Page 15 of A Murder, a Marquess, and Miss Mifford
For a moment Emily was astonished to learn that, in such a short space of time, not one but two people had verbalised their wish to kill Lady Hardthistle. Then, when she thought on it a bit longer, she decided it really wasn't that astonishing at all. The baroness had been a harridan of the highest order--it really was a wonder that the list of suspects in her murder was so few.
Though, the only person who knew that there was a second person on the list was Emily.
Emily opened her mouth to share her suspicion that Sir Cadogan might be the murderer, when Mary spoke, interrupting her.
"You are kind, my lady," Mary said, her eyes misty with emotion--a frequent occurrence, since she had announced she was expecting, "To offer your backing to poor Emily. I fear that not everyone will be as good as you. I must speak with Northcott, and decide what we must do next."
"His Grace is well connected," Lady Albermay answered, cheerfully, "No one would dare give Miss Mifford the cut, if they knew that they risked the censure of the duke and his esteemed associates."
"You're correct, my lady," Mary agreed, nodding her head thoughtfully, "I shall task Northcott with rallying support, at once."
"If I can be of any assistance, do let me know," the countess replied with a wide smile, "I'll leave you both to your planning, but if you require anything--anything at all--my door is always open."
With that, Lady Albermay rose to a stand and swept from the room, leaving only her floral scent behind her.
"What an unexpected new friend," Mary commented, as the door sounded shut, "It was so good of her to call, so that we know what we are faced with. Never fear, Emily; Northcott will fix matters with theton."
"Perhaps if we were to find out who killed Lady Hardthistle ourselves, then Northcott would not need to fix anything," Emily answered, though Mary was not listening.
As usual, once she had decided on a plan, Mary was deaf to all else but her own thoughts. As though Emily had not spoken, the duchess stood from the sofa, her brow drawn into a frown of concentration and her mind patently elsewhere.
"Yes, finish the cakes Emily, while I sort out matters," she said absently, before making her way to the door.
"No, that wasn't what I said," Emily called after her, but it was too late--she was already gone.
"Nobody ever listens to me," Emily grumbled, aware of the irony of her statement as she was now alone and speaking to herself.
Mary and Northcott, having solved their own murder mystery, appeared to have no wish to assist Emily with solving hers. Smoothing over matters so that Emily's season would continue unimpeded by murder accusations was not Emily's idea of a satisfactory conclusion to Lady Hardthistle's death. No, she would have to find out just who it was who had strangled the unlikeable baroness. There must be someone else with an interest in solving the mystery...
Lord Chambers!
The marquess had taken command of last night's ghastly situation, and had even suggested his own suspect. If there was anyone in the world who cared as much about solving the murder, it was he.
True, he was so big-headed that he would no doubt claim that he had discovered the perpetrator alone, but that did not matter to Emily, as long as the true murderer was found.
She just needed a way to get in touch with the marquess; a note perhaps? Or would it be considered scandalous for a young, unwed lady to write to a man she was barely acquainted with?
As Emily pondered how she might circumvent society's complex rules and make contact with the marquess, the door burst open and Mary reappeared.
"I have the answer," she cried, her eyes alight with triumph, "Lord Chambers!"
"What about him?" Emily queried, while secretly marvelling at the fact that the marquess appeared to be the answer to everyone's problems.
"I shall send Northcott to ask the marquess to show his support for you publicly, tonight at Lady Stanton's ball," Mary explained, with an air of impatience at Emily's lack of telepathy. "As well as being one of theton'smost celebrated bachelors, he is also Lady Hardthistle's nephew--albeit through marriage. His backing of you shall be sure to silence wagging tongues."
Mary finished speaking and waited expectantly for some sort of objection from Emily, but none was forthcoming.
"Capital idea," Emily offered, causing Mary to frown suspiciously. Her ideas were not usually so well received by her younger sisters.
"I'm glad you think so," Mary said cautiously, and once she was certain that it wasn't a trap, and that Emilywasagreeable to her plan, she smiled.
"I don't think you could have come up with a better plan," Emily assured her, for it was the truth. Thanks to Mary's intervention, she would soon be able to converse with Lord Chambers, and the investigation could begin in earnest.
Chapter Four
Freddie had hoped that by the next time that he and Miss Mifford met, that she would regard him as the hero of the hour--the man who had single-handedly cleared her name. Alas, thanks to the alibi that Mr Bunting had afforded Mr Fitzgibbons, the man that Freddie had thought most likely to have killed Lady Hardthistle had been exonerated of any guilt.
In the eyes of the Runners, at least.
