I was much struck by this speech, once I had sorted it out, and said, “The dastards! When I think what Dallingham and your half-brother have conspired to do! Why-why, I shall thrash the two of them! This is positively gothic!”
“Oh, no, Kit, do not! I have made a great mistake, and I’ve been a sad featherbrain, as my uncle says-”
“But surely the marriage can be set aside!”
She turned very red.
“Beg pardon!” I murmured, a little crimson myself. “Don’t know what possessed me to-”
“No, no! It is just-I was so very foolish! But to have a man with Lord Dallingham’s looks and address tell me that only his desperate love for me drove him to such measures to bring me to the altar-well, I realize now that he was merely ensuring that our marriage could not be annulled. As for my giving into such nonsense-it is all vanity, I’m afraid. My head was turned. ‘Perhaps he cares for me after all!’ I thought. So silly of me. My aunt says it comes of reading too many novels. But she’s mistaken, of course. It is because am a plain woman, and-”
“Never say so again!” I protested.
She was silent for a time, then said, “You are kind. Perhaps you cannot know what it is like to be flattered in that way.”
“Oh yes, I can,” I said.
“You? Oh, it isn’t possible.”
I laughed. “My dear, I have learned it was not only possible but probable, as it must be for every unmarried person of fortune.”
She made no reply.
After a moment, I asked, “How came you to bring him here?”
“My uncle had come to Town, because Peter had sent word to him that he was owed money-on the event of my being wed. I had thought Uncle would be in a rage, but he was all that was civil, and merely told Dallingham that perhaps he should like to come to Bingsley Hall for a fortnight, and saying that one day all his own wealth and property would come to me, so Harry may as well become acquainted with the place.”
“And Dallingham couldn’t wait.”
“No.” She sighed. “But I won’t cry craven-I shall contrive to live with Lord Dallingham. I only wanted you to know-well, I was so surprised to see you with him, and so grateful. It has done my nerves a deal of good to know you are at hand, although undoubtedly you’ve found this visit quite dreadful!”
That evening, Charles, as we sat down to dine, I found my attitude toward murderous speech had undergone a sea change. I listened to my lord’s and ladyship’s schemes with rapt attention. And when Lady Bingsley was so good as to teach me the names and properties of certain plants in the nearby woods, I was an apt pupil.
Now, none of this has any bearing, of course, on the sudden death of Lord Dallingham. He died, as was ascertained by the magistrate, of an apoplexy brought on by an unsuspected condition of the heart. He had been drinking steadily throughout his visit to Bingsley Hall-Dallingham, not the magistrate, I mean-and an empty bottle of very fine port was found near his bed. This life of dissipation, the magistrate believes, led to the gentleman’s untimely demise.
Like other gentlemen of the law in centuries before him, the magistrate did not observe the exit to the priest’s hole. It is a very small hiding place indeed-as I discovered by viewing it from the entrance, which was in my own chambers.
Amelia puts off her black gloves in another week, when you may expect an announcement of our betrothal in the Times.
One other thing I must mention, though, Charles. More than once-rattlepate that I am-it has occurred to me that now that the late Lord Dallingham has passed on to his reward without an heir, you are in line for the title. It has also occurred to me that you had never before allowed the late Harry the use of so much as one of your tenant’s wheelbarrows, let alone your own new phaeton. I say, old friend-thank goodness you weren’t in it when that wheel came loose!
However, should you ever feel the urge to loan another phaeton to someone, Amelia’s half-brother may be glad to make use of your generosity.
How very good to be able to confide in you, my dear, dear Charles!
Your most Obedient & etc.
– Kit
About the Author
National bestseller Jan Burke is the author of a dozen novels and a collection of short stories. Among the awards her work has garnered are Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar® for Best Novel, Malice Domestic’s Agatha Award, Mystery Readers International’s Macavity, and the RT Book Club’s Best Contemporary Mystery. She is the founder of the Crime Lab Project (CrimeLabProject.com) and is a member of the board of the California Forensic Science Institute. She lives in Southern California with her husband and two dogs. Learn more about her at JanBurke.com.
