Page 50 of A Baron's Disguised Lady
“Then we can do no more than continue our investigation—perhaps we could discover where the tooth powder came from, or who brought it to Gwendolene’s bedroom,” Lavinia replied.
She knew it was a long shot, born out of desperation. But the worse thing they could do would be to do nothing. Gwendolene deserved the truth to be known, and Lavinia knew Archie would not give up until that truth was discovered.
“Yes. You are right. The small questions may lead to a bigger answer,” he said, and Gwendolene nodded.
“Precisely so. But for now… you need to eat something. It’s not good for you to shut yourself away like this. Your mother will be worried. And she deserves to know what you’ve discovered, Archie,” Lavinia said.
He looked up at her and nodded. She felt terribly sorry for him. He was a man who carried such burdens on his shoulders, a man for whom there could be no rest until the truth was known.
“I know, but… can I really get her mixed up in all of this? It’s bad enough to think you are, too, Lavinia. I mean… this is murder,” Archie said, and Lavinia nodded.
“I know, and that’s why you need my help. I’m not afraid, if that’s what you think. And from now on, I’ll be careful—I use the same dental powder as Gwendolene. But I don’t think… well, there’s no reason for me to be afraid. But we need to be careful. We don’t want whoever did this to know what we know,” she said, and Archie nodded.
“And that’s why I’m not going to tell my mother. Not yet, at least. She’d only get upset, and she might unwittingly say something the murderer overhears. If it’s one of the servants, perhaps… no, we’ve got to be very careful from now on. I hate the thought of you being mixed up in all of this, but I have to say I am glad for it anyway,” he said, and Lavinia smiled.
She wanted to be mixed up in it. She did not want to be an idle lady of leisure, flitting from one tea party to the next, and she certainly did not want to a Wilhelmina Tipping, forcing herself into the home of a man who clearly had no interest in her—and for what, her own misguided sense of jealousy?
“I wouldn’t have it any other way. I hope you realize I’m not like other women,” she said, and the baron laughed.
“Oh, yes, I realize that. Don’t worry—I know you’re nothing like other women. But I really am very grateful, Lavinia,” he said, and she smiled at him.
“I certainly didn’t think coming here would throw me into such an adventure,” she said.
But as she spoke, she realized how insensitive her words must have sounded, and she blushed a deep shade of red in embarrassment. But to her relief, he smiled and shook his head.
“One can have too much adventure, I think. But now we have to decide on our next move. I was feeling somewhat despairing earlier on, but I knew you’d bring me round—you have a gift for it. Come along, let’s go to dinner. I told Hargreaves I wouldn’t be there, but he can have another place laid.
We’ll act as though everything’s just the same as it was before. But we don’t have much time, Lavinia. We’ve got to discover the truth—and soon,” he said, rising from his desk.
Lavinia agreed. Every day that passed was another day for the murderer to escape. They might already be gone, but Lavinia felt certain they were not. Something tied them to Sarum Lacy House—some secret from the past, involving Gwendolene. A sudden thought came to her mind, even as it seemed a terrible imposition to even suggest it.
“What about her diaries? Did you ever read them?” she asked, and Archie shook his head, blushing as he did so.
“No… a woman’s diaries…” he said, but Lavinia knew it was the best place to look.
She wrote a diary herself, and in it, she confided all her most intimate secrets. She would not want anyone to read it, but if she was the victim of murder?
“I know you don’t like the thought of it, but what if Gwendolene wrote something there—details of an intimacy, a friendship, a lover, even…” Lavinia replied.
She thought about her own diary, about the entry she would make that very day, sharing the fact of her unexpected walk with Archie that morning, of how he had made her feel, of how her feelings for him were growing stronger by the day. A woman’s diary was a place for such intimacies to be recorded—perhaps the only place where she could truly say what she felt, knowing the secret would be safe…
“But do you think Gwendolene… I mean, is it likely she wrote such things in her diary?” Archie asked, and Lavinia nodded.
“I think it might be, yes. It’s worth looking, don’t you think? I’d happily do so for you, if you felt… well, if you felt it was too much,” she said, and Archie nodded.
“I couldn’t do it myself. But if you’re certain it would help, perhaps you could be the one to do so,” he said, and Lavinia nodded.
“I do think it would help,” she said, just as the gong sounded for dinner.
Archie nodded, and now he offered her his arm, smiling at her as he took it.
“I wouldn’t have thought of it. So I am glad I’ve got you here to think of such things for me,” he said, and Lavinia smiled back at him.
“And I’m glad I’m here to think those things, too. Come along—let’s try to put such thoughts aside for a while—our mothers will be waiting,” she said, as arm-in-arm they left the study, Lavinia’s thoughts set on Gwendolene’s diary, and what might be found within it.
Chapter 18
“Apparently, the doctor looked very grave when he arrived yesterday,” Daisy said, shaking her head.
