by Kate Parker
“Too late,” I murmured. Bobbies came into the park with a camera and supplies to cordon off the gazebo, followed by some men in regular wear and carrying umbrellas. I focused on one of them. Detective Inspector James Russell.
I felt my heart flutter. I dared not call out to him, as much as I wanted to. Lady Kaldaire had no such restraint. “Good. Inspector Russell, I’m glad you’re here. This needs to be kept quiet. The Duchess of Wallingford has suffered enough.” She used the same tone of voice the old queen, Victoria, must have used on her dimmer servants.
Russell said something to the men he was with and then came over to us under the gazebo roof. “My lady, Miss Gates, you shouldn’t be here. This is the scene of a crime.”
“Emily found the body. And I have identified the woman.”
Russell looked at the clothing on the victim and said, “Really?” in an amazed tone.
“She’s Lady Theodore Hughes, widow of the second son of the Duke of Wallingford. Also called the notorious Lady Roxanne.” Lady Kaldaire spoke as if the words were foul tasting in her mouth.
He looked closer. “You’re joking.”
“Rest assured, Inspector, I do not joke about such matters.” Lady Kaldaire gave him a withering glare.
Russell seemed immune to such looks. “Thank you for your information. Now, if you ladies will go about your day out of the rain, we will take care of this unfortunate business. I will interview both of you at your residences later. Ladies.” He tipped his bowler to us and then handed us down from the gazebo.
The step was only a few inches. I suspected he did that to send Lady Kaldaire on her way. In my case, he gave my hand a squeeze and whispered, “Later.”
We locked gazes for a moment, and then Inspector Russell turned to his men and started issuing orders as he moved forward to examine the body.
I looked away with a sigh.
As I turned toward the far gate, the hat box kept safely under my umbrella, Lady Kaldaire said, “Emily, I want you to come with me to Wallingford House. It would be unkind to let strangers descend on Lulu without her being prepared for the shock.”
“I have to deliver this hat first.” I didn’t want to risk it getting soaked and ruined. I didn’t want to waste my time making it twice.
“Lady Meacham is not as important as the Duchess of Wallingford,” she said, keeping up with me on the path.
“I have some idea of the order of precedence and how the wife of a younger son of a duke should be addressed. However, neither the Duchess nor Lady Theodore—can I call her Roxanne between the two of us?”
“No.” Lady Kaldaire sounded horrified.
“Neither woman owes me money for this hat and a couple of others,” I said in a snippy tone.
“Emily, you’re being very middle class.”
“I am middle class. And I have next semester’s fees to pay for Matthew at the Doncaster School for the Deaf.” My little brother had been deafened at the age of eight by the same fever that carried away our mother. Now that he was fourteen, I had finally raised the funds to send him away for a better education than he could get locally.
“If you’re quite determined to go to Lady Meacham’s first, I’ll go with you. Then we can go together to break the news to Lulu about her son’s wife.” Lady Kaldaire used her lady-of-the-manor tone as she unlocked the gate for me.
I didn’t want two of us to show up on Lady Meacham’s front steps, our skirts and shoes soaked, but disagreement was futile. I’d dealt with Lady Kaldaire long enough to know when to save my breath.
Lady Meacham looked horrified as she faced the two of us dripping in her front hallway. Nevertheless, she greeted Lady Kaldaire effusively, sent her girl for tea and, with the aid of another maid, arranged her small yellow and blue morning room with a large looking glass so I could properly set her hat on her hairdo.
“Lady Kaldaire, what brings you out so early on such a dismal day?” Lady Meacham asked as she studied her reflection in a second looking glass that the maid held. “I think the hat needs to be at more of an angle to the left. Thank goodness you kept the hat dry.”
My feet were soaked, but I knew what mattered to these ladies, and it wasn’t my health.
As I adjusted the wide-brimmed, pink-flowered and feathered afternoon hat suitable for a summer picnic, Lady Kaldaire said, “Emily found herself in difficulty while bringing you the hat. My maid saw her and told me, and I went out to assist her.”
