Melinda looked at her. “May I see the list of those reported to have died?”
“Certainly, but for what purpose?”
The young girl didn’t respond immediately as she took the paper. After reading the list she said, “Livvy is not on here.”
“Livvy?”
“Yes, Livvy. She was the barmaid who took us to see Lola and Hank. Alex and I had initially mistaken her for Eleanor based on the description we received from Emily. She said it was a common error.”
“That’s true,” Eleanor chimed in. “Livvy and I could have been sisters. There was an uncanny likeness. And she, too, was an orphan.”
“Why did you want to see if this girl’s name was on the list?” David asked.
“Because she died in the flood.”
“How do you know that?” Hope wondered, concerned etched all over her face.
“I, um, found her body. In the basement. It looked as if she had become trapped by a collapsing wall and, well, drowned, I suppose.”
“Oh Melinda,” Rose sighed. “I am so sorry you had to see such a thing.”
For the first time since leaving Alex, Emily finally felt something inside her give.
“I had no idea, Melinda,” she said softly. “I am sorry, too.”
Melinda smiled at her, and Emily managed to return in kind. She was still well out of sorts, but it was high time she began acting like a true friend and Society member.
“Is there some reason you brought up Livvy?” Emily asked, trying to keep Alex’s words from flooding back into her consciousness.
“Well, it dawned on me that perhaps Livvy was found, but misidentified as Eleanor.”
“That is an interesting notion,” Lady Lancaster said.
“It’s very possible,” Eleanor agreed. “Livvy did not often go to the basement, but I was always there. I suspect, if asked, the pub owners would likely assume it was me found down there. Especially as I have not yet made an appearance. Livvy was not supposed to be at the pub that day, either. She was there only because Lola told her to be there. I think she hoped no one would notice I was missing if Livvy were around.”
“If this is the case, and the young lady is indeed alone in the world, we may want to consider letting the mistake lie.”
“From a safety perspective, I see your point,” William said, “but is that fair to Livvy? She deserves the respect of a proper burial.”
“As an orphan, she would not even be assured a burial, proper or otherwise,” Simon pointed out.
“I will arrange for her care and farewell,” the duchess decided. “Anonymously of course. I think ensuring Miss Cooper’s safety outweighs the deception.”
“What will become of me?” Eleanor worried. “I have nowhere to go.”
Emily reached over and took her friend’s hand.
“Do you honestly think we would put you out on the streets? As it happens, Rose told me of a position that may be available soon.”
“Really?” Eleanor replied excitedly. “Do you think they will hire me?”
“Of course. You would be a wonderful addition to anyone’s staff.”
“She’s correct, Eleanor,” Rose said. “I’ve actually already told the Smythes about you, and they are very interested, however they won’t be ready for you for a few weeks yet.”
“Which is perfect,” Lady Lancaster intoned. “You may finish your training here. There is no better housekeeper than mine.”
“Oh thank you, Your Grace.”
Emily exchanged smirks with the other Society ladies. The story of why the dowager duchess preferred to be called “lady” was famous among the ton, but it had not yet been explained to Eleanor, apparently.
The older woman graciously ignored the address. Instead she nodded grandly.
“Now that that is settled, I suggest we return to the topic of how this disaster came to be.”
“I suppose it could have just been an accident,” Simon allowed.
“I, for one, would like to know for sure,” Alex said from the doorway.
“Alexander!” Emily cried, shooting to her feet. “You should not be up.”
“Then help me to a seat, please,” Alex replied with a cheeky grin, holding out his hand.
“No. William, David…do something.”
The men looked at each other and shrugged. Clearly they thought nothing of their friend walking around after a severe injury.
Huffing, Emily sat down and turned her back to Alex. She would not be party to this foolishness.
“I guess I will find a chair myself.”
Dropping onto the nearest object to him—a padded stool, rarely used by anyone over the age of ten—Alexander made himself as comfortable as possible.
“You were saying, my lady?”
“Actually, I believe you were last speaking,” the dowager said drolly.
“So I was,” Alex nodded. “I think we should look into the beer matter further. The fact that the Horseshoe is involved and that was to be the next stop in our investigation—mine and Emily’s—is interesting to say the least.”
“I happen to agree,” Lady Lancaster replied.
“What do you expect to find, my lady?” David asked.
“I have no expectations whatsoever,” the duchess replied with a sniff, “but I am riddled with curiosity.”
“I am too, actually,” Emily admitted.
“Wonderful,” Lady Lancaster replied. “Then you and Mr. Bredon shall continue your investigation as soon as he’s up to it.”
“Alex…and…I?” Emily sputtered. “But—”
“You two have clearly vested interests, and from my point of view you seem to make an excellent team.”
“I could not agree more,” Alexander announced jubilantly. “We accept the task, Lady Lancaster, and shall start the investigation immediately.”
Emily whipped around. “Immediately? You should be resting.”
Alex smiled sweetly. “While I appreciate your concern, darling, I will be ready to begin inquiries tomorrow. Shall I meet you here in the morning?”
