Madeline buried her face in the soft folds of the shawl for a moment, then looked up at Clive. “Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you both. I will give you both a special gift for this. Something precious to last a lifetime.”
“Completely unnecessary, m’m,” Clive said, looking bashful. “I just did my job, that’s all.”
“And me. I’m just glad the baby is all right.” Gertie glanced at Cecily. “I suppose I should go and help Pansy. She’s in the dining room. I’m afraid the midday meal is taking a bit longer to serve up.”
“That’s all right, Gertie. I think we can be forgiven for that this once.”
“Yes, m’m.” Gertie grinned and bent her knees in a slight curtsey.
Cecily turned to Clive. “Would you see if you can find my husband and Dr. Prestwick? Tell them we will meet them in the dining room.”
“Yes, m’m. I do believe they went up to the roof garden. I’ll find them.”
He turned to leave, then paused, waiting for Gertie to go ahead of him.
“I’ll be going then.” Gertie nudged Clive in the arm as she passed him by, and he followed her out the door.
Phoebe rose from her chair. “Well, thank goodness that’s over. Let me look at the little precious.” She cooed for a moment over the baby, who now appeared to be sleeping.
“Would you and the colonel care to join us in the dining room?” Cecily asked, ignoring Madeline’s rolling eyes.
“Oh, no thank you.” Phoebe reached for her umbrella. “Freddie is probably drinking his meal, and I have too much to do to waste time eating. I’ll take advantage of the fact that everyone is in the dining room. It will give me time to make my preparations for tonight.” She bustled over to the door. “Thank you, Cecily, and Madeline, I’m so happy your little one is safe.” She blew a kiss, and left.
Cecily walked over to Madeline and patted the baby’s head. “Did you know that the little girl had taken Angelina?”
“No.” Madeline looked down at her sleeping baby. “I just knew that it would be a mistake to call in the constables. I knew that whoever had her meant her no harm.”
“Still, it was a terrible thing to do. The child must be made to realize-” She broke off as yet another tap on the door interrupted her. “Really,” she murmured, as she crossed the room, “we are most popular today. The whole world is calling on us.”
The woman standing outside had obviously been crying. In fact, the moment she started to speak, more tears poured down her cheeks. Recognizing her, Cecily opened the door wider. “Do come in, Lady Millshire.”
“I was told Mrs. Prestwick is with you,” the other woman said, gulping back a sob. “I would like a word with her.”
“Yes, she’s in here.” Cecily stood back, and Lady Millshire entered, dabbing at her eyes with a small white handkerchief.
Cecily decided to leave. Obviously the woman had come to apologize to Madeline, something that would be difficult enough for her to do without having to suffer an audience.
“I will meet you in the dining room,” she told Madeline, and left them alone to have their discussion in peace.
Instead of going straight to the dining room, she stopped by the office to take a peek at the banquet pictures left by the photographer.
She found them lying on her desk and quickly shuffled through them. She found one of herself and Baxter that she particularly liked, and put it to one side. It was a shame that someone hadn’t yet perfected colored photography, she thought, as she gazed at the images of elegantly dressed guests enjoying the feast. The pretty gowns lost some of their luster in the sepia shades.
She put the photographs down, and as she did so, she had an odd sensation of recognition. She knew the feeling well. It meant she was aware of something that hadn’t yet registered in her mind.
Could it be something in the photographs? She picked them up and studied each one for several moments. There was nothing she could see that had any bearing on the murders. Frustrated, she glanced at the clock. Right now she was supposed to be meeting Madeline and her husband, and it would be most rude of her to be late. Leaving the photographs on her desk, she left the office and hurried along the corridor to the dining room.
CHAPTER 19
Gertie stood by the dumbwaiter outside the dining room, fidgeting in a fever of impatience. The delay in starting the midday meal had cost her valuable time. Right now she was supposed to be on the seafront, meeting Dan under their favorite lamppost by the Punch and Judy stand. That’s if he bothered to turn up.
Tapping her foot, she waited for the waiter to rise, her arms aching from holding the tray weighed down with dirty dishes. In order to save time she’d overloaded it, and now she was in danger of dropping the bloody lot on the floor.
The rope jerked, then started threading downward, which meant the platform was on its way up. About flipping time, too.
She barely waited long enough to secure it before dumping the tray on it, then lowered it rapidly to the floor below.
A loud clattering of china echoed up the chamber, and she flinched. Maybe she’d done it a little too fast. As if to agree with her, an irate voice floated up to her. “Here! Flipping watch it up there, will you!”
“Sorry!” Gertie shook her head and rushed back to the dining room. Pansy was just coming out the doors with another loaded tray, and Gertie had to skip sideways to avoid crashing into her.
“Blimey.” Pansy stared at her. “That was close.”
Gertie gritted her teeth to prevent a curse from escaping. “I just hope Dan’s there waiting for me, that’s all.”
Pansy sighed. “Look, why don’t you go on and meet him. I can finish up here. I can get one of the other maids to help me.”
Gertie felt like hugging her. “You will?”
“You did it for me when I was meeting Samuel.” Pansy grinned. “Remember? You said I could do it for you some day. Looks like this is the day.”
“You’re a good sort.” Gertie slapped her on the shoulder, rattling the tray in Pansy’s hands. “Ta, ever so.” Wasting no more time, she tore off down the hallway, dragging her apron off as she went.
Ten minutes later she was running down the Esplanade, praying that Dan would be there. After the flipping row they’d had at the cottage, he might have decided to forget about her. Or maybe he’d got there and waited so long he’d thought she wasn’t coming.
It was already getting dark, and the lamplighter had started his rounds. As Gertie rushed past him, he nodded and smiled, then reached up with his long pole to light the gas lamp above his head.
Farther down, to her immense relief, she saw a tall figure leaning against their lamppost. Gasping for breath, she slowed her step and patted her hair. He was there. He’d waited. That’s all that mattered. She had an hour and a half to spare before she had to get back. The twins would be arriving on the evening train. They’d be home just in time to go to the carol singing ceremony.
A twinge of doubt attacked her stomach. What if he couldn’t come to the ceremony? He was always busy on Christmas Eve, taking toys to the orphans. Once she’d even managed to get away from her duties to help him.
Tonight he’d have to go on his own. Tonight belonged to her twins. They’d been gone over a week, and she couldn’t wait to see them again. Still, that was later. He’d still have time to come carol singing before he left for the orphanage.
She drew closer, close enough to see Dan’s grin as he waved at her. A rush of warmth almost overwhelmed her. She loved this man. If only she knew how he really felt about her. If only she could trust him.