Secrets of a Fair Lady: A Historical Regency Romance Book

by Abigail Agar

  “Good afternoon, Mr. Reid. Is this how you often spend your time?” he asked.

  “Well, I am a member,” he said.

  “Very well. And, as a member of a club such as this, what do you think about men who find themselves romantically entangled with their maids?” Hamish asked, changing the subject entirely and putting William Reid on the spot.

  “Wh-what?” he spluttered.

  “Yes. Maids. Are you fond of young women who work in domestic situations?” he asked.

  “I have no idea what you mean,” William claimed.

  “I think you do. Miss Smithfield. The young woman who disappeared from your home. Tell me more about your feelings for her,” he said.

  “I haven’t got any feelings for her,” he insisted, angrily.

  Hamish had certainly anticipated a denial. He had not expected that William would actually confess to having made a proposition to Rachel Smithfield.

  Still, he had hoped that honesty would win out. He had hoped that William Reid would be willing to at least admit to having feelings for the young woman.

  Nevertheless, it would not be so.

  “Come, now. Please do not insult me. I know what goes on in homes like yours. Tell me about the affection that you had for her. Tell me that you propositioned her to be your mistress,” Hamish said.

  “I-I never!” he exclaimed, before looking around to ensure that no one heard him.

  “I disagree. Now, please tell me the truth. What took place?” Hamish asked, continuing on.

  “Nothing at all. Nothing happened. She was…she was just a maid,” he said.

  “You will not tell me?” Hamish asked.

  “Who do you think you are? You came here, accusing me like this? You have no evidence to back your claims,” William said.

  No evidence. Of course.

  Hamish considered mentioning the ring, but he did not believe that was the right move at this juncture.

  Whoever it was that was watching Miss Smithfield, they were aware that she was speaking with Hamish about all that she knew. If he told William Reid that he had seen the ring from her, William might believe that she had spoken too much.

  If he was, indeed, the guilty party, it was better that he not be aware how much Rachel Smithfield had shared with Hamish. It was a small protection for her, but it was a protection nonetheless.

  He wondered if it was better to just allow William to think he had no evidence for now. After all, that way she was kept safe and he would be able to present the knowledge of the ring once he had further proof that William was involved.

  However, without the threat of evidence, William might not say another word.

  As he weighed these options, he also considered the fact that his only other evidence was Rachel Smithfield’s word. Could she not be accused of stealing the ring? Surely there were other things that Mr. Reid might claim against her.

  “Evidence or no, I still have every reason to ask you. It has come up that you may have proposed an arrangement with Miss Smithfield and I must follow such questions,” Hamish said.

  “Who said that?” he asked, defensively.

  “My source does not matter. It is your answer that is important,” Hamish said.

  “Well, my answer is exactly what it was a moment ago. I never had any feelings for her. Whoever told you otherwise was wrong. A liar,” he insisted.

  “Very well,” Hamish said, giving him a nod and a glimmer of a knowing smile just so William understood that he wasn’t believed.

  Uncertain what he should do, Hamish decided to just continue asking William everything he could about Williams interest in Rachel. Even if he was not going to confess it, he had to push.

  “Now that we have established that it was a liar who told me you had an interest in her, I would like to know how far your relationship with Miss Smithfield actually went,” Hamish said.

  William Reid gaped.

  “I-I just told you…” he trailed off.

  “I know what you said. I am asking you another question now. Was there intimacy between the two of you?” Hamish asked, knowing that he had to question it in case Miss Smithfield had not been forthcoming on the matter.

  “No, no, there was not,” William said, shaking his head.

  This, Hamish believed. William answered it with a sadness in his voice, a regret. It was obvious that Miss Smithfield had rejected him.

  “But you did request it, did you not?” Hamish asked, returning to his earlier question in a different form.

  “I already told you that I did not!” he said in exasperation.

  The lie was obvious. William’s brow was glistening with sweat. His eyes shifted from side to side. He would not look directly at Hamish. There was also the blush in his cheeks.

  As if these signs were not enough, Hamish could see that his fingers were shaking. There was every possible sign of a liar in William.

  “You certainly are adamant that nothing happened,” Hamish said.