The collective gasps at the word “darling” was nearly deafening, and Emily saw so many questions in her future, but for now she could see no way out.
“Fine. I will be here tomorrow…with my maid,” she emphasized.
“Of course. I would expect nothing less.”
Emily wanted more than anything to slap the triumphant grin off Alexander’s face, but instead she just fumed in silence. If this was his idea of courting her, he had a few things to learn about winning her heart.
Not that she wanted him to win…
Chapter Twenty-One
The safety of anonymity is often a false sense.
~The Duke of Lancaster
Dear John,
I am overwhelmed by your latest missive. To meet, perchance to fall in love? What an intriguing notion.
My first impulse is to leap at the chance to see you, talk to you, and perhaps share a dance…
I am heartened to hear you are in search of a wife and, as such, I would want you to be a proper suitor. To do that, we must indeed meet.
You are no doubt aware of the upcoming Hampdon ball. I suggest we meet at the event and decide if we are content to move forward.
I am quite sure I shall find you fascinating, but I’m frightfully aware you may find me lacking in some way or another; therefore, I ask for you to attend with a red rose in your lapel. When I see you, I will arrange a formal and entirely decorous introduction.
Then we will know—I will know—if there is indeed a future for us.
Look for me at midnight. I will be anxiously awaiting your approach.
With all sincerity, Grace
Emily finished writing her latest letter to her mystery friend just before heading to the Lancaster manse, by way of the cemetery, of course. She could hardly believe what was happening. Was she giving another man permission to court her?
What was she going to do? If she were being very honest with h
erself, she harbored feelings for both men. As insane as that may be. Loving a man she previously despised and a man she had never met? The theater could not make up such a scenario.
“My lady?” Harriet said, as they approached Grosvenor Square. “We seem to be coming to the dowager’s house more often, as of late. This is our third time this week alone.”
“I am aware,” Emily sighed. “The good woman is trying to help determine the cause of the disaster two days ago and I have, uh, volunteered to be her eyes and ears.”
“Well, that is admirable.”
“I suppose.”
“You do not sound as if you agree.”
Emily eked out a smile. “The truth is, I am not looking forward to visiting the brewery where the incident occurred. I anticipate it will smell greatly of beer.”
Harriet laughed. “Oh, there are worse smells than beer, my lady.”
“You would think so, wouldn’t you,” Emily muttered, climbing the steps to Lady Lancaster’s door.
“My lady,” Jacobs said, when he opened the door. “You are expected.”
“Doesn’t it feel as if we keep doing this, Jacobs?” Emily asked, handing the butler her belongings.
“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean, my lady.”
The words were as grave as ever, but Emily was almost positive she saw the man wink at her. The whole world really was going batty. Two of the most unlikely men vying for her affections and Jacobs showing a sense of humor? Surely, she would wake up soon and find that this was all some sort of surreal dream.
The day before ended with Lady Lancaster contacting her “people” to get Emily and Alex on the jury being convened to investigate the beer flood. As they waited to hear back on the request, Emily found herself pulled into another room by her girlfriends, where they had proceeded to question her unmercifully about Alex.
She had told them everything that had happened—every sweetheart, darling, and dear—and then all about Alexander’s vow to court her properly. To her surprise, her friends were extremely supportive of the idea. Emily had tried to remind them that she and Alex hated each other, but she couldn’t even convince herself of that anymore.
By the time she and Harriet had returned home last night, she was once again exhausted. She missed how simple her life had been before that day in the cemetery when Alex had found her hair tie. How the two were connected, she did not know, but that seemed to be the pivotal day.
And now she was expected to spend another day with Alex. In London. Where the stench of ale still permeated every street, building, and the very air they would be breathing. It was bound to bring up memories she did not want. Though, despite what many might think, the memories in question were not all bad. The feeling of being wrapped in Alexander’s arms after being freed from their flooded prison was the one she could not shake.
It had felt good. Very, very good.
“Emily, dear. How nice it is to see you.”
“And you, my lady,” Emily replied, before turning to her maid. “Harriet, perhaps you would like to wait in the kitchen? We will be leaving for the city shortly.”
“Yes, miss.”
Sitting down, Emily asked, “Has Mr. Bredon arrived yet?”
“Such formality, Emily,” Lady Lancaster said, raising her brow. “Have you had a falling out with the gentleman?”
“I think you know that Alexander and I have never really had a…falling in…per se.”
The duchess looked at her knowingly, and Emily averted her gaze and began fussing with her skirts and sleeves.
“I was led to believe you two had come to some sort of understanding,” Lady Lancaster said.
“I have no idea what you mean.”
“My dear,” the dowager said gently. “I know you and Master Bredon have had a rather contentious relationship up until now, but surely you must know why?”
“Why? Because he is the most infuriating man in existence,” Emily burst out, looking up.
“He is such to only you. Others, in fact, seem to think very highly of him.”
“He doesn’t argue with them as he does me.”
“He argues with you only to garner your attention.”
“Why would he want that kind of attention?”
