I can't say that I felt altogether confident about her silence. And who did she think were the "necessary few"? As I walked home, I was filled with despondency. My muscles ached, and I regretted not having taken my carriage. Why had I ever thought I could help Ivy by confronting this woman? What right had I to meddle in my friend's marriage? My intentions may have been blameless, but I should have had the sense to say nothing about Ivy's problems to anyone. I would have to tell her what I'd done; I couldn't risk her learning it from someone else, and I knew this would be the absolute end of our friendship. Ivy could never forgive me for having so mortified her.
28
Davis, proving once again to be not only invaluable but possessed of an almost inhuman efficiency, located Molly within a matter of days. She had taken a position near Fleet Street, folding newspapers, and was working no fewer than twelve hours a day for very little money. I decided to wait for her outside her place of employment in the evening and caught her the moment she came out the door.
"Molly!" I called. She cringed when she saw me. "Don't even consider running from me." I took her by the arm.
"I'm sorry, Lady Ashton. I shouldn't have left the house like that. I should've given notice. You were so good to me."
"How much did Mr. Berry pay you to steal from me, Molly?"
"What?"
"I know about the letters and the Bible and the note that was to be sent to Mr. Hargreaves."
The girl burst into tears. "I would never steal, milady, never. Especially not from you. I tried to tell you I was going, but I didn't know Mr. Hargreaves was with you. I couldn't do it in front of him, milady."
"Have you had any communication with Mr. Berry since you left the Savoy?"
"Of course not! Why would I want to talk to that horrid man? Not that he even would talk to me." She was sobbing with such ferocity that it was difficult to understand her.
"Why, then, did you leave the house?" Her reply was unintelligible. "You must get control of yourself. Come with me." I sat her down in my carriage and gave her a handkerchief. "What is the matter?"
"I couldn't expect you to keep me on in my...my...condition. But I couldn't bear to have you let me go. I didn't know what to do. Gabby told me they was looking for girls here, so I took a job. They weren't particular about having a character from my previous position, but I suppose they'll get rid of me as soon as they know."
Now I understood. "Is it Mr. Berry's?" She nodded. I wasn't sure if she would want me to offer her comfort, but I couldn't stop myself. I embraced her, then spoke firmly. "I would never have thrown you out of my house for something so completely beyond your control. Do you want to return with me?"
"I...I don't know. It's all so awful. Everyone will think the worst of me."
"More than one person has told me that you speak highly of Mr. Berry. Why would you do that after having been so abominably treated by him?"
"He threatened me, Lady Ashton. Told me that if I ever said a word against him, he'd hurt me again. I saw him from a distance a few times in the park and wondered if he was watching me. I was scared."
I considered a number of scenarios. It would be best, perhaps, to get her out of London, to someplace where no one knew her. I could send her to Ashton Hall, but that might cause problems for her later with Philip's family. It would not, after all, be my home forever. "Would you like to work at Mr. Hargreaves's estate? I'm certain I can arrange for you to have a position there. We'll tell everyone that your husband died. No one need ever know about this, Molly."
"You would do that for me?"
"I only wish I could do more. Clean up your face, then go back inside and give your notice. You're coming home with me." I watched her walk away from me and heard a tap on the carriage window.
"Nice work, Emily. Will you let me in?"
Waters and the footmen dropped down immediately and surrounded my visitor. "It's all right," I said. "He's a friend." I opened the door.
"Rescuing a despondent maid from ruin. It is difficult not to adore you more with every passing moment. You may be nearly as romantic as I."
"Sebastian, I know who you are."
"Congratulations," he said. His hat was pulled so far down that it was difficult to see his face. He handed me a velvet bag. "I've no use for paste." He slipped away before I could even mention his mother's Bible. I followed him as best I could, calling after him to stop. He paid me no heed. My footmen joined in the chase, but he managed to elude all of us. Molly returned in the midst of the confusion, and Waters sat her next to him on his perch above the horses. She seemed content there, so I let her ride with him back to Berkeley Square.
Alone again, I opened Sebastian's bag, finding, as expected, the false diamond necklace along with a note.
Bitter waves of Love, and restless gutsy Jealousies and wintry sea of revellings, whither am I borne?
If Molly was innocent of the charges I'd thrown at her — and I did not for a moment doubt her — someone else in my household was to blame. It did not take long for my suspicions to fall upon Lizzie. She was also new, had turned up at odd moments, lingered over her tasks, and had taken more notice of my guests than she ought to have. Mrs. Ockley, my housekeeper, had hired two other girls at the same time as Lizzie, so I questioned each of them, just to be certain. One had been visiting her brother in Brighton the day the letters were stolen from my library, and the other came across as so candid, so straightforward, that I was hard-pressed to think her guilty of any crime.
Lizzie, on the other hand, was belligerent, which took me greatly by surprise. I had always made a point of treating my servants with respect, and I recalled that when she first came to my house she had been rather nervous; I had done my best to calm her nerves. To find her now so rude was quite a shock.
"I don't know why I'm here," she said, looking me straight in the face. "I've heard all about what's happened in the house, but you can't possibly think I've anything to do with it."
"Why is that, Lizzie?"
"Because I know you can't prove I've done anything." Her smile was gratingly confident.
"Careful, are you?"
"I don't need to be. I haven't done anything."
"I should very much like to believe you. It's most unsettling to have a spy in one's midst. A letter was taken from the hall some days ago. Mrs. Ockley tells me that you were cleaning the floor there as well as the stairs at the time it disappeared. Did you see someone take it?"
"I wasn't paying any attention. I was busy with my work."
"Surely another member of the staff would have spoken to you as he passed?"
"Maybe, maybe not."
"I also know that the day the letters were taken from the library, you were dusting in there. Again, you saw nothing?"
"I can't say that I really recall the day."
"Nothing stands out? The house was burgled. Davis questioned the staff immediately. You have no memory of this?"
"I remember it, I guess, but for me it was an ordinary sort of day. I didn't know I should have been looking out for a thief."
"When you were dusting, did you notice the letters on my desk?"
"Of course I did, but how could I know that two of them were missing? I didn't know how many there were to start."
"A keen observation, Lizzie. But unfortunately, Davis made a point of not telling anyone how many had been taken. How could you know it was two if you were not the culprit?" She sucked in her cheeks and stood very still. I sat there, saying nothing for some time. Then, taking a cue from Colin, I continued in the calmest possible voice. "If you did it, Lizzie, it would be best to tell me. I'm more interested in discovering who put you up to it than I am in punishing you."