Page 20 of Lady Louisa and the Carriage Clock (The Rogue’s Alliance #3)

B y prior arrangement , Cecil met Lady Edith at her home the next day, and they proceeded to Carstairs. He boldly carried his ebony box with him for all the world to see.

Edith had gasped when she’d seen him standing in the entry hall. “Cecil! Is that the box you store your clock in?”

“It is time I disposed of the mythology clocks,” he replied loudly for any hovering servants.

He’d outlined his plan to Nathaniel before depositing him in Grosvenor Square yesterday afternoon. He was to tell Edith; Louisa would not know about the plan. Louisa was a clever woman and he had no doubt she would catch on quickly to what he was up to.

He and Edith were settled in the drawing room when Louisa entered, leaving the door open.

“Edith! Lord Wycliffe!”

They were seated in the same places as the day before.

The lady eyed the box. “To what do I owe this visit?”

“I’ve come to collect the other clock,” he replied loudly.

He opened the ebony box to show her it contained two tiny clocks and a gold-plated cup. “You may not have heard yet, but my rooms in Curzon Street were ransacked yesterday, and two of my servants were bound while the house was tossed. I believe the culprits were looking for my clock. If they want yours, it is only a matter of time until they break into your home. We should dispose of the clocks at once.”

Louisa replied theatrically, “Oh goodness! That is a terrible thing to have happened. I can find no clues to the mythical riddle on my clock, and I'm glad to be rid of it if it puts me and my family in harm’s way. I’ll fetch my clock and the ebony box from my bedchamber.”

The lady left the room and returned soon after. Closing the door behind her, Louisa placed the box for her clock on the table before them and removed her mythology clock. She next went to the Chinese cabinet and, repeating the process she’d used when hiding Cecil’s timepiece, stowed her clock inside the cabinet. When she finished, Louisa retook her seat.

“I should go,” Cecil said as he rose to his feet, one box in each arm.

The ladies stood up as well, and Louisa said, “I will see you out.”

When they entered the entry hall, Louisa asked him, “What will you do with the clocks, Lord Wycliffe?”

“I will destroy them as soon as possible.” He said no more and exited the house, Lady Edith choosing to stay behind.

Before he entered his nondescript coach, Cecil said to his driver, “Cheapside. I need to find a fire.”

Settled in the carriage, he looked out the windows on the bright day. The weather was still chilly- he should be able to locate a fire somewhere in London. When his coachman halted near the corner of Cheapside and Bread Street, Cecil placed his walking stick on the squabs across from him and vaulted from the carriage, an ebony wood box in each hand.

He spied flames inside a metal water trough several yards down the street with numerous men surrounding it, drinking out of a bottle of what he supposed was gin. Cecil strolled forward until he came to stand between two of the men. The trough was filled with what appeared to be broken bits of furniture.

“I’ve got something that needs burning,” he said loudly and gingerly tossed both boxes into the flames.

“Guvnor, what you do that for?” An elderly gentleman whistled. “I could have traded those nice boxes for another bottle.”

“For more than a bottle, I wager,” Cecil replied with a chuckle.

“What was inside them, my lord?” a young boy standing nearby asked.

“Clocks, just clocks. Although they had a bit of gold on them.”

Cries of alarm and consternation rose around him.

“Why would you burn ‘em?” several voices asked.

He replied solemnly, “Cursed they were. Nothing but bad luck I’ve had since I acquired those clocks.”

That statement started a loud discussion of cursed items and the evil they could bring a man.

“What did you say your name was?” A rough-looking man asked, a glint in his eye.

“I didn’t say, but I’ll tell you now: Lord Wycliffe. It is a pleasure to meet you, gentlemen.”

“What would the great Lord Wycliffe be doing in Cheapside?” the man asked.

“Getting rid of these clocks. Where else could I make sure they were destroyed? If I threw them in the Thames, the clocks might make their way back to me.” Cecil picked up a table leg from the ground nearby and tossed it in the trough to ensure the fire continued to burn.

“Were they costly?” the boy asked, staring fixedly at the flames.

“Very.”

Another discussion ensued, during which the men speculated on how much damage the clocks would sustain once the fire burned itself out and what value the melted gold would have.

After the conversation waned, Cecil handed a shilling to every man present. He wanted the men to remember him.

“Good evening, gentlemen,” he said with a bow as he took his leave, walking the short way back to his coach.

Word would spread of the crazy lord who had burned a pair of clocks in Cheapside. If the ashes were examined, there would be a bit of gold in the mix and possibly some clockwork. The important thing was the men had seen the expensive boxes and would not forget their beauty.

He entered his carriage and tapped his walking stick against the ceiling. “Curzon Street!”

* * * * *

L ouisa and Edith returned to the drawing room, where Louisa requested a tea tray to ensure a servant would hear at least part of her conversation with Edith while in the room.

