Page 33 of Murder at Somerset House (A Wrexford & Sloane Mystery #9)
W rexford spotted a child dressed like a boy standing in the doorway of the stable and felt his breath catch in his lungs.
Quickening his steps, he hurried past Charlotte.
The girl—the last rays of sunlight illuminated the mass of feminine curls tumbling past her shoulder—flinched as he approached, causing him to halt.
He drew in a breath, utterly at a loss for words.
What the devil should I say?
Clearing his throat, he gave her a tentative smile. “Halloo, Eddy.”
Her eyes widened. She was clearly nervous—ye heavens, the world as she knew it was turning upside down—but she stood her ground and lifted her chin. “G-Good evening, Your Lordship.”
“I’m not ‘Your Lordship.’ I’m your brother.”
Wrexford heard the Weasels give a collective gasp but ignored them. He crouched down bringing his eyes level with hers. “My name is Alexander, but everyone calls me ‘Wrex.’”
Eddy continued to stare at him in solemn silence.
The earl held out his hand. “Welcome to our family. I am so very happy to finally meet you.”
A look of wariness seemed to flicker beneath her lashes, and he felt his heart lurch.
If only I hadn’t been so childish with my father …
Ifonlyifonlyifonly.
Shaking off such thoughts, Wrexford wracked his brain for another way to break the ice.
But then Eddy slowly reached out and touched her palm to his.
Wrexford wrapped his fingers around her hand and straightened. “Come, before I introduce you to the rest of your family, you need to become acquainted with Mac’s ginger biscuits.”
Charlotte gestured for the Weasels to join her and her companion. “Miss O’Malley, please allow our three wards to introduce themselves.” To the boys she added, “Do show your new sister’s governess that she’s not abandoning her loved one to a pack of wild savages.”
Hawk flashed a toothy grin after the three of them performed the polite ritual with perfect polish. “We’re not really savages,” he confided. He glanced down at his muck-streaked breeches. “We just look a little untidy at times.”
Raven inclined a very gentlemanly bow before adding, “We will do our best to make Eddy feel welcome.”
“Oiy,” piped up Peregrine. “It’s easy to fit in here. I’ve only been part of the family since last summer, but I couldn’t feel more at home.” Like Hawk, he gave a grin. “We may not be conventional, but as m’lady is wont to say, convention is vastly overrated.”
“That is very reassuring, Master Peregrine,” said Miss O’Malley after stifling a chuckle. “I couldn’t agree more.”
“You boys run along now and help Wrex show Eddy around,” said Charlotte, sensing that her companion wished to have word in private.
“I’m very grateful to both you and Lord Wrexford for your generosity of spirit,” began Miss O’Malley once the boys had scampered off. “Given what the old earl—that is, His Lordship’s father—had told us about his eldest son, I had reason to hope that Eddy wouldn’t be turned away.”
She fisted her hands together. “That said, I feel I must explain some things about Eddy’s mother and the late earl. It’s important that you comprehend the … complexities of the bond. And to be honest, I feel it’s easier to do it with you, milady, rather than Lord Wrexford.”
“I understand,” Charlotte assured her. “I know that the relationship between father and son was fraught with complicated emotions—as well as unfortunate misunderstandings.” A sad smile. “Alas, men don’t seem to find it as easy to talk about their feelings as women.”
“So true,” agreed Miss O’Malley. “Which is not to say that those of our sex are any less tangled in contradictions and conundrums.”
“You may speak plainly to me,” said Charlotte. “I was a rebellious hellion in my youth and chose a path in life that led me to stray far from the boundaries of Polite Society. Which means that I’ve experienced not only grand adventures but also adversities and heartaches.”
A pause. “I say this to assure you that I truly understand that Life isn’t black and white. I consider myself open-minded and accepting of ideas that don’t mirror my own. Wrexford thinks the same way as I do.” She drew in a deep breath. “So whatever challenges lie ahead, we will deal with them.”
“Bless you,” whispered Miss O’Malley, tears pearling on her lashes. “I’ve a wasting illness and my days are numbered. That I am leaving Eddy with family who will strive to understand and appreciate her individuality means the world to me.”
She dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief before continuing. “First, let me tell you about Eddy’s mother. I was her nursemaid and continued to serve her until her death in a shipwreck while making a trip to Ireland.”
“When was that?” asked Charlotte, hoping to start piecing together a picture of the late earl’s relationship with the mother of his daughter.
“Six months after the late earl passed away,” answered Miss O’Malley.
