Page 16 of Lady Louisa and the Carriage Clock (The Rogue’s Alliance #3)
L ouisa took a deep breath to calm her nerves and rose to her feet. “Edith! Lord Wycliffe! How lovely to see you both.”
Her friend replied, “Cecil stopped in to see Nathaniel, and when I mentioned I was bringing you this hatbox, he told me he was on his way here as well.”
Louisa’s mother approached the trio. “What a pleasure to see you both.”
Greetings were exchanged as Louisa struggled to regain her equilibrium; the viscount had never looked more charming.
“Let me see to these flowers,” her mother said as she took the bouquet from Lord Wycliffe’s hand. “I believe these are the prettiest ones you received today, Louisa. Pink roses symbolize grace, sophistication, and elegance.”
“Qualities your daughter has in abundance, Lady Chartham,” the viscount replied with one of his devastating smiles.
Her mother blushed becomingly before she gathered up her three sons and exited the room. To Louisa’s estimation, her mother's departure signified her belief that Lord Wycliffe was a worthy suitor.
When Edith was seated next to her on the settee and Cecil on a nearby chair, she said, “Please tell me you require no refreshment. I don’t wish to see tea or biscuits the rest of the day.”
Edith replied, “We sat in my drawing room drinking tea for over an hour waiting for the crowd to thin. I don’t care for anything. Cecil?”
Louisa glanced at the viscount, who shook his head. She looked at a spot over his shoulder, trying not to stare at him. The man ran a hand through his hair, smoothing the shiny locks. Her hands itched to help him.
“I should lock the door.” She rose to her feet, walked to the drawing room door, and locked it. They couldn’t have a curious servant or her mother peeking in.
Lord Wycliffe placed the hat box on the table where the tea tray had rested. Taking the lid off, he handed the bonnet to Edith.
“Our story is that I brought you the bonnet to decorate,” her friend explained.
“You know I’m not good at sewing,” she replied, looking askance at the dreadful headgear. “It looks beyond saving, but I shall enlist Lucy to help me if only to further the ruse.”
Lord Wycliffe next pulled out the ebony box, opened it, and handed the clock to Louisa.
“Oh my, it’s even lovelier than mine.” She examined it slowly, turning the clock over in her hands, finding no markings other than the maker’s mark and no hidden papers inside.
“After some discussion,” Edith said, "We’ve come to some conclusions about the third founder of the RA: he is male, alive, and around the age of the former owner of your clock- nearly fifty.”
She nodded. “And a member of the ton .”
“Both clocks deal with archery. We thought that might be significant,” Lord Wycliffe added.
“It might be.” She still didn’t meet his gaze.
“We also thought it would help to determine how Cecil’s clock is tied to Lord Daventry,” Edith replied.
She whistled. “That is an excellent idea, Edith! If we can figure out how Daventry is linked to the Diana clock, it should make it easier to unravel the clue of the other timepiece.”
“What do we know about Daventry?” Edith asked.
“I believe he died of arsenic poisoning,” the viscount responded.
The gravity of the viscount’s words gave her a start. “Edith told me about the man's letter but didn't mention he was poisoned.”
“From the description of his symptoms,” Lord Wycliffe replied, “he was poisoned over time.”
“Oh my! If that is true, one of his servants was probably a member of the Rogue’s Alliance.”
“Daventry was quite a bit younger than the old duke. And he was a widower, I believe.” Edith looked to Cecil.
“He was married only once, but I don't know what his wife’s name was,” the viscount replied.
“It would be all too easy if it was Diana.” Edith sighed.
“My mother has a copy of Debrett’s.” Louisa stood up and walked to a long dresser in the room. Opening a drawer, she pulled out a thick book. “The copy isn’t new, but I’m sure it isn’t so old as not to contain the recently deceased Lord Daventry.”
She thumbed through the book until she came to the family of the Earls of Daventry. Placing the tome on the table before her, Louisa was conscious of Lord Wycliffe leaning in close to read over her shoulder. Louisa closed her eyes a moment as the warmth of his body reached out to her.
