Chapter Twenty-One #2
“And that was a source of amusement?” he asked before he could swallow his words.
Everyone grew quiet, which made the silence louder. Graham struggled to his feet to say, “You know it was not. You asked for my assistance. I have come to render it.”
Benjamin knew he was acting as an arse, and, though he recognized the need to apologize, jealousy still nipped at his reason.
Even so, he managed to say, “It has been a trying day already. Mr. Froschele had bad news about one of the houses I have been considering. Please accept my apology for my testiness.”
Graham nodded his understanding, and Benjamin made himself smile upon their little gathering. His brother said, “If you have the time, could we speak in your study?”
Benjamin immediately wondered how Graham could have found information so quickly, but he knew his brother truly did have his thumb on the heartbeat of London. Miss Whitchurch gave them both an odd look, but she said nothing except, “I shall see you a bit later, my lord.”
When they returned to Benjamin’s side of the house, Graham said softly, “If you do not mind, I will explain things in my carriage. I told Mrs. Dove-Lyon that we would call upon her at two on the clock. I wish to confirm some details with the lady before we speak to Miss Whitchurch regarding her sister.”
“Is it bad?” Benjamin asked as he followed Graham through the house to reclaim his hat and gloves from the bench where Patterson placed them.
“If what I have been told proves correct, then the lady will be in mourning, but I would like to start at the beginning by having Mrs. Dove-Lyon confirm that the image in Miss Whitchurch’s sketch and the woman who was employed by her are one and the same.
It seems there were several ‘Cassandras’ that have gone missing of late.
I have already spoken to a parish clergyman about a pauper’s grave holding an unnamed woman that he believes is the woman in the sketch.
I did not want to bring this to Miss Whitchurch’s notice until we were confident.
It will be hard enough on the lady, but there is no reason to have her thinking her sister is dead unless we know it with some certainty. ”
Though Benjamin had always expected death was the fate of Miss Whitchurch’s sister, he had hoped for another outcome. He simply nodded his understanding and let his brother take the lead.
A half hour later, they stepped down before the Lyon’s Den.
Every time Benjamin came close to the place, images of the night of Duncan’s shooting flashed before his eyes.
He was surprised to hear Graham say softly, “I have come to despise this place or perhaps it is my own incompetence I despise. I felt worthless when all of you had sprung into action, and all I could do was keep the crowds from standing around and gawking at Duncan’s prostrate body. ”
“You said a powerful prayer,” Benjamin remarked as they approached the entrance door to encounter Titan. “I am a believer in the power of prayer.”
“As am I,” Graham admitted as they came to a halt.
“Gentlemen,” Titan said with a smile. “It is a pleasure to see you again. I understand from the mistress that you have a meeting. Thank you for being prompt.” Titan gestured them inside.
“I heard of Lord Marksman being shot. Hopefully, he is on his way to recovery. I know Mrs. Dove-Lyon and the staff are assuredly happy to be rid of Lord Honfleur’s manipulations.
Though, Lord Beaufort says we should continue to screen for forged notes, hopefully there will not be as many in the future, but it was good to learn how to be best vigilant in such matters. ”
“Marksman is on the mend,” Benjamin informed Titan. “Otherwise, I would still be tending him, just as I did with Lord Duncan. He and Lady Theodora have set a wedding date.”
“That means a future. Wonderful news.”
They had climbed the steps to Mrs. Dove-Lyon’s office. Titan had slowed his steps to make it easier on Graham, but Graham had learned long ago how to compensate for his limp.
A few minutes later, Titan tapped on Mrs. Dove-Lyon’s office door, and they were admitted with the word, “Come.”
Benjamin and Graham both bowed to the Lyon’s Den’s mistress. “Thank you for agreeing to see us, ma’am,” Graham said. “We promise not to take up too much of your time.”
“Would you like a drink, gentlemen?” the lady asked.
Titan said, “Lord Marksman is reportedly healing properly, ma’am. Is that not good news? He and Lady Theodora Duncan have set a date to marry.”
Benjamin noted Mrs. Dove-Lyon swallowed her remark, for her lips suddenly compressed. Instead, the woman said, “I am happy for Lord Duncan and his family. It was an awful business with all these attempts to cheat the government. What of Lord Beaufort? I heard he was assisting Lord Liverpool.”
Benjamin wondered how the woman learned so much about society and the government, but then he knew the haut ton were a gossipy bunch, and many of the aristocracy played high at the Lyon’s Den’s tables.