I saw Lady Meacham’s reflection in the glass watching me with skepticism. “What sort of bother?”
“I found a body and was searching for a constable.”
“A body? A dead body? In our neighborhood?” came out in a screech. Lady Meacham turned in the chair, nearly knocking her hat off. “Who was it?”
“I don’t know. I’d never seen the woman before.”
I saw Lady Kaldaire frown as I answered.
The tea tray arrived and I waited until my customer had poured and we’d had a chance to enjoy a sip before I went back to work. Then Lady Meacham continued to question me. “A woman? Not a respectable woman, I gather.”
That was a harder question to answer without giving away the woman’s identity. And from the look Lady Kaldaire was giving me, that was not a question I should reply to. “I don’t know.”
“Now, don’t keep me in suspense. Surely you could tell from her dress.” Lady Meacham used her usual demanding tone.
“Her clothing was partially missing. She was barefoot, for one thing, and no woman would ever go out like that. Particularly in this weather.” I had been questioned enough. “That looks excellent.”
Lady Meacham studied her reflection from different angles. “Yes, it does.”
“The hat is one pound eight, please.” It was expensive, but she’d wanted a great quantity of flowers and feathers perched on her head.
I wanted to ask her for her past-due payment as well, but I didn’t think embarrassing her in front of Lady Kaldaire would accomplish any good.
Lady Meacham looked as if she wanted to debate the price of her hat. She reddened under Lady Kaldaire’s gaze as she walked to a lovely credenza and fished out money to put in my hand.
I checked to make sure it was the correct amount before dropping it into my bag. “Thank you. Now, I really must get back to the shop. Are you walking with me, Lady Kaldaire?”
“Yes. I’m sure Lady Meacham has things to do wearing that beautiful hat. Good day.” With a regal tilt to her head, Lady Kaldaire set down her fragile teacup and saucer and walked out of the cheery room. I caught up to her in time to retrieve my outerwear and umbrella and ready myself to escape into the rain.
“Now, Lady Kaldaire, you will let me know if you hear any more about the tragedy in our neighborhood,” Lady Meacham said from behind us as we hurried out the front door.
“Of course,” and we were down the pavement before Lady Kaldaire added, “that is not at all likely.” Then she turned to me. “We’re going to the Duke of Wallingford’s house. Someone has to soften the blow for poor Lulu.”
“How can I help? I don’t know the duchess.” She wasn’t a customer of mine, and I was unlikely to know her any other way.
“You found her son’s widow’s body. You can answer her questions. I learned how desperately I needed answers when you found Horace’s body.” She linked her arm in mine. “Come along, Emily.”
I decided it wouldn’t take long to satisfy the woman’s curiosity and then I would be free to go back to work.
The Wallingford London house was on a corner across from the park where Lady Theodore’s body was found. As we approached it, I noted the mews opening and the carriage house behind the back garden, the wide Georgian frontage of four stories, with an attic and basement no doubt reserved for the servants. A house worthy of a duke.
“Are you certain I should go with you?” I asked again as we crossed the street, hoping she had changed her mind.
“Yes.” Lady Kaldaire marched up the stairs and rang the
bell. When I lingered on the pavement, huddled under my umbrella, she added, “Come along, Emily.”
I had reached the porch when the door was opened by a formally dressed butler.
“Lady Kaldaire, would you care to wait in the morning room out of the rain? The Duchess of Wallingford has not yet risen,” he told her as he peered out at the street.
“She needs to. She’s about to be given a nasty shock,” Lady Kaldaire said as she stepped forward, forcing the butler out of her way. “Come along, Emily.”
I followed her into the house, nodding to the butler.
“If your lady’s maid would like to accompany me…”
“Miss Gates is not a lady’s maid, and she is the one who discovered the body.” Lady Kaldaire handed off her umbrella and headed up the stairs. “You may want to call for Her Grace’s maid,” she called over her shoulder.