  He could not refrain from smiling. It was too amusing to watch Mr. Reid attempt to keep up his lie.

  William grumbled and looked away, unable to look Hamish in the eye. It pleased Hamish to make William squirm under his gaze.

  “What do you want from me? I do not know anything. I know nothing about what Miss Smithfield may have said, but she is gone and I do not know her whereabouts either. Please, just give me a bit of peace,” he pleaded.

  “Why? Why should I give you any peace? There is a young woman out there who has vanished from your home. Do you not think that she wants peace? Do you not think that is important?” Hamish asked.

  William hung his head.

  “What I think is that I have nothing to do with it and you ought to try and find the real culprit,” he said.

  “Perhaps. Perhaps I am wrong in all of this and perhaps you are innocent. Perhaps you had nothing at all to do with the problem at hand,” he said.

  “Thank you,” William said.

  “But until I know the truth, until I know who it was that frightened her away and until I know that she is safe, you had best be patient. I am not going to stop my search for the truth and, if you are in fact guilty of any wrongdoing, I will find out,” he said.

  William froze, but said nothing.

  With that, Hamish decided he might as well leave. Although he was filled with suspicion, at least he had shaken William somewhat. At least William knew that he was under Hamish’s careful watch.

  No matter how much he denied it, his lie had been exposed. William knew it. He knew that Hamish did not believe him. Perhaps, for now, that was enough.

  “Good day to you, Mr. Reid. Until we meet again…” he said, turning from William.

  As Hamish departed from the club and made his way back to the precinct, he considered all possibilities.

  Certainly, it could still be Mr. Gregory Reid. The patriarch of the home had made evident mistakes. That, in addition to the fact that Hamish was still unconvinced that there had been no criminal activity involved. Certainly, Mr. Reid had hidden things well, but that did not mean it did not exist.

  He passed through the perfectly manicured streets, nice homes and townhouses lining the roads with expertly placed cobblestones. A tree evenly spaced in front of each residence.

  This was a nicer London. A London where men and women had much. It was not like the other side of things, where maids were mistreated, where they might run and take refuge in their family’s tenements or squalid homes.

  It was not the London where men turned their maids into mistresses or where those mistresses had to hide illegitimate children from the wives of their masters.

  It was not the London where men like Mr. Reid might have lost everything and be completely without financial prosperity, even if they refused to admit as such to their families.

  There was also Mrs. Reid to consider. He did not know much about her, but she was certainly unpleasant. Unpleasantness was not a crime, but it left him feeling suspicious toward her. Perh
aps she had learned of Williams interest in Miss Smithfield. Perhaps she had just wanted to be rid of the girl before anything further happened.

  Or, perhaps, it was one of the other maids. After all, Miss Dalton had known that Miss Reid and Miss Smithfield had come to him. She had known and yet she had not been threatened despite having been with them.

  It was possible that the villain had not seen her with them, but it was also possible that she was, indeed, the culprit.

  Perhaps she was jealous. Perhaps she had an interest in William Reid and was angry that Miss Smithfield had his attention.

  Miss Smithfield had claimed that she was too small, but she was slightly larger than Miss Smithfield. Perhaps, Miss Smithfield has been mistaken.

  Nevertheless, he still had begun to believe William was the most likely suspect. He was already proven himself to be a liar and his interest in Miss Smithfield was obvious. His behaviour could have taken place as a result of her rejection.

  No man liked to be rejected. He was well aware of that.

  A small voice in the back of his mind reminded him that it was wrong to count out Miss Reid so quickly.

  He did not wish to consider that it could be her. Miss Smithfield had given evidence that it was not. Still, was he being foolish to not consider it? Was it only because he quite liked her that he refused to believe it to be possible?

  Was his own heart betraying him?

  Chapter 20

  Hamish stared at the papers in front of him. He knew that he had no choice, no choice but to do something he deeply did not wish to do.

  He had to question Miss Georgiana Reid. he had to ask her what she knew, to learn whether or not she had anything at all to do with the matter at hand.

  He needed to think about it. She was obviously innocent. Then again, he would’ve thought her innocent no matter what.

