Chapter Sixteen
The serenity of the garden seemed surreal in light of what had taken place inside the house that morning.
The trail of blood on the stairs, Madam Bouffant’s limp body and battered skull—Bridget shuddered and inhaled deeply, trying to shake the image from her mind.
But at the same time, she felt guilty for doing so.
Here she was enjoying her lovely garden when a woman—a guest at Villa De Lacey—had died a violent death mere hours earlier.
Whether or not she’d been pushed, or she had fallen, Madam Bouffant’s death had been brutal, and Bridget felt she owed it to her to find out the truth about what had happened.
Bridget glanced ahead and saw Bijou near a cluster of trees, sniffing the ground intently. She smiled and was about to call him when she heard voices. She froze.
“What business do you have following me in here? Go away before someone sees us together!”
Bridget’s heart drummed in her chest. The voice belonged to Lord Dodsworth, but to whom was he talking? She crept forward and concealed herself behind a massive oak tree.
Then came the voice of either Adelia or Lydia Eamont. It was impossible to tell which one. “I followed you because I have something of yours.”
“What on earth are you talking about? What do you have?”
“Do you recognize this?” She must have taken the object she was referring to and shown it to Dodsworth because he gasped audibly.
“Give me that!” he said.
“No,” she snapped back. “But you needn’t worry. I don’t intend to say anything. Not yet, anyway.”
“Where did you get it? Have you been in my room? How dare you!”
“Oh no, there was no need for me to go rummaging around your room. Criminals always confess their sins—or at least, in this case, they drop them when they become so inebriated, they might as well be sleepwalking.”
Bridget covered her mouth with both hands to stifle her gasp. A confession?
“Please.” Lord Dodsworth’s voice became beseeching. “You know the consequences. I could hang, for God’s sake!”
Bridget bit down on her lip. Hang? Did Dodsworth just admit that he’d murdered Madam Bouffant?
Bijou started digging furiously at the spot where he’d been sniffing. Then he pawed at the ground and whined. Bridget put her finger to her lips and looked sternly at him, praying he would refrain from giving them away.
“I am willing to stay silent,” Miss Eamont said. “But you must give me something in return.”
“Anything. What do you want?”
“A promise of marriage.”
Bridget inhaled sharply. One of the Miss Eamonts was trying to coerce Lord Dodsworth into marriage, but which one?
Adelia thought herself practically betrothed to Nate, but mayhap she’d realized the futility of that claim and wanted to save face.
Yes, that made sense, but was she desperate enough to marry a potential killer?
Didn’t she realize that if Lord Dodsworth had already killed one woman, he’d readily kill another?
What if he attempted to strangle her right here in the garden?
She would have to intervene. Bridget scanned the ground for a stick or a rock lest she need to come to the woman’s rescue.
“You must be joking,” Dodsworth said. “You expect me to marry you? Given what you know about me?”
“That’s what I said, isn’t it?” And it sounded like Miss Eamont spoke through gritted teeth. Perhaps she was losing her patience with Dodsworth.
“But I will never make you happy.” Dodsworth’s voice had turned pleading again. “Don’t you want to find someone better suited to you?”
A short, shrill laugh emanated from Miss Eamont. “Better suited? We are the perfect match. With this confession locked away in a safe place, I wield all the power. What could be better in a marriage?”
“Love?” Dodsworth said. “Don’t you want a chance at happiness?”
Miss Eamont’s shrill laughter rang out again, this time louder, causing Bijou to lift his head and tilt it to the side. Once again, Bridget put a finger to her lips, instructing the pup to be silent.
“Are you not familiar with the Wife of Bath’s Tale, Lord Dodsworth?
Chaucer discovered what women most want four hundred years ago, yet men remain ignorant.
Women want what every man has—sovereignty in marriage because that equates to freedom—something men take for granted.
But I am offering you something better. I’m offering you a marriage that will result in freedom for both of us—each doing as we please.
So, tell me, what is your objection to that? Am I so odious?”
“You are not odious. Only a bit—”
“What?”
“Nothing. I didn’t mean to—”
“You did. Say it. Only a bit…?”
“Peculiar. You’re a little peculiar. The way you and your sister talk in unison and—”
Miss Eamont made an unladylike snorting sound. “You are calling me peculiar? You of all people? How dare you?”
“Please. I beg you to reconsider. All I want is a chance to live my life as I choose, peacefully and without interference from anyone.”
“I would like that too, but as a woman, I may not rest until I marry. If we marry, we shall both be at peace. I shall not stop you from living as you see fit, if you promise me the same.”
“What about your mother? Isn’t she determined to marry off your sister first?”
So, the voice belongs to Lydia Eamont, not her sister!
“My mother can go to the devil and my sister with her. I’m tired of living by her rules. And with your money, Lord Dodsworth, I won’t need to seek my mama’s approval. You are a rich man, are you not, my lord?”
“Then you are determined to force my hand, and there is nothing I can do to dissuade you?”
“Nothing. You have until tomorrow afternoon to decide. One way or another, an announcement will be made. Either it will result in a ring on my finger or a noose around your neck.”
Bridget scooped up Bijou, whose paws and nose were black from digging and crouched behind the enormous oak with him as Lydia Eamont marched past and back to the villa.
Bridget stayed hidden for a few minutes longer, breathing steadily, as she waited for Lord Dodsworth to depart the scene.
He did so, walking in the opposite direction of Lydia, toward the lake.
Bijou squirmed in Bridget’s arms and let out a shrill bark. She froze. Lord Dodsworth paused, turned around, and scanned the area. Bridget cradled her dog, petting him and praying he’d stay quiet.
*
Nate found Frederick in the smoking room with a brandy in one hand and a cigar in the other.
