Page 38 of A Baron's Disguised Lady
“You’ve met my new assistant, My Lord. Connor’s come from the medical school in Dublin to gain experience in rural matters. I must say, he’s only been here a day, and already he’s a godsend,” Doctor Airdale said.
He, too, looked better; his hair and beard trimmed, his spectacles polished, and his clothes freshly laundered. Connor pulled up a seat for Archie to sit down on and even offered him tea.
“No, thank you. I’ve come on a most… delicate matter, Doctor Airdale,” Archie said.
“Anything you say is in complete confidence. I won’t be embarrassed by any medical matter you might be bringing to the doctor’s attention,” Connor said, and Archie blushed.
“No, it’s nothing to do with my own health, thank you. Doctor Airdale, I’ve come concerning Gwendolene’s death,” he said, and for the benefit of the young medical student, Archie gave a brief account of the circumstances surrounding his sister.
“I see… and what more is there to say?” Doctor Airdale asked.
Archie felt disappointed. He had hoped the doctor would have more to say on the matter—that he, too, might have suspected something.
“The notes you gave me, Doctor Airdale. You wrote in them of an unusual smell on my sister’s breath. Can you… tell me anything more?” Archie asked.
“Almonds… I thought it was unusual, given your sister’s allergies, but… I can’t… ah, but no, My Lord. You can’t be suggesting she was poisoned, can you?” Doctor Airdale asked, shaking his head.
“But I think so, yes. Not in her food, and only in small quantities. I went to her bedroom this morning, and there was this,” Archiesaid, taking out the toothbrush and powder he had removed from his sister’s dressing table.
The doctor held out his hand to take them, shaking his head.
“Really, My Lord… let your sister rest in peace,” he said, but Archie was insistent.
He had to know. He had to be certain, and Doctor Airdale was the only person who could tell him.
“But she’s not at peace, Doctor Airdale, not if someone did this to her. And I can’t be at peace, either. I’ve got to know the truth. I won’t rest until I do,” Archie said, his passions inflamed.
He glanced at the assistant, who looked decidedly uncomfortable, as though he had expected country medicine to be rather simpler than poison and murder. The doctor sighed.
“Very well, My Lord. I’ll see what I can do, but I can’t promise anything. Your sister died of a fever. It was a tragedy. I think of my own advanced age and wonder why the good Lord spares an old man like me for yet another year. But… your sister wouldn’t want you to go on searching for the living among the dead,” Doctor Airdale said.
But Archie had no intention of giving up, and before the doctor could say anything else, or seek to dissuade him further, he thanked him and rose to his feet.
“Thank you, Doctor Airdale. You don’t know how grateful I am to you. I’ll return in the coming days. But I’m convinced the answer lies here—in the tooth powder or on the brush,” she said.
“But why would anyone want to kill your sister?” Doctor Airdale asked, and Archie sighed.
That was the one thing he did not know. He was convinced someone had. But as for their motive…
“That’s what I’ve got to find out,” he replied, and thanking the doctor again, Archie took his leave.
He was glad to think an answer might be forthcoming—that he would eventually know the truth as to whether Gwendolene had been poisoned or not. But Doctor Airdale was right—why would anyone want to kill Gwendolene? It was a question he continued to ponder as he walked back towards Sarum Lacey House, his earlier haste replied by a ponderous pace, his mind filled with possibilities.
If only I’d asked to read one of those letters—or asked who they were from,Archie thought to himself, angry at having merely taken Gwendolene’s word for their contents.
He hated to think of her suffering in silence, of carrying some burden he was unaware of, a fear or worry she could not share. He thought back to her various friends and associates—most, if not all of them, women.
She, too, had been an ordinary young woman, and there was nothing to suggest anything untoward had ever occurred. Archie had believed he knew everything there was to know about his sister, that they had no secrets from one another, even as it now seemed certain they did.
“I just wish… oh, what’s the point in wishing? It won’t bring her back. Nothing can bring her back,”he murmured to himself, shaking his head sadly at the thought he might never know the truth.
He was now approaching Sarum Lacey House, filled with some trepidation as to returning, knowing how he had felt earlier while standing in the hallway, when the sound of horse’s hooves came from behind. Archie turned, finding a figure on horseback approaching along the drive.
They were not expecting any visitors, but as the rider slowed, Archie recognized him as none other than Lord Bath, the senderof the flowers, the man whom he had rescued Lavinia from at the ball. Lord Bath now slipped down from the saddle and smiled.
“Do you mind if I walk with you up to the house?” he asked.
Archie did mind, and he did not think Lavinia would take kindly to Lord Bath’s presence, either.