  John, however, was his voice of reason. John was the one who reminded him that for the investigation to be thorough, he could not give anyone an opportunity to escape these thoughts.

  Although he didn’t believe her to be responsible, he knew that it was someone from her household. Thus far, he had suspicions about the others, but there was no evidence to support those suspicions.

  And why would she have enlisted his help if she was guilty? Well, perhaps, she thought it would put his suspicions off of her.

  He had seen guilty people do that before.

  “Are you going to finally do it?” John asked.

  Hamish winced.

  “Do what?” he asked, knowing precisely what John wanted from him.

  “Question Miss Reid. Please, do not pretend that it is unnecessary,” he said.

  Hamish sucked in a breath of air that he wasn’t certain he would easily manage to release.

  No matter how right John was, he hated thinking about it. It was just too much to consider.

  “I know that you have some…that things have changed for you, regarding Miss Reid. I have seen the way that you look at her, the way you smile when she comes into the room. Nevertheless, you do have a duty and I fear I must remind you of it,” John said.

  “I know,” Hamish said, bitterly.

  John was quiet then, giving him a moment to accept it.

  “I know that I have taken it easy on her, that I have given her a good deal of space. But, as we know, there is no real sign that she is guilty. Or that anyone is. This case is…” he trailed off.

  “You cannot question a woman in a case that you took only as a favour to her,” John said.

  “Precisely,” Hamish said, dryly.

  “Well, I encourage you to do it to the best of your ability. That means that you must also question her. I know that it is not easy to do so, but it is what is required of you,” John said.

  Knowing he had no other choice, Hamish wrote a quick note to send for her.

  Dear Miss Reid,

  Please come to the precinct at your earliest convenience. I would like to speak with you about a number of issues. Your mother and father may accompany you or a chaperone of some sort.

  Thank you,

  Inspector Brock

  He had a constable send a note to her and went back to work handling a few other issues. There was a thief currently locked up in a cell and he had to question the man in the meantime.

  By the time Miss Reid arrived, Hamish was ready to speak with her.

  “Good morning, Inspector Brock,” she said, greeting him upon entering the precinct.

  “And good morning to you as well, Miss Reid. I trust that you have had a nice enough day?” he asked.

  “Certainly,” she said, smiling at him, sweetly.

  She looked beautiful. Why did she always look so beautiful? It was a terrible distraction. It only made him more convinced that she could not be guilty, but he knew that her beauty had nothing to do with it.

  If beautiful people were never guilty, London would be a very different place.

  “Did your mother or father accompany you?” he asked.

  “No. Miss Dalton. I believed she was the best person to bring as she is also on the side of defending Rachel through all of this. And I do not wish for my mother and father to know just how involved I am in your investigation. In fact, I believe they think you have let it go,” she said.

  “Certainly. I understand. I shall be questioning them again at a later time, but for now it is probably best that they believe that,” Hamish said.

  “I cannot thank you enough for how much time and effort you have put into this. I just want to make sure that Rachel is safe,” she said.

  “As do I. And, in the spirit of that, I would like to know more about your friendship with Miss Smithfield,” he said.

  “Oh, she is such a kind woman,” Miss Reid said.

  “I am sure of it. But, as your maid, how is it that the two of you came to be friends?” he asked.

  “It was easy enough. I was nearly always at home. My mother is not very interested in going out and making friends and paying calls. My father only has business acquaintances and has scarcely made an effort to learn about their daughters,” she said.

  “So, you were lonely?” Hamish asked.

  He was not taking notes as he knew he ought to be. But he wanted things to be calm, casual and peaceful. He didn’t wish for her to feel like she was being questioned, but rather that they were simply sharing a conversation.

  “I was. And she is my same age, quite funny, understanding. I needed a friend and she needed an ally, I suppose. As you have seen, it is not easy to work for a wealthy family,” Miss Reid said.

  “I have noted it,” Hamish agreed.

  “And we got along very well. She told me that there was a man who lived near her family who was interested in courting her, but he was a fish merchant and she dislikes fish. She said that she cannot abide the idea of her husband coming home and smelling like that,” she said with a laugh.