“A body?” the butler asked, his face still an unflappable mask as he stood in place in the front hall. His eyes, however, showed his confusion.
I gave the butler my soaked umbrella and followed Lady Kaldaire. At that point, it felt like the best of a wealth of unpopular choices. She reached the first floor and headed down the hall while I rushed to catch up. She knocked on the last door and opened it.
As she walked forward, I lingered in the doorway. Heavy curtains covered the windows and the room was in a twilight darkness. “Lulu, you must get up. Emily, open the curtains.”
When I didn’t hear any disagreement from the person who was no more than a lump under the covers, I walked across the room and pulled the purple draperies open. The soft light of a rainy day filtered in through the lace curtains still covering the window glass.
A head lifted from the pillows. “Robbie, you are the most annoying, the most infuriating—”
“Get dressed. The police are on their way.” Lady Kaldaire used a tone often employed on her servants or tradesmen. I stopped and stared at her when she had used it on me. The technique partially worked, as I wasn’t addressed with that tone very often.
The woman sat up then, unfazed at being spoken to as if she were a scullery maid. She appeared to be Lady Kaldaire’s age, with a thin face above her flannel nightgown. “The police? Why?”
“Roxanne is dead. Murdered.”
Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, the woman said, “It’s about time. Call my maid.”
Chapter Three
“Lulu, don’t say that to the police.” Lady Kaldaire looked worried. I guessed Lulu, the Duchess of Wallingford, would make a good murder suspect with that attitude.
“I’m not that addled. Hemmings, get me dressed and then have tea and toast brought to the morning room.” As the somberly dressed lady’s maid entered the room and began laying out her clothes, the duchess said, “You remember where that is, Robbie?”
“Of course. It hasn’t been that long since you stopped seeing all your old friends. Come along, Emily.”
“Who are you?” the woman demanded, glaring at me as she noticed me for the first time. I could see now that her whole body was nothing but skin and bones.
“Emily Gates. I found the body.”
“I’ll speak to you shortly. Robbie, take her to the morning room.”
We left the room and I saw Lady Kaldaire wore a smile on her face. As we walked downstairs, she said, “It’s good to see Lulu rising from her bed and sounding more like the woman I know.”
I’d never heard anyone call Lady Kaldaire “Robbie” before. It seemed so unlikely a nickname for the elegant older woman that I couldn’t resist. “I’m glad to hear that, Robbie.”
“You are not to repeat that ridiculous name. I am Roberta, Lady Kaldaire, and don’t you forget it.” She stomped ahead of me and opened a door on the right of a short hallway, nearly knocking aside a footman who reached out to turn the doorknob.
Lady Kaldaire and I had a strange relationship. From the moment we met over her husband’s dying body, we had learned private things about each other. She had been known to tell me things in confidence, and she would listen to my advice, unlike any other relationship I’d heard of between aristocrat and shop owner. Still, there were certain things I could not do, even in jest. Calling her “Robbie” was added to the list of never-dos.
I followed her into a chilly room done in greens and blues. Her ladyship immediately sat near the cold, clean fireplace. A maid appeared a moment later, opening the curtains before laying a fire. When she left, I took a seat across from Lady Kaldaire, hoping the room would soon heat.
I decided I would allow myself a cup of tea while I told the duchess what I knew about the corpse, and then I would hurry back to the shop. I had customers to wait on and a living to earn.
That should be enough to satisfy Lady Kaldaire.
The duchess arrived before the room was warm, looking tired and wan but acting every inch an aristocrat. She sat in a chair by Lady Kaldaire. “We’ll have tea and toast in a moment, but please, tell me what happened.”
Lady Kaldaire nodded for me to begin.
“I was on an early delivery when—”
“Delivery?” the duchess asked.
“I’m a milliner. Duquesne’s Millinery. I was asked by Lady Meacham to bring her new hat to her home and fit it to the hairstyle she planned to wear today.”
“Lady Meacham.” The Duchess of Wallingford gave a little snort and rolled her eyes. “Continue.”