Lady Lancaster folded her hands and said nothing.
Emily sighed. She supposed she had known all along that Alexander’s behavior was because of that one defining moment when they were children. When she was a young girl and he was just a boy. But she was no longer that girl and he not that boy. He was a man. And it wasn’t fair to put all the blame on him, especially since he clearly had changed his opinion about her.
“He finding me attractive now does not excuse his previous actions.”
“Do not sulk, Emily. It is not becoming. The two of you are so very alike,” the duchess said with a sniff.
“We are nothing alike,” Emily gasped. How could Lady Lancaster say such a thing? She was supposed to be her champion.
“Tut, tut. You are both behaving like children. If you did not care for him, his conduct would not upset you so.”
“I…I…I,” Emily stuttered, before wilting. “I have no idea what to say to that.”
“Because it is true?”
“That I care for him?” Emily asked. “Yes, of course I do. I don’t know how or when I realized it, but there it is.”
“Well, that is nice to hear.”
Emily whirled around to see Alex lounging against the doorframe. He looked entirely too handsome and smug for her taste. She could feel the blush rising in her cheeks.
“It is rude to eavesdrop, Alexander. How long have you been there?”
“Long enough, my dear. Long enough.”
Alexander loped easily into the room and sat down. “Lady Lancaster, it is nice to see you looking so well.”
The duchess smiled. “Thank you, sir. You appear to be in fine shape, yourself.”
“I must admit, I am feeling quite well. Especially now.”
He looked at Emily and grinned.
“Good God.”
“Miss Moss! I will not have our Lord’s name taken in vain in this house.”
“Oh, I am sorry, my lady. I did not realize I said that out loud.”
Alexander burst out laughing.
“This is not funny.”
“I should say not,” Lady Lancaster agreed, despite the stirrings of a smile on her lips. “Spoken or not, the Lord’s name should not be thought of thusly.”
“Ahem. How right you are, my lady,” Alex replied, clearly fighting to control himself. “Perhaps we should turn to the topic of today’s mission.”
“Quite,” the dowager said with a smart nod. “You two know what is to be done?”
“Yes,” Emily answered, more than happy to change the subject. “We are going to the Horseshoe Brewery and speaking to the people there to determine what may have caused the accident.”
“If it was indeed an accident,” Alex added. “We will also try to find out if Mr. Young worked there or not.”
“Very well, then. They should be expecting you. Be off now, and be careful.”
Emily and Alex stood and said their farewells to Lady Lancaster. Then, after retrieving Harriet and a Lancaster carriage, they headed once again to Tottenham Court Road.
One could only hope that today’s foray would be less harrowing than the last time they visited.
…
Soon enough, Emily and Alex were standing with the storehouse clerk, George Crick, and he was telling them what he remembered of the day in question.
“It was just after four when I noticed something during my inspection.”
The clerk was walking them around the building. It looked as though it had been through a massive earthquake. There was debris everywhere. Pieces of wood and curved slats of metal were strewn all over the place, and there were still pools of beer spotting the floors.
When they approached what was left of the largest vat Emily had ever seen, Crick
continued.
“This container was once three stories tall and as wide as a ballroom. In fact, the owners held a party in it to celebrate its completion not long ago. It held the equivalent of more than thirty-five hundred barrels of ale.”
“It’s quite a bit larger than some of these other vats. What’s left of them, in any case,” Alex noted.
“Yes, sir. Much bigger,” Crick agreed. “When it broke, the waves of beer caused all the other vats to burst as well. The streets really didn’t stand a chance against all that ale and, of course, you can see the state of the brewery.”
“You were saying something about your inspection?” Emily prompted.
The clerk nodded and pointed to the pieces of metal scattered around them.
“Multiple times a day, I check the vats for any problems. Like vermin in the beer or other issues with the fermentation process. I also inspect the vats themselves. There’s a lot of pressure for them to withstand, you see.”
“And?”
“Well, I happened to notice that one of these metal hoops had slipped off the cask. Now, I have worked here for seventeen years, and something like this happens a few times a year, but each cask has multiple rings holding it together. Having one slip should not have caused…this.” The man waved his arms around expressively.
“So you did nothing?” Emily gasped. “Shouldn’t you still have reported it?”
“Oh I did. I certainly did,” Crick said quickly. “I told my boss immediately. But, like me, he wasn’t overly concerned. He said I should write a note to have another employee fix it when they found the time.”
“A note?”
“Yes, sir. And I did write it. It was about an hour later and I was just finishing the order when I heard, well, what sounded like an explosion. I ducked under my desk for fear we were being attacked. And sure enough, a number of other bangs went off almost immediately.”
“Which we now know were the other casks breaking,” Alexander said.
“Precisely. Of course, I did not know that at the time.”
“What did you do when all the noises stopped?” Emily asked.
“By the time I heard the last one, the smell of ale became overwhelming. And that’s when I first suspected what had happened. I ran out of my office and began assisting everyone in rescuing our workers trapped or unable to swim. It was truly the most frightening thing I have ever seen.”
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