Chapter Twenty-Five
“Call the magistrate!” Lady Eamont shouted as Nate and Bridget entered the main landing on the first floor, where a crowd of guests had gathered. “Adelia has been abducted!”
Nate blinked, trying to make sense of the frantic woman’s statement. “Abducted? What makes you think that?”
“She’s not in her room! Clara readied Lydia and me for breakfast as usual, and then she went to dress Adelia, only to find her bed empty. She’s vanished.”
“Perhaps she went out for a morning stroll,” Lydia said, her tone perfectly calm and lacking her mother’s hysteria.
“Yes, that sounds right. Early morning is the most beautiful time of day.” Bridget forced a cheerful tone but glanced worriedly at Nate as she spoke, and it was clear to him what she was thinking.
Why had Adelia disappeared the same morning that Abigail had been found floating in the fountain?
Either Adelia was a killer, or she was another yet-to-be-discovered victim. The thought made his blood run cold.
“Since when does Adelia take walks on her own?” Lady Eamont wailed to no one in particular. “She’s not permitted to go out unaccompanied! She’s been abducted, I tell you!” She whirled around and glared at her husband. “Why haven’t they sent for the magistrate yet?”
“Because you’re suffering from hysteria,” Lord Eamont barked. “Adelia went for a walk, and you are screaming the house down.”
“She is not permitted to go out on her own!” Lady Eamont repeated in a thunderous voice. Her face turned red as a beet, and Nate feared the woman might faint.
He held up his hands in a calming gesture. “Before anyone panics, we should go out and search for her. If we don’t find her, we will call the magistrate.” He locked eyes with Bridget and saw the same fear in them as he felt weighing on his chest.
“You expect me to go traipsing all around Windermere when my daughter has been abducted?” Lady Eamont shrieked.
“Miss De Lacey and I will go, and we’ll enlist the gardener’s help.
The three of us know the grounds best, so the search will be more efficient.
I am certain Adelia is enjoying a stroll in the rose gard—” He stopped, the image of Abigail’s floating body rising in his mind.
“I’m certain we will find her and escort her safely back to the villa. ”
“When you do, tell her I’m going to lock her in her room and throw away the key.” Lord Eamont huffed audibly, turned, and marched back to his chamber.
Nate raised his eyebrows. He was starting to feel sorry for the Eamont sisters.
*
“I shan’t be able to stomach it if we find another body,” Bridget said as she stepped into the garden with Nate and Bijou. How did Villa De Lacey go from being her safe and peaceful home to being a killer’s haven?
Nate shook his head. “I hope that isn’t the case. This is starting to feel like a nightmare.”
They located Thomas near his cottage and explained what needed to be done.
Then the three of them set out, combing the grounds.
Nate and Bridget traipsed through the thicket that surrounded the garden.
The deeper she ventured, the more rapid her heartbeat became.
She stopped at the spot where she’d fallen, still marked with her dried blood.
Her mind flashed back to the night of her accident, restoring flickers of her memory.
“Hello? Is anyone there?”
A cold wind snuffed out her candle, but not before she glimpsed a flash of red. Fear gripped her throat. She turned and ran. Then everything went black…
“Bridget?” She felt a hand on her shoulder and jumped.
“What is it?” Nate asked. “Have you remembered something?”
“I—I’m not sure. I think I saw a flash of red before the wind blew my candle out.”
“The person was wearing a red coat?”
“I don’t think so. It might have been a red dress or vest. It was just a flash. It could have been my imagination. I don’t know.” She trembled. “I’m sorry, I can’t be certain.”
“Don’t be sorry.” Nate inched closer to her. “You’ve done well. This could be important. But perhaps we should turn around and go back now. Thomas and I can finish the search on our own.”
“No, I’m just being silly. I’ve walked this path a thousand times, and I won’t stop now.”
Nate nodded and took a polite step back. “All right, then, I think we should go down to the lake. Let’s hope we find Adelia enjoying the serenity of the water and mountains there.”
“Yes, let’s hope,” Bridget said, exhaling to release the tension that had nested in her chest.
*
But Adelia was not at the lake. They trekked up and down the shore for an hour to no avail.
“What are we going to do?” Bridget rubbed her forehead. “What if she has been murdered too? Do we have a crazed killer on the loose at Villa De Lacey?”
“Let’s not panic,” Nate said. “We don’t have another body, so we can’t declare her murdered.”
“What if the killer dumped her body in the lake instead of the fountain?” Bridget turned toward the calm waters of Lake Windermere.
“If I hadn’t witnessed what we both did this morning, I’d say you were going mad.” Nate walked to the edge of the water. “Unfortunately, it’s now looking like a plausible scenario.”
“Good Lord.” Bridget attempted to rub the exhaustion from her face.
“But we must ask ourselves, why would someone want to kill Adelia Eamont and dump her body in Lake Windermere? Surely, we have to rule out Lady Eamont now,” Nate said.
“She might be a selfish and cruel mother, but would she murder her own daughter? And if not her, that brings us back to Jefferson. Although I don’t know why he’d want to murder Adelia when Lydia is the one blackmailing Dodsworth. ”
“We shouldn’t dismiss Lady Eamont yet,” Bridget said, thinking back to Adelia’s comments regarding her mother.
“When we were alone upstairs, Adelia said her mama would feed her and Lydia minute amounts of poison to make them sick or make them trip and fall in a way that twists an ankle by pushing them down the stairs.”
“That’s right.” Nate’s face turned white. “I recall you telling me. But it seemed so contrived that we didn’t take her seriously.”
“I know.” Bridget dropped her gaze. “She said so many outrageous and awful things that I doubted her. And now…” She couldn’t finish her sentence. If Lady Eamont had hurt Adelia, she’d be to blame.
“Don’t blame yourself. Adelia was unhinged that day,” Nate said, as if reading her thoughts. “You couldn’t be expected to believe everything she said.”
Bridget gazed out at the lake and imagined Adelia’s lifeless body under the water. She shook her head, trying to cast off the image.
“Don’t upset yourself. We don’t know what happened yet. It’s still feasible that all of you met with some type of accident, and Adelia is sitting under a tree somewhere.”
“You can’t possibly believe that.”
Nate sighed. “You’re right. I don’t. There’s definitely a killer amongst us, and all we can do is pray that Adelia is not the latest victim.”
*
By the time they returned to the house, breakfast was over, and the guests had gathered in the drawing room. An agitated Aunt Marianne stopped them just as they were about to enter and address the guests.
“I do hope you found Abigail while you were out searching for that wayward Miss Adelia. She has conveniently disappeared and left Sarah and Eliza to do everything on their own. And you know Eliza does not like to interact with the guests. They upset her.” Aunt Marianne spoke in a low voice so the guests in the living room couldn’t hear.
“Abigail hasn’t disappeared, Aunt,” Bridget whispered. “She’s—”
“What are you doing, standing there and whispering to each other?” Lady Eamont shot out of her seat and strode toward the door. “Have you found my daughter? Where is she? I demand you tell me at once!”
Nate entered the drawing room and Bridget followed. Her heart hammering. She now believed that Lady Eamont was a very dangerous person.
“I’m afraid we couldn’t find her.” Nate clasped his hands together, likely to stem his nerves. “It might be time to call the magistrate.”
“So, it’s as I said!” In contrast, Lady Eamont threw up her hands. “She’s been taken! And all you’ve done is waste time. Her abductor could have taken her to Scotland by now.”
“Adelia hasn’t been abducted, Mama.” Lydia stood up and glanced at the mahogany clock above the fireplace. “But you’re correct about one thing—she is in Scotland.”
“What are you talking about?” Lady Eamont’s entire face narrowed into an expression of tight anger.
“Adelia and Mr. Jefferson have eloped,” Lydia said calmly.
“Oh, thank heavens!” Bridget exclaimed.
“Eloped?” Lady Eamont spewed the word out of her mouth as if it were poison.
“That’s correct.” Lydia smiled.
“My word,” Lady Darby said. “This is a scandal.”
Lady Eamont took a threatening step toward her daughter.
“Your sister would not have gone willingly with that blaggard!” She turned her glare on Nate.
“Get the magistrate to fetch my daughter home. She does not have permission to marry that merchant or whatever he is. We don’t even know where he comes from.
He doesn’t have a title or—” She looked from her husband to Nate—“He’s a nobody. She’ll be ruined!”
“You’re too late,” Lydia said. “Scotland isn’t that far from here, so by the time, you find her, she’ll be married.”
“This was your doing!” Lady Eamont pointed a finger at Lydia.
Bridget was surprised and touched to see Dodsworth put a supportive hand on Lydia’s shoulder.
“No, Mama,” Lydia said in a strong voice Bridget had never heard her use before. “It was your doing. You have been tormenting us for years, controlling our every movement and thoughts, and now we are both free of you.”
“What did you do?” Lady Eamont narrowed her eyes. “How did you manage to convince Lord Dodsworth—a confirmed bachelor—to take you as his bride?” She looked from Lydia to Dodsworth. “Something is afoot, and I am going to find out what it is.”
“It’s no wonder you’re surprised, Mama. You spent your turning us into pariahs, training us to talk in unison like parrots and dressing us alike so you could parade us about like dolls.
And at the same time, you pit us against each other, trying to marry Adelia off to Mr. Squires and forcing me to remain at home as your companion for life all because Papa despises you. ”
“Now that’s going too far!” Lord Eamont said.
Lady Eamont slapped her daughter across the face. “How dare you speak to me thus?”
“Stop these theatrics immediately!” Lord Eamont thundered. “Adelia is lost to us. That’s the end of it,” he said. “The girl has made her choice, and she will live with it.”
“This is entirely your fault!” Now Lady Eamont turned her fury on Nate.
“If you had stuck to the agreement your brother made with us then Adelia would be married, and both our families would be enormously enriched. But you have always been a wastrel. Your father knew as much, but your brother refused to believe you could not be reformed. So, what did he do? He gave you this beautiful villa, and how did you thank him? By setting your sights on a bankrupt felo de se’s daughter who is no better than your servant.
” She turned her furious glare on Bridget and there was no mistaking the murderous intent in her eyes.
Bridget took a step back, expecting the woman to lunge at her.
“I said that’s enough!” Lord Eamont thundered. “It’s time for you to sit down, my lady.”
Lady Eamont straightened her shoulders and turned back to Nate. “We will be leaving this place tomorrow and reporting back to Lord Westerly. I wouldn’t be surprised if he cuts you off without a penny.”
“I’m afraid you won’t be going anywhere,” Nate said.
She stopped and stared at him. “Excuse me?” she said haughtily.
“There’s been another death at Villa De Lacey, and this time the magistrate suspects foul play.” Nate was lying, but for good reason. “No one may leave until we find out who is responsible.”
“I don’t think that will be possible, old chap,” Dodsworth said. “The king has summoned all peers back to London for Queen Caroline’s adultery trial. It begins on August 17th. That’s in three weeks. And it takes two weeks to journey back to London.”
“Exactly,” Lord Eamont said. “He is quite right. There’ll be no defying the king, even for the magistrate.”
“Oh, I should like to be back in London for the trial too,” Lady Darby said. “It’s an event not to be missed.”
“You won’t be allowed to attend the trial,” Lady Eamont said frostily. “It’s only for the lords.”
“I’m well aware”—Lady Darby turned her nose in the air—“but I shall attend the tea parties and enjoy the gossip and speculation.”
Bridget gaped at the woman, somewhat repulsed by the fact that she seemed to be looking forward to the spectacle of another woman’s predicament.
“I shan’t be going. I think the entire trial is shameful.” Lady Luxton tucked a stray curl behind her ear. “The queen has done nothing wrong.”
“Is anyone here interested in the fact that someone else has died?” Nate folded his arms and scanned the room.
Everyone stopped talking and turned to look at him. He finally had their attention.
Bridget held her breath, waiting for Nate to break the news.
“For heaven’s sake!” Lady Luxton snapped. “Who has died? Is it that little white mutt that’s always running around?”
Bridget scowled. Bijou, exhausted from the morning’s chaos had crept upstairs and was likely curled up on his blanket at the foot of her bed.
“It’s one of the housemaids,” Nate said, and Bridget watched the faces of the guests as he spoke. “Her name was Abigail.”
Everyone fell into a stunned silence.
“Is this a joke?” Frederick asked.
“No joke, I’m afraid. Abigail is dead.”
A short, high-pitched shriek pierced the air, and everyone turned to see Mrs. Harley collapse to the floor.