“I cut through the park—”
“Our private park?”
I nodded.
“Why?” She demanded. “You have no right to walk through there.”
“It was raining and I was in a hurry.” I spoke quietly, not wanting to start an argument I couldn’t win. Lady Kaldaire reached out and touched her hand. The duchess nodded for me to continue. “I saw the woman I’ve learned was Lady Theodore Hughes lying on the bench in the gazebo in the center of the park. I couldn’t do anything for her, so I found a constable.”
“Presumably Scotland Yard is now involved.” The Duchess of Wallingford slid a ring up and down a finger. I suspected it had fit at one time but now was too loose due to weight loss.
“Lady Kaldaire had a bobby summon the inspector who investigated her husband’s murder,” I told her.
She turned to Lady Kaldaire. “Can I trust this inspector’s discretion?”
“He’s the best of the bunch. And you can trust Emily’s discretion, too.”
The duchess held my gaze for a moment before she nodded. “So how did Roxanne die?”
“Her neck was sliced and whoever did it did a poor job covering the wound with a scarf,” I said. My words hung in the silence.
“And then there is the matter of how she was dressed,” Lady Kaldaire added.
When the Duchess of Wallingford looked puzzled, I described her costume. I ended with, “Was this something she sometimes wore?”
“Oh, I hope not. But barefoot? I never knew her to go out of her room without her shoes and stockings. She felt her limbs didn’t look their best without at least a two-inch heeled shoe. She was quite vain about her appearance.”
“Was she short?” I asked.
“A little taller than average, I suppose, but she wanted to be taller. Taller, more full-figured, blonder. Never did she indicate that she wanted to be a better person. A kinder, gentler, less selfish person.”
“You’ve been through a trial,” Lady Kaldaire said, taking one of the duchess’s hands.
“But it’s over. Someone has delivered me.” The woman smiled.
“And they’ll hang for it,” I said to myself.
The duchess looked at me, and I knew I’d spoken too loudly. “They won’t hang if I can help it. Killing her is like killing vermin.” She looked as if she’d tasted a lemon.
Lady Kaldaire said, “If you want to keep this person from hanging, Emily and I will need to find out who it is so you can protect him.”
Whoever this person was, he’d hang if I found out his identity. My mother had instille
d in me an unshakable belief in obeying the law. She considered it protection against my father’s family’s lawlessness.
Somehow, I didn’t think I’d better announce that here.
Both women would probably think of me as vermin after I asked this question, but I needed to know. “Why do you think Lady Theodore was murdered?”
The Duchess of Wallingford gazed on me with cold blue eyes as she said, “Because she killed Theo. Roxanne murdered my son and now she has paid.”
I stared back. “His death was reported as an accident.”
“We convinced the doctors no good would come of reporting his death as murder.” She leaned forward and pointed a skeletal finger at my face. “Just as I wish you hadn’t interfered and called for Scotland Yard. You could have told us, and we would have brought her back here and had our doctors sign her death certificate.”
I had long suspected that with a title and money, people could get away with anything, including hiding the cause of death. Could they get away with murder?
There was a quiet thud and then a maid wheeled in the tea trolley. We sat in what I found was an uncomfortable silence while the duchess poured and offered us toast and jam.
“This is very good of you, Louisa. I’ve not yet eaten today,” Lady Kaldaire said.
“Thank you very much, Your Grace,” I murmured. Lady Kaldaire might think I was clever at solving murders after I found her husband’s killer, but I didn’t want to repeat the experience. Both Lady Kaldaire and I had nearly died trying to unmask Lord Kaldaire’s murderer.
We ate in silence for a minute or two before Lady Kaldaire said, “What other questions do you have, Emily?”
I shook my head and swallowed a bite of toast. “None.”
“Emily, we will be investigating this crime.” There was steel in Lady Kaldaire’s tone.
“The police have no interest in me for this crime. I don’t see how I can add anything to the investigation. I can only offer my sympathy to the Duchess of Wallingford and step aside to let the police do their work.”