“Frederick, old boy, I’ve been looking for you.” Nate poured himself a brandy and slid into the chair next to Frederick. “It’s been quite a day, hasn’t it? Where have you been?”
“Off for a walk by the lake. I took poor old Lord Eamont with me. It’s quite healing—the sublimity of nature and all that.”
“I quite agree. It’s magical. Did Lord Eamont reveal if Madam Bouffant had been in his room?
I can’t imagine what other reason she’d have had to be roaming around upstairs when everyone was still asleep.
I hoped they’d have the sense not to meet at all while his wife was under the same roof as them, but at the very least, I’d expect Lord Eamont to make his way to her room if he were so inclined.
” Nate shook his head. “The entire thing is so distasteful.”
Frederick shrugged. “Who knows? Eamont didn’t seem to want to talk about it. The poor fellow is in shock. But I agree. It would have been foolish of them to meet under his wife’s nose. It was foolish of him to twist my arm into bringing her here in the first place.”
“Yes, so you said. How did he do that exactly?” Nate had learned about the debt Frederick owed Lord Eamont from Bridget, but he wanted to hear the full details from Frederick. It was time his friend was honest with him.
Frederick blew out a breath, pillowing up his cheeks. “I owed him some money—a great deal of money, actually—that I lost in a card game. Foolish of me. I don’t usually lose, but I wasn’t myself that night, you see. And well, I couldn’t pay it.”
“What?” Nate leaned forward, genuinely shocked. “You gambled money that you didn’t have?” Not paying a gambling debt was an unthinkable disgrace. It could get you excommunicated from society. It was the thing which had caused Mr. De Lacey to commit his own self-murder, after all.
“I was going to pay it, of course, just not all at once. I went to Lord Eamont and asked him for a bit more time. I even offered to marry one of his daughters, but he laughed in my face. I don’t know why I thought that would work.
I’m merely a baron and one with no real money to speak of.
But, I suppose, desperate men take desperate measures and all that. ”
“Good Lord, Frederick. I had no idea.”
“Yes. Don’t be fooled by Eamont’s soft spot for his mistress.
He can be ruthless when it comes to money.
I thought he’d ruin me. And then you came along and saved the day with this little venture of yours.
” He gestured to the area surrounding them.
“You see, Lady Eamont had learned from your brother’s wife that you had a new estate, and she insisted they come for a family holiday.
I suspect she was hoping to snag you into marrying her daughter. ”
Nate shook his head. “I don’t see why Lord and Lady Eamont want me for Adelia’s husband. Unlike you, of course, I have no title. Nor do I have money of my own. And I’m essentially a working man now. Aren’t they scandalized that I turned my home into an inn?”
“I believe your brother and Lord Eamont have many dealings together—investments and such. They are staunch allies. Your brother has convinced Lord Eamont that you are simply rebelling out of boredom and that once you are married, your little operation will shut down. All you need is a good wife to show you the way. Then, Edward will bring you back into the fold, and this mad little episode in your life will be forgotten. With their families combined, Edward and Eamont can safely keep their fortunes in each other’s pockets. ”
Nate squeezed the bridge of his nose. Would Edward ever stop interfering in his life?
“Anyway, Lady Eamont is so determined to see Adelia married to you that she insisted on coming, and it didn’t hurt that all of London is abuzz about the Lake District, what with Wordsworth’s Guide to the Lakes.
The fact that you have turned your villa into an inn is being touted as ingenious by some.
They call it a brilliant investment scheme. ”
Nate smiled. “Edward’s words, no doubt.” He had to give his brother credit for being a master manipulator.
“Yes. They are all sheep who bend the rules for what suits them. At any rate, I digress. Lady Eamont insisted on coming, as I said, but Lord Eamont didn’t seem to like the idea of leaving his mistress behind for such an extended period, so when he found out you’d invited me to the villa, he said he’d forgive a large portion of my debt if I brought his mistress along as my guest. All I had to do was pretend that she was my mistress. ”
“That sounds like the actions of a man afflicted with insanity,” Nate said.
“Well, I think he lost perspective. He despises his wife, you know, and he was quite besotted with Madam Bouffant. But you’re right. It did something to his brain. He stopped thinking clearly. Either way, it’s over now—for good.”
“Do you think Madam Bouffant loved Lord Eamont in the same way?”
“Of course not!” Frederick said. “She loved his money, and she loved the power she wielded over him.”
“The power?”
“She was beautiful, and he was besotted—so besotted that he became careless.”
Nate thought about how they’d walked along the lake’s edge in full view of anyone who cared to look, and he had to agree. “Do you think Lady Eamont might have pushed her?”
Frederick put his cigar to his lips and inhaled. After exhaling a long stream of smoke, he shrugged. “I think that’s a tad far-fetched. It’s more likely that she fell. The woman enjoyed her drink a little too much. She could have easily tripped.”
“And was she inebriated last night?” Nate asked.
“How should I know?”
“Oh, come on Frederick. I know what’s been going on with your midnight excursions.
My housemaids are barely able to wake up in time to perform their duties in the morning.
Madam Bouffant was still wearing her evening dress when she fell.
She was out, doing something. Are you telling me you didn’t see her last night? ”
Frederick took a sip of his brandy and then placed the glass on the small table beside him.
“You couldn’t be more wrong. I’ve been quite enjoying the tranquility of this place.
I couldn’t understand what had happened to you at first, but I see it now.
This place gets under your skin. It changes you—quiets one somehow. ”
Nate eyed his friend. Perhaps he was speaking the truth. After all, the Lake District had worked its magic on him, so why not Frederick? Still, knowing Frederick for as many years as he had made that scenario hard to believe.