When a maid entered with the tray, Edith asked Louisa, “Did Lord Wycliffe tell you what he was going to do with the ebony boxes?”

“He said he was going to destroy the boxes and the clocks. He believes the clocks are bad luck.”

The maid exited the room after setting the tray on the table in front of her mistress, leaving the door open behind her.

“I was sure there was something special about the clock, but it is quite ordinary,” Louisa said in a high voice. She decided she was really quite good at acting.

Edith grinned before replying, “Lord Wycliffe has experienced nothing but misfortune since he learned of the clocks, so he wishes to be free of them and for them to taint no one else’s life.”

Louisa knew firsthand that many in the servant class were superstitious and believed in luck. Her and Edith’s efforts, plus whatever Cecil had in mind for the ebony boxes, might convince the RA that the clocks had been destroyed.

Seeing Lord Wycliffe again so soon after discovering she had feelings for him had thrown her, and she’d forgotten to tell him and Edith about the information she’d learned about Daventry regarding Diana and hunting.

“Edith, I wish to sketch you if that would suit you.” She winked at her friend.

“That would be lovely. You are quite adept at sketching furniture, but you do need to work on portraits.”

Louisa placed her teacup on the tea tray and walked to the exquisite little writing desk in the room to retrieve her sketch pad and pencil.

When back in her place on the settee, she began to write.

“Do you wish me to pose a certain way?” Edith asked brightly.

“Not at all. I wish to capture your natural posture.”

Louisa briefly wrote on her pad what her mother had told her about Daventry’s stillborn daughter and the hunting accident on his estate. When finished, she handed the paper to Edith.

“Oh yes, that is very good,” Edith said as she read the paper. “You’ve captured my likeness quite well. May I keep this? I’m sure Nathaniel would love to see it.”

“Oh yes, please.” She wanted to speak to Edith about a personal matter. “Since it is such a lovely day out, shall we take a turn around the community garden?”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea.” Edith folded the paper Louisa had given her, put it in the beaded reticule she carried, and rose to her feet. “It is a lucky thing I wore my Spencer.”

While Edith donned her outerwear in the entry hall, a maid hurried upstairs for a bonnet and Spencer for Louisa. Moments later, the women descended the steps in front of Carstairs and walked to the park arm in arm.

“That is quite extraordinary what you learned about Daventry,” Edith said when they reached the center of the park. “They’re the clues we needed to connect the Diana clock to him.”

“You must ensure that paper makes it to Lord Wycliffe.”

“I will give it to Nathaniel to pass along. From now on, it is up to you and Cecil to make other arrangements if you continue to help him decipher the other clock. And I do mean that, Louisa.”

She understood. Her friend owed her first loyalty to her husband, after all. It wasn’t fair for Louisa to have Edith choose between her and Nathaniel.

Edith continued, “Now that we know how to tie Daventry to the clock, we should be able to figure out who the other timepiece belonged to. Cecil believes Lord Campbell bought your clock from a criminal after it was taken from his brother Wycliffe.”

“There is no way to know who sold it to Lord Campbell, so we should look for a link between Daventry and another lord of the same age,” Louisa replied.

“Our clues are Venus and Cupid. No one in society we know has those Christian names or nicknames.”

Louisa sighed. “If I ask my mother more questions about Daventry, she might wonder why. I could ask my father.”

Edith nodded. “My father had nothing to say about Daventry. He knew him very little. Lord and Lady Kettering will escort Alicia to Vauxhall Gardens this evening after they join us for dinner. I can ask them if they know of a Cupid or Venus.”

“I’m not sure that is a good idea. Lord Kettering has not been ruled out as the rightful owner of the second clock.” She frowned.

“Fair point.” Edith added, “We’re not visiting the gardens as Nathaniel wishes a quiet evening at home. Quiet in that Alicia will be out.”

Both women chuckled at that remark. They walked down one path, turned, and walked down another.

“Louisa? Is something bothering you? You seem not yourself. Is it something to do with Lord Wycliffe?”

She blew out a breath, “How did you know?”

Edith stopped walking. “When Cecil called on you with the flowers, something changed between you. It was strange, almost as if you weren’t playing a part any longer.”

She chuckled nervously. “Never say you think Lord Wycliffe is the type of man to call on a lady and bring flowers. I can’t see him courting anyone, just ordering them to marry him.”

“And do you want him to order you to marry him?” Edith asked with a wink.

She winced. “Not order, surely. I care for the viscount, Edith. I can’t say it snuck up on me because I think I’ve loved him all this time.”

“Love?” Edith took her hands in her own. “Love, Louisa?”

“What does it mean when you can’t stop thinking of someone day or night?” Louisa asked softly with a crooked smile, “When their presence makes you happy just to be alive?”

Edith squeezed her hands and laughed. “Oh, Louisa! Charlotte said this day would come and she isn’t here to tease you about it. You are my friend and if you can find happiness with Cecil, that is what I wish for you.”