathaniel would love to see it.”
“Oh yes, please.” She wanted to speak to Edith about a personal matter. “Since it is such a lovely day out, shall we take a turn around the community garden?”
“That sounds like a wonderful idea.” Edith folded the paper Louisa had given her, put it in the beaded reticule she carried, and rose to her feet. “It is a lucky thing I wore my Spencer.”
While Edith donned her outerwear in the entry hall, a maid hurried upstairs for a bonnet and Spencer for Louisa. Moments later, the women descended the steps in front of Carstairs and walked to the park arm in arm.
“That is quite extraordinary what you learned about Daventry,” Edith said when they reached the center of the park. “They’re the clues we needed to connect the Diana clock to him.”
“You must ensure that paper makes it to Lord Wycliffe.”
“I will give it to Nathaniel to pass along. From now on, it is up to you and Cecil to make other arrangements if you continue to help him decipher the other clock. And I do mean that, Louisa.”
She understood. Her friend owed her first loyalty to her husband, after all. It wasn’t fair for Louisa to have Edith choose between her and Nathaniel.
Edith continued, “Now that we know how to tie Daventry to the clock, we should be able to figure out who the other timepiece belonged to. Cecil believes Lord Campbell bought your clock from a criminal after it was taken from his brother Wycliffe.”
“There is no way to know who sold it to Lord Campbell, so we should look for a link between Daventry and another lord of the same age,” Louisa replied.
“Our clues are Venus and Cupid. No one in society we know has those Christian names or nicknames.”
Louisa sighed. “If I ask my mother more questions about Daventry, she might wonder why. I could ask my father.”
Edith nodded. “My father had nothing to say about Daventry. He knew him very little. Lord and Lady Kettering will escort Alicia to Vauxhall Gardens this evening after they join us for dinner. I can ask them if they know of a Cupid or Venus.”
“I’m not sure that is a good idea. Lord Kettering has not been ruled out as the rightful owner of the second clock.” She frowned.
“Fair point.” Edith added, “We’re not visiting the gardens as Nathaniel wishes a quiet evening at home. Quiet in that Alicia will be out.”
Both women chuckled at that remark. They walked down one path, turned, and walked down another.
