Page 51 of A Murder, a Marquess, and Miss Mifford
Emily squirmed a little, as all eyes turned towards Lord Chambers, who was staring Sir Cadogan down, visibly willing him to wilt under pressure.
"I am afraid, Chambers, that you have gone too far this time," Sir Cadogan boomed, when he eventually found his voice, "How dare you accuse me of murder? I should call you out."
"You were sighted in the gardens of Albermay House," Freddie retorted, "Alongside Miss Willard there. When she returned to the house, you lingered, so as not to be seen together. On your way back to the party, you stumbled across Lady Hardthistle, with whom you had argued the night before. Sensing a chance to not only get your revenge, but to inherit her fortune by marrying Miss Willard, you struck! You strangled her to death, sir."
Freddie's outburst was met with stunned silence by the crowd. All eyes turned to Sir Cadogan, whose face had turned an alarming shade of purple.
"My lord, I did no such thing," he eventually spat out, "When I parted ways with Miss Willard, I did indeed stumble across someone--or rathertwopeople--who will attest to the fact that it would have been impossible for me to murder Lady Hardthistle in the time-frame given."
Emily's stomach sank, as she realised that their sleuthing skills were not as sharp as they had first believed.
"Oh," Freddie blustered, his voice far less confident now, "And who's that?"
"That would be me."
Mr Fitzgibbons stepped forward, sheepishly raising his hand. More murmurs from the crowd accompanied his confession, but they were cut short by the arrival of Northcott and Mary to the ballroom.
"What's going on?" Mary squeaked, with a petrified look at the crowd.
"Lord Chambers is attempting to exonerate your sister of murder, by accusing me instead," Sir Cadogan answered, with an irritable shake of his jowls.
Mary's face paled; her fears that the ball would be a disaster were realising before her very eyes. Acutely aware that his wife was on the verge of hysteria, Northcott took charge.
"Chambers," he said, his voice calm, "Sir Cadogan; why don't you both join me in the library?"
"I expect I'd best come too," Mr Fitzgibbons added, cheerfully.
"Very good," Northcott answered, before waving to attract the attention of the orchestra, "A little music, please."
The four men filtered out of the room, and once they were gone, Cecilia took charge, for Mary was too shocked to move.
"Come," the dowager duchess called, gaily, "Let us dance and be merry!"
The guests obeyed, no doubt keen to discuss what had happened amongst themselves. Only Emily remained rooted to the spot, a sense of dread growing steadily in her belly.
Their plan had failed spectacularly. Not only did Sir Cadogan appear to be innocent, but their next suspect too. Instead of exonerating Emily, they had merely implicated her further.
"I must say Mrs Mifford," Emily heard Mrs Canards say, as she moved away, "It's been a wonderful night, so far. I cannot wait to share with the villagers howtriumphantlyyour daughters have conquered London."
Nausea overwhelmed Emily, as she realised that she would never overcome this social failure. There was no way that Lord Chambers would ever have her as his wife, after this scandal. Unable to bear the pitying looks from the other guests any further, Emily picked up the skirts of her dress, and fled for the safety of the gardens.
Chapter Fourteen
Freddie felt a fool.
He had wished to rescue Miss Mifford, to ride in on his white horse and vanquish all her troubles, but he appeared to have made things worse.
In Northcott's library, all dark panelled wood and leather chairs, he quickly explained his reasoning for thinking Sir Cadogan guilty.
It all sounded very plausible, until the squire interrupted and explained just why it could not possibly be he who had killed Lady Hardthistle.
"Ethel and I went our separate ways," Sir Cadogan cleared his throat awkwardly, his ears pink, "And on my way back to watch the fireworks, I stumbled into a pair of lovers."
"Miss Gardner and I," Mr Fitzgibbons explained, with a faint note of pride, "Gave us quite the fright. It would have been jolly awkward, had we not been interrupted by Miss Willard's screams."
"You told me that you and Mr Bunting were together?" Freddie replied, narrowing his eyes in dislike at the young buck.
"He offered to vouch for my whereabouts, so Miss Gardner would not be caught up in a scandal," Mr Fitzgibbons shrugged, "It was an attempt at gallantry on his part."