“Ala—her full name was Aladeen—was strong, courageous, and independent-minded. She was also strong-willed—some might call it stubborn to a fault—and could be tempestuous on occasion, capable of shining bright as the sun or plunging into an abyss of darkness. I loved her wholeheartedly, but I was not blind to her faults.”
“An elemental force of Nature,” observed Charlotte, feeling that despite the challenges, she and Ala would likely have come to be friends.
“Yes,” agreed her companion. “Ala was an extraordinary lady—a true lady, as her family was descended from a legendary Irish chieftain. Like her father, she was a renowned horse trainer …”
Charlotte listened intently to the story of Aladeen’s life, making note of all the colorful details to pass along to Wrexford when the time was right.
“Eddy is different from other girls. Given Ala’s travels, she thought it safer for Eddy to dress as a boy, and she’s come to love the freedom it offers over feminine garb.”
“I can understand that,” said Charlotte dryly.
“Eddy also shares her mother’s gift with animals,” said Miss O’Malley, bringing the conversation back to the here and now. “She can create an inexplicable rapport with every wild creature she encounters. I … I hope you will tolerate her passion for having animal companions.”
She made a face. “It grieved her deeply to leave her baby pigeons behind when we journeyed here.”
“Please don’t fret. Eddy will receive nothing but encouragement for her interests. Indeed, I am used to having a menagerie here in the house, as Hawk is a budding naturalist. Snakes, toads, baby hedgehogs, orphan fox kits—I have learned to tread carefully when I enter their quarters.”
A smile. “We will send right away for Eddy’s birds to be brought here. There is ample room on the roof for a dovecote.”
“She would love that, but I’m afraid it won’t be possible,” replied Miss O’Malley with a wistful sigh.
“Her birds were a special type called messenger pigeons, which are bred to return home to their place of birth from no matter where they are released. Once they learn the location of their home, it cannot be altered.”
Charlotte thought for a moment. “Then we shall obtain eggs—”
“Squabs,” interjected Miss O’Malley. “One obtains squabs, which are young hatchlings which haven’t yet been trained to fly from a specific nesting area.”
“Squabs,” she repeated. “I will arrange for the purchase of squabs first thing in the morning.”
“Do you mean that?”
“Be assured that Lord Wrexford and I will do everything in our power to make Eddy feel welcome and much loved.” She glanced at the townhouse, its window aglow with lamplight. “And now, I had better return and formally meet my new …
Daughter?
The word stirred a spurt of panic.
Ye gods, how will I cope with guiding an adolescent girl to adulthood when I can’t in good conscience demand that Eddy adhere to the strictures of Polite Society?
“Meet my new ward,” she finished. “Just one last question. It does not matter a whit to us, but we can’t ignore that the answer has implications for Eddy’s future—”
“You wish to know whether Ala and the late earl were legally married,” answered Miss O’Malley.
“Yes.”
That her companion didn’t respond right away seemed an eloquent enough answer …
“I believe that they were. Ala told me that they had indeed tied the knot on a trip to Brittany to deliver an Irish racehorse to a wealthy client who lived there. And the late earl confirmed it to me. Indeed, at my entreaty, when Eddy was born nine months later, I asked to see the certificate and Ala showed it to me, assuring me that she kept it in a very safe place.”
Miss O’Malley shook her head mournfully.
“Their relationship was a complicated one, and it was made even more fraught by the late earl’s reluctance to tell his sons of his marriage.
Though she hid it well, I think Ala was deeply hurt, even though he tried to explain it was based on the complexities of his father-and-son relationship, not any reservation about her. ”
Charlotte nodded in understanding.
“I know he meant to tell your husband in person—especially after Thomas was killed in battle on the Peninsula—and present him with the document. But he kept putting it off. And then, when Ala was lost at sea …” She shook her head.
“I fear it went down with her, for I’ve searched high and low and never found it. ”
“ Carpe diem ,” whispered Charlotte. “A lesson to us all not to put things off until it’s too late.”
After Charlotte’s return and her first exchange with Eddy, things had become a blur for the rest of the evening, conceded Wrexford. But at last the house quieted and he was able to seek refuge in his workroom to ponder the …
Was there a word for what had just happened?
Eddy had seemed to weather the cheerful chaos of their house hold with admirable sangfroid as she was introduced to the mansion and all its quirks and routines.
But was she overwhelmed? wondered Wrexford. He couldn’t tell. She seemed to hide her emotions well.
A family trait?