Swallowing, she opened her eyes and said, “Lord Daventry was married only once and to a Lady Harriet Dawson, the daughter of a baron.” Turning more pages, she located Harriet’s family in the book.
Lord Wycliffe sat up straight in his chair, taking a deep breath. He drummed the fingers of one hand on the table in front of him a moment before abruptly ceasing the movement. “Pardon me.”
“I see no ties to Diana in her name or her husband’s. There was no issue from the union.” Edith sat back against the cushions of the settee. “Diana is the goddess of the hunt. Could hunting or archery be the key?”
They all sat in silence a moment before Louisa had an idea. “Let me grab my sketch pad and sketch the clock.”
She had brought the pad downstairs just for this purpose. Her mother thought it was strange but didn’t comment when Louisa placed it on a side table. She retrieved the pad and her beloved graphite pencil and drew small pictures of the front and back of the clock.
“Louisa, are you still determined to keep your clock at Carstairs?” Edith asked hesitantly.
“Why do you ask?” she countered blandly, not looking up from her work.
“You could be in danger.” Edith paused. “Isn’t that right, Cecil?”
She glanced up. “Lord Wycliffe?”
“It is true that my man Bones has heard whispers the RA is interested in your clock. They also believe I have the matching clock.”
She frowned. “How could they know you have the clock? I’m sure you were careful. Could someone in your household be in league with the Rogue’s Alliance?”
That question brought him up short. And he realized he hadn’t thought about how to smuggle the clock back into his rooms. Blast!
“What is it?” Edith asked the viscount.
He was reminded that Nathaniel had never received his missive about stealing Louisa’s clock although Bones assured him he’d handed the note to one of Nathaniel’s footmen.
“Someone in my employ could be working for the RA, and now I’m not sure what to do with my clock.” His reasoning had been off-kilter the last few days. He didn’t want to look too closely as to what might be the cause.
“Let it remain here,” she suggested quietly. “In a corner of this room is a Chinese cabinet that is extremely difficult to open if you do not know how. I will hide it there for the time being.”
“That will have to do for now.” He sat forward and glanced at her sketch. “It is an excellent likeness. I still have the sketch of your clock. Might I have this one as well?”
She felt warmth on her cheeks. “As I now possess both clocks, it would be churlish not to give you the sketch.”
Their gazes locked for a moment. Edith cleared her throat. “Perhaps you should hide the clock now. Eventually, someone in the household will come check on us.”
“Lord Wycliffe?” Louisa rose to her feet and put a hand out for the clock. She hoped he would trust her with it.
He handed it over without a word. Clock in hand, Louisa walked to the Chinese cabinet, with Lord Wycliffe and Edith following. Louisa pulled out a drawer, turned a lever, replaced the drawer, opened another, flipped a latch, and the front of the cabinet opened. She stowed the timepiece inside and closed the cabinet door.
Louisa walked to the door of the drawing room and unlocked it. It was a miracle that her mother hadn’t found a reason to enter the room and observe them.
“The clocks are safe for now. Cecil, I suggest we return home and reflect on the Diana clock.” Edith walked to where Louisa stood. “Perhaps we can ask discreet questions about Daventry and discover what ties the clock to him.”
Lord Wycliffe bowed to Louisa. “Good afternoon, my lady. When we need to speak again about the clocks, let us use Edith as our intermediary.”
“Of course.” The viscount’s earlier compliment was forgotten as she remembered the gentleman was only in her home to solve the riddle. “Good afternoon, Edith, Lord Wycliffe.”
* * * * *
C ecil escorted Edith home before climbing into his coach for the drive to Curzon Street. An afternoon of tea and biscuits had left him hungry for a more substantial meal. Perhaps he could convince Eliza to make him some sandwiches.
He’d had the strangest feeling when he entered the drawing room at Carstairs. Having never called on a debutante before, he wasn’t sure of the protocol. Did all debs have as many admirers as Lady Louisa received that day? It was irksome to him. Men buzzing around a young woman like that. Did they have no pride?