“We are thankful that Beaufort has returned safely,” Graham said.
The woman gestured to the chairs before her desk. “Have a seat, my lords. How may I be of service to you?”
Graham cleared his throat. “As I am confident you are aware, Lord Thompson has extended his assistance to a young lady who had called upon you in the past regarding her sister.”
“I am,” the lady said without additional comments.
“We have been told that one Miss Cassandra Whitchurch worked for you for a short time, a matter of days if I understood it correctly, but you released her, for the customers complained that she did not ‘perform’ as they wished.”
“If it is the woman I believe of whom you speak, then I would agree, but as I told the other Miss Whitchurch when she initially called upon me, I know no one by the name of ‘Cassandra Whitchurch,’ though, in truth, many of my girls do not use their real names. Our business is not one even the lowest of society often tolerates.”
“Miss Whitchurch has executed a drawing of her sister,” Benjamin said. “Might you agree to look at the sketch and tell us if the image is one you recognize?”
“Of course,” the woman said.
Graham handed her the image, and Mrs. Dove-Lyon rose from her chair and walked to the corner where she turned her back on them.
She said over her shoulder, “I, thankfully, can read through this veil, but to know the end to these questions regarding Miss Whitchurch’s sister, I would rather have a look at the sketch without it. ”
Benjamin and Graham watched as the woman lifted the veil, and Benjamin thought for a moment that they might see something of the woman that few could claim to recognize, but Titan moved to block what little view they had of the woman.
After an elongated minute, she handed Titan the sketch and lowered her veil again. “Do you recognize the girl, Titan?”
The former soldier also studied the sketch. “Yes, ma’am, I believe I do.”
“As do I.” She turned and returned to her desk.
Titan confirmed, “The woman was here twice. Once when she worked for us for perhaps a week. On the day Mrs. Dove-Lyon released her, there was an older woman here to arrange a marriage. The older woman supposedly said she had a position in one of the great houses in London and offered to find the younger one a position also.”
“That is what Miss Whitchurch was told when she called upon you previously. Such is what Miss Cassandra wrote to her sister—that she was to have a position in a house of some importance.”
“Older woman?” Mrs. Dove-Lyon asked. “How old?”
Titan responded, “You know the one.”
Mrs. Dove-Lyon sat straighter, as if realization had arrived. “The one who wanted a marriage with Lord Duncan?”
“Duncan?” Benjamin and Graham chorused.
Graham finished, “So the woman who wanted to marry Duncan was a member of the staff of one of the wealthy members of society? We all assumed this unknown woman was at least of the gentry, especially if she could pay your fees, ma’am. Pardon, I meant no offense.”
“None taken,” Mrs. Dove-Lyon was quick to say. “I made the same assumption. Though not grandly dressed the woman was still quite presentable. I doubted from the beginning that Lord Duncan would be interested, but I am a business woman, and so…”
“Perhaps the woman was an elderly sister of a member of the aristocracy. A widow or an unmarried aunt. Something along those lines. Not actually employed in the household herself, but holding a position in the household,” Titan suggested.
“Such a woman would still be aware of the need for additional servants. And, if she could afford Mrs. Dove-Lyon’s fees, she would likely not be a governess or housekeeper. ”
Graham said, “It is all quite interesting how God’s hand works. That the woman that Lord Thompson seeks was somehow connected to the woman whose desire was to marry Duncan is what brought all of us to the Lyon’s Den on that fateful night.”
“A bit convoluted,” Benjamin remarked, “but something else to add to that list we started earlier today at Duncan Place.”
“Yes,” Graham agreed. “We must assuredly tell Duncan of this coincidence.”
Mrs. Dove-Lyon remarked, “People say every member of the aristocracy is somehow related to every other member. Too many bloodlines overlap.”
“I have heard that often,” Benjamin said.
“Is there anything else I might do for you, my lords?” Mrs. Dove-Lyon asked.
“None.” Graham gathered his cane and accepted the return of the sketch from Titan. “Thompson and I must now deliver bad news to Miss Whitchurch.”
“The girl in the sketch?” Titan asked in soft tones.
“A clergyman has also claimed to know the woman in the sketch,” Graham said simply as he turned towards the door of Mrs. Dove-Lyon’s office.
“I wanted some assurance before we spoke to the young lady. We do not wish to bring her additional sadness. You will pardon us. We have a solemn task to complete.”