Death Comes to London (18 page)

“Thank you, sir.” She bobbed a curtsy. “Can I go now, Major Kurland? I have to help Connie put her ladyship to bed.”

“Of course, and thank you for your help.”

Robert remained sitting by the fire and ran the conversation back through his head. It seemed that everyone had access to the stillroom and that Oliver was rarely there, but had shown an interest in what was being produced. But the dowager herself had already accidentally poisoned the whole household once. Was it too far-fetched to believe that Miss Harrington was right and that she might have made a more vital mistake and poisoned herself?

Chapter 12

“C
ome along, Anna, the countess is expecting us.”

Lucy picked up her skirts and went up the steps of the Broughton town house. After some thought, she’d decided it was far better to bring Anna with her to help out than to go alone. Anna was an excellent and tireless worker, and might prove useful if Lucy needed to lure Lieutenant Broughton away.

After establishing that the countess was still in bed, but was more than willing for Lucy to begin cataloguing the dowager’s possessions, the sisters found themselves in the lofty apartment of the deceased dowager. It seemed that she had never relinquished the countess’s formal apartment, forcing her son and daughter-in-law to occupy a far more modest suite on the other side of the house.

“Good Lord,” Anna breathed. “This will take forever! Why on earth did you offer to help?”

Lucy had to agree. The suite of rooms was filled with large, old-fashioned, walnut and teak furniture from a different, more formal century. Boxes were stacked against the walls, and trunks were overfilled with gowns and petticoats made of brightly colored silks and satins that had long gone out of fashion. She opened the curtains, dislodging a week or so’s worth of accumulated dust and brownish snuff and sneezed. To be truthful, the thought of finally being active and
useful
far outweighed her desire to discover anything she hoped to find.

“Well, we’d better make a start then, hadn’t we? Do you have pen and paper?”

Anna cleared a space on the desk under the window and laid her paper out. “Where do you want to begin?”

Lucy considered the huge rooms. “I wonder if we should speak to the dowager’s maid and ascertain where her mistress kept her valuables? I suspect Lady Broughton would like us to start with those, don’t you?”

Three hours later, when they’d employed the help of both the dowager’s abigail and one of the maids, Lieutenant Broughton put his head around the door.

“Good morning, Miss Harrington, Miss Anna Harrington.” He bowed. Lucy was pleased to see that he appeared to be regaining his health. “I was hoping to persuade you to share a nuncheon with my mother and myself.” He smiled. “We cannot have you overworking on our behalf, although we are both incredibly thankful for your generous help.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant. I was feeling rather peckish and I’m sure Anna is, too.” Lucy dusted down the front of her brown Indian muslin gown and stood back as Anna went forward to greet Broughton.

“Are you really feeling better, Lieutenant?” Anna asked.

“Yes, Miss Anna, I am.” He took her hand and brought it to his lips.

“And how is your brother? Major Kurland said he had been quite ill as well.”

Broughton tucked Anna’s hand into the crook of his elbow and patted it. “Oliver is recovering quite well. It is so kind of you to be so concerned about us all.”

Lucy followed along behind the engrossed pair and down to the dining room where the countess already awaited them. There was no sign of Major Kurland. Had he returned to his hotel? She could hardly ask. That would be displaying far too much of an interest in the man.

After the meal, Broughton suggested a stroll in the garden. It was a remarkably clear day without the usual biting chill of a harsh spring, so both ladies acquiesced. Lucy was happy to listen to Anna and Broughton talk while she considered fresh places to search for the missing Bentley rubies.

The dowager did have a document listing some of her jewelry, but the list wasn’t complete and the Bentley jewelry was not on it. When she returned to the dowager’s rooms, Lucy decided to concentrate on discovering all the places she might have hidden any valuables that were not already accounted for.

She realized Broughton was leading them toward the second building in the garden and hurried to catch up. It was a shame he’d neglected to take them to the stillroom. She’d rather hoped to take another peek at the dowager’s herbal.

“Ladies.” Broughton stood back to allow the sisters to pass into the building. “This used to be the dairy. I had it converted into a laboratory.”