Yes, she was pretty, stylish, and intelligent, but really. For a moment Cecil had felt sick to his stomach and wondered if that was what jealousy felt like. No matter. He’d only been playing a part.
When his coach arrived at the townhouse on Curzon Street, it was to find Bones outside on the stoop, waiting for him, his expression grim.
“You’ve been burgled, my lord.”
“Burgled?” He brushed by the other man and opened the door to the house.
“The house has been ransacked,” Bones continued. “Two men tied up Acker and Eliza in the kitchen.”
Cecil stood in the entry hall, and from his vantage point, he could see some of the destruction in the drawing room beyond.
“Are Eliza and Acker well? Where is Cook?”
Bones replied, “Eliza and the butler are a bit shaken up but otherwise unharmed. Cook is nowhere to be seen. Eliza told me he’d gone out right before the thieves arrived.”
“Please see that Acker and Eliza have anything they need. If need be, call a doctor.” He sighed. “I’m going to survey the damage in my drawing room and then I will check on them.”
Cecil strode through the entry to the drawing room next door. The sight that met his eyes was ghastly. There were books and papers strewn throughout the room. Not a drawer or cabinet had been left untouched; any possible hiding place in the room was open, its contents on the hardwood floor.
Thankfully, the dresser where his drinks tray rested had not been moved. The drawers were open, their contents adding to the disarray of the room. The search of the room had been measured and methodical. The liquor decanters were unbroken. The burglar or burglars had taken their time.
He returned to the entry and took the corridor to the back of the house, where the kitchen and a small dining room were located. The dining room held only a small round table and four chairs and was untouched.
When he approached the kitchen, it was to the sound of soft weeping. The kitchen door was open, and the chaos he encountered was worse than the drawing room. Foodstuffs were strewn about, with every pot, pan, and kitchen utensil now residing on the stone floor.
Bones stood to one side while the maid and butler were seated on two stools next to a long kitchen table.
“Can you tell me what happened?” Cecil asked Acker after he’d taken in the state of the room.
Eliza stopped weeping and hiccupped as the butler replied, “There were two men. I’ve never seen them before, my lord. One was a dock worker by the looks of his clothes, while the other wore a red waistcoat like some of the runners do.”
“They tied us up and gagged us.” Eliza let out a shaky breath. “The rougher man searched in here. The other man looked through the rest of the house. I overheard them say they were searching for a clock.”
It was what he’d imagined. “And Cook left right before the men arrived?”
Acker looked at Eliza. “I’m not sure when he left the house.”
“He was gone before the other men came,” Eliza replied with a long, shuddering breath.
“Are you well? Do you need a doctor?”
They both shook their heads as the butler replied, “Eliza and I are made of sterner stuff than that, my lord.”
“I want you both to pack your belongings. I’m going to move you to a safer place.”
“It was just a burglary,” Acker protested. “We’ll not abandon you, my lord.”
He held up a staying hand. “This was the RA’s doing. Now, do as I say. I would like you out of the house as soon as possible.”
The butler did not argue further and rose to his feet to exit the room with Eliza in his wake.
“Where are you sending them, my lord?” Bones asked.
“To Lord and Lady Harbury. I’m sure they can find a place for them in that huge house. I will write a missive to Lady Harbury to accompany her new guests.” He grimaced. “If I can find the instruments to do so. Afterwards, I want you to see Eliza and Acker to Grosvenor Square while I survey the rest of the house.”
Bones merely nodded, and Cecil made his way out of the kitchen and to the drawing room. He found ink, vellum, and a pen in the chaos and sat at his desk to compose a note to Edith. A thought struck him, and he added a paragraph requesting she accompany him to Carstairs tomorrow, hopefully for the last time.
“I have an idea to keep the Rogue’s Alliance from attempting to acquire the clocks,” Cecil muttered as he wrote, then folded the letter. If someone other than Edith read the unsealed message, at least there was nothing contained inside he didn’t want the general public to know.
Although Cecil trusted Bones, he would be more careful with his correspondence in the future.