“You are truly a man of science, Lieutenant Broughton,” Lucy commented as she studied the long wooden benches and tiled floors of the austere space. It was as unlike the dowager’s stillroom as the sun and the moon. Everything had its place and was labeled and sorted into regimental straight lines. Major Kurland would approve.

“I
aspire
to be a man of knowledge and learning, Miss Harrington. I wouldn’t consider myself a true expert, but I do my best to keep abreast of the latest scientific and botanical theories.”

“You are to be commended, Lieutenant. Our father is of a similar bent.”

Lucy moved farther into the room, noticing the sharp tang of lye soap and a hint of something that smelled like rotten eggs. She wrinkled her nose and turned to see the lieutenant smiling down at Anna. Swallowing down her next question, she caught a flutter of motion in one of the cages that lined the back wall, and went over to investigate. She found herself staring into the small black eyes of a sparrow. Other cages contained mice, rabbits, and her least favorite pest of all, rats. She wasn’t sure if it was their pink tails or their red eyes that offended her most.

“Are you admiring my test subjects, Miss Harrington?”

Broughton had obviously finished gazing into Anna’s eyes and had come up behind her.

“Test subjects?”

“These creatures help resolve the mysteries of the human condition.”

“Which I assume means that you test your theories on them?”

“Exactly.”

Anna shivered. “That doesn’t seem very fair. Why should these creatures have to suffer to prove a scientific theory?”

“Unfortunately, Miss Anna, in order to progress as a species, we have to use whatever is at our disposal.” Broughton spoke gently, but there was an underlying note of purpose in his words. “These dumb animals don’t feel as we do, or experience pain in the same way. They are merely a tool to be utilized for the benefit of mankind.”

Anna turned away. “I still don’t think it’s very fair, Lieutenant.” She glanced over at Lucy. “Is it time for us to return to the house? I believe we should be getting on.”

Without another word she turned on her heel and went toward the door, her lower lip caught in her teeth. Beside Lucy, Broughton sighed.

“I’ve offended her, haven’t I?”

“My sister has always had a very soft heart, sir.”

“But surely she has to see that in order to prove a theory one has to make sacrifices?”

“I don’t suppose she thinks about it quite like that,” Lucy said diplomatically. “Shall we go after her? It
is
getting rather late.”

“Of course, Miss Harrington.” He locked the door behind him and offered her his arm. “I was hoping that you and your sister would accompany me to an alfresco event on Friday.”

“Are you sure you are well enough to resume your social activities, Lieutenant?”

He chuckled. “Indeed, I feel that if I don’t get out of this house soon, I’ll become quite unbearable. I’m not used to being caged up inside.”

Lucy forbore to comment that the creatures in his laboratory might harbor similar feelings, and followed him into the house. She hated being cooped up herself. Apparently a young unmarried lady was not allowed to walk anywhere in London without being accompanied by at least a maid, if not a footman, which irritated Lucy immensely.

When Broughton set off to speak to his mother, she continued on upstairs to find Anna already busy unpacking one of the dowager’s chests.

“Are you all right, Anna?” Lucy noted the vigor with which her sister was dumping the contents of the chest out onto the carpet. “Lieutenant Broughton was concerned that he had offended you.”

Anna looked up at Lucy, a silken opera cloak clutched to her chest. “How could he treat those animals so?”

“He is a man of science.”

“He is cruel.”

Lucy sank down on her knees beside her sister. “Our father hunts foxes and shoots game birds, as do all gentlemen, why is this any different?”

“I don’t know. It just feels so much more
detached,
as if he doesn’t gain enjoyment from it, only knowledge.”

“I still fail to see the difference. Is it better to enjoy the killing? The poor creature is still dead at the end of it.”

Anna hunched a shoulder. “You lack sensibility, Lucy. I have often remarked upon it.”

“Because I’m a pragmatist and you are a romantic. And I didn’t think Lieutenant Broughton was completely detached about his experiments. He sounded quite fervent about them, actually.”

“Which just makes it worse.”

Lucy sighed and considered the contents of the chest. “Shall I write the list while you repack the chest?”

The alfresco event was held in a large mansion that sloped down toward a series of shallow man-made ponds that eventually fed into the River Thames. Lucy sat with Mrs. Hathaway while Anna chatted to Julia, and Sophia took the opportunity to walk her little dog around the gardens with Mr. Stanford.

During the luncheon, she spotted Lady Bentley and discreetly made her way over to where the lady was sitting. She was spotted at once and waved into the vacant seat.

“Miss Harrington, what a pleasant surprise.”

“Lady Bentley. Isn’t it a beautiful day for such an event?”

“Indeed, it is. Are you here with your aunt?”

“No, she had a slight chill and decided not to come out today. My sister and I came with the Hathaways and Lieutenant Broughton.”

“Broughton, eh? I heard a rumor that both he and his younger brother had been brought to their beds since the dowager’s death.”

“They have both been unwell.”

Lady Bentley snorted. “Or struggling to hide their complete lack of remorse over that harridan’s death. They should be thanking me and Miss Chingford for driving her into such a rage.”

“You believe you caused her death?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes—at least I hope I had a hand in it. My son has a hot temper and threatened to strangle the old biddy for me. I told him a more subtle approach was needed.”

Lucy swallowed hard. “And did he heed your words?”

“He is a very clever man, I’m sure he did.” Lady Bentley poked Lucy’s arm with her fan. “Did you speak to the countess about my rubies?”

“Actually, I’ve been helping catalogue the dowager’s possessions, but there is no sign of your rubies. The dowager told the current countess that the jewelry had been stolen from her.”

“Or she sold or pawned it to pay her debts.” Lady Bentley’s mouth thinned. “Although I doubt she would do that unless she was desperate, and she never struck me as a woman who was short of money.”

“Are you talking about your lost jewels again, Mama?”

Lucy jumped as Nigel Bentley loomed over her.

“Of course I am, dear. I want them back.”

Her son took a seat opposite Lucy and studied his mother. “I hardly think this is a suitable place to discuss such a matter. The Dowager Countess of Broughton is dead.”

“And she isn’t going to win, Nigel. You agreed with me, you said you would do anything to—”

Mr. Bentley cut across her. “Is Lieutenant Broughton here today, Miss Harrington?”

“Yes, he is.”

“Then perhaps it is time to take this matter up with him myself.”

“Oh!” Lady Bentley’s voice rose to a shriek. “I wouldn’t recommend that, darling. He isn’t the easiest of men to deal with now, is he? And he’s a hardened killer straight from the battlefields of France!”

Mr. Bentley stood up. “And I doubt he’ll draw his cavalry sword and run me through at a public event, Mama. I’ve always found him a reasonable man.”

“But—”

He bowed and walked away. Lady Bentley grabbed Lucy’s hand in a punishing grip.

“You have to go after him, or warn Broughton that he is coming! Nigel has a terrible temper; there’s no knowing what might happen.”

Lucy eased her hand free of the frantic grip. “I’ll do my best, my lady.”

“I should never have involved him in this matter. He is too quick to defend me at all costs.”

“It’s all right. I’ll go and find Lieutenant Broughton.”

“Thank you.” For the first time Lady Bentley looked truly frightened. “I couldn’t bear to lose my only son. I’ll come with you.”

Her concern sounded rather extreme to Lucy, but then she’d never been a mother and had no idea what Nigel Bentley might do. She couldn’t imagine Lieutenant Broughton becoming involved in a brawl either. She spied Anna’s yellow plumed bonnet down toward the edge of the lake and headed down the slope. If Anna was there, Broughton was probably close behind.

Robert was not having the best of days. He’d barely arrived at the party when Miss Chingford attached herself to his arm and refused to stop chatting to him as if they were the best of friends. Short of shaking himself free and flinging her to the ground, he couldn’t think of a single way to politely dispose of her company. She was also leading him down toward the boating area of the lake, and the uneven surface was proving difficult for his injured leg to navigate.

“Miss Chingford, will you, please—”

When she realized he was intending to lead her over to Broughton, she suddenly pulled out of his grasp and stomped off in a huff, upsetting his balance.

“Major Kurland, are you all right?”

He rocked back and forth and discovered Anna Harrington in front of him, one hand reaching out as if ready to stop him tumbling headfirst into her arms. He dug his cane into the soft ground and finally managed